The federal interagency Water Resources and Climate Change Workgroup has released a draft update to the October 2011 National Action Plan for managing freshwater resources in a changing climate. The draft document, Looking Forward: National Action Plan: Priorities for Managing Freshwater Resources in a Changing Climate, is hosted on the Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) website. Federal agencies participating in the workgroup include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. EPA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy and the Interior, FEMA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The update reiterates the importance of continuing to improve the ability of the U.S. to respond to the impacts of climate change on water resources and takes into consideration the recommendations of the State, Tribal and Local Leaders Task Force, the Climate and Natural Resources Working Group and the ACWI Climate Change Subcommittee. General recommendations are identified in three thematic areas: Data and Research, Planning and Decision Support, and Training and Outreach. Appendix C of the draft identifies 28 strategic actions and agency leads supporting these thematic areas. The workgroup will also continue to engage in the White House Climate Data and Tools initiative, which includes climate information available on data.gov and the water resources component of the Climate Resilience Toolkit.
Comments on the draft document may be sent to [email protected] until July 15, 2016.