Climate Resiliency

What does climate resiliency mean for the FWC?

Managing Florida’s wildlife and habitats to adapt to a changing climate, recover from disruption, and provide valuable ecosystem services and high-quality recreational opportunities to the people of Florida and their communities.

The FWC’s Resiliency Team focuses on achieving a more adaptive and resilient future for native wildlife and habitats through:

• Robust science and technical capacity
• Effective communication
• Increasing agency capacity
• Integrating adaptation and resiliency into agency planning
• Implementing adaptation and resiliency management actions

What the FWC is Doing

The FWC is Florida's lead state agency in addressing the potential impacts of a changing climate on native fish and wildlife.  Since 2008, the FWC has been engaged in the research, planning and management necessary for Florida’s wildlife and habitats to be adaptive and resilient to change.  

Climate Adaptation in Florida

Florida is home to an incredible diversity of native fish and wildlife, including 386 species of bird, 86 species of mammals, 90 species of reptiles, 136 species of fish, and 56 species of amphibians.  Rising temperatures and sea levels are likely to change the makeup of entire ecosystems, forcing wildlife to shift their ranges or adapt.  Adaptation involves managing for change to ensure wildlife and their habitats are more resilient to whatever changes come. To be more prepared for the future, FWC has incorporated climate adaptation into Florida's State Wildlife Action Plan.