climate change update tbac meeting march 2010 john vitello associate deputy bureau director bia...
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Climate Change Update
TBAC Meeting
March 2010
John VitelloAssociate Deputy Bureau Director
BIA Office of Trust ServicesWashington, D.C.
Climate ChangeLet’s Not Refer to it as “Global Warming”
Photos by Bodie Shaw
Climate Change ImpactsClimate Change Impacts
Sea Level Rise
Floods
Strong Storms
Drought
Habitat ChangeCatastrophic Wildfires
Model Forecasts of Streamflow Changes
Evolution of DOI Climate Change
Policy
• Workgroup Meetings– Culminate in Shepherdstown, WV meeting
• Focus on Tribes as…– Sovereigns– Land Managers– Climate Change Partners
• Concept of Environmental Justice
• Need for Consultation on Climate Policy
Secretarial Orderon Climate Change
SO 3289 “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on
America’s Water, Land, and Other Natural and Cultural Resources”
• Signed September ‘09.
• Section 5 dedicated to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Secretarial Orderon Climate Change
Section 5 can be summed up as follows:
• Disproportionate Affect
• Trust Responsibility
• Best Available Science
• Substantive Participation
Coastal Erosion in the Native Village of Shishmaref, Alaska
S.O. 3289Highlights
• “Climate Change Response Council” – Recently renamed “Energy and Climate Change Council”;
• Other Specific Activities:– Planning Requirements
– Regional Climate Change Response Centers
– Landscape Conservation Cooperatives
– Carbon Storage Project
– Carbon Footprint Project
Eight Climate Science Centers(CSCs)
Twenty-One Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs)
BIA/Tribal LCC Contribution 2011
Indian Tribesand Climate Change
What Tribes Need (from USGS & DOI)jjjjjjj
• Increased access to expertise and scientific research.
• Increased monitoring of climate change indicators on Reservations.
• Direct tribal participation in the development and operation of emissions taxation/trading schemes that may be developed.
• Government-to-government consultation and substantive participation in the development of Departmental policy, objectives, and initiatives regarding climate change.
Indian Tribesand Climate Change
What Tribes Can Providejjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
• Tribal experience with resource stewardship and adaptation spans millennia.
• Tribes have an accumulation of traditional knowledge and acute sensitivities to their environment.
• Tribal peoples could be among the first to notice changes to ecological processes caused by climate change.
• Many Tribes have sophisticated resource mgmt. programs.
• Some Tribes (e.g. Quinault) have already adopted laws and policies on climate change.
Fire ManagementIntegration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge
and Western Science
• Traditional Ecological Knowledge– Fundamental land ethic….adaptive
management– Indigenous legacies of experiential
learning
• Joint Fire Science Program collaboration:– Intertribal Timber Council– University of Washington– BIA and USFS
Other Climate
Policy
DevelopmentsE.O. 13514 - from President Obama 10/8/09– “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and
Economic Performance”• Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Coordination• Making federal government operations more sustainable
– ↓ 30% federal fleet petroleum use by 2020– 26% improvement in water efficiency by 2020– 50% recycling and waste diversion by 2015
• Sec. 9 – Recommendations for Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting
Coral Diseases
GHG InventoriesSec. 9 of EO 13514
Policy Decision (Still Draft)
Land management emissions and sequestration shall not be reported at this time.
Wildfire management and prescribed burning emissions shall not be reported.
Other CEQClimate Activities
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives
• CEQ to work “with the Department of the Interior as the lead department to develop a national government-wide strategy to address climate change impacts on fish, wildlife, plants, and associated ecological processes.” (FY 2010 Interior Appropriation Report Language)
• National Oceans Policy Task Force
• Develop Framework for Coordination of all Federal Land Management Agencies to Address Climate Change
• Adaptations Task Force
CEQAdaptations Task Force
1. NEPA Guidance2. Partnerships & Collaborations3. Easements & Acquisitions4. Adaptation Priorities5. Wildland Fire – Integrate Fuels Mgmt.6. Education
“…equip communities with information and learn from communities who have taken steps to adapt.”
Climate ChangeFY 2012 Budget Cycle
• Additional new funding unlikely
• Climate funding from reallocating budget priorities is likely
• TBAC request to form Climate Change Advisory Council
Carbon Sequestration
Carbon Sequestration Evolution
• 2000 - Some Tribes begin marketing carbon• 2002 – BIA attempts carbon policy draft• 2005 – Ideas on Policy draft authority evolve• 2007 – DOI SOL Opinion on draft– Carbon not a mineral
– Carbon could be an “other forest product”
• 2009 – New draft presented at ITC Symposium• 2010 – Still evolving
Current DilemmasDOI – No Individual Bureau Policy - YetLegislation – Cap and Trade, etc. - StalledMarkets - Volatile and Changing TermsTribes - Moving Forward; Wanting GuidanceIssues
RegistryMonitoringImpacts on Fee into TrustTerm of AgreementBest Market ValueTrust Funds? Payment Process?
Current Policy Thoughts?
All Tribal Lands25 CFR Part 84 – Encumbrances of Tribal Land
Forest Lands – Individually owned in Trust25 CFR Part 163 – General Forestry Regulations
Ag/Range Lands – Individually owned in Trust25 CFR Part 162 – Leases and Permits25 CFR Part 166 – Grazing Permits
Or ?
Do we think outside the box……
Carbon sequestration agreements as….
Tribal Service Contracts ?
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