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conferenceseries.com
Volume 9 Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change Climate Congress 2018
August 06-07, 2018
August 06-07, 2018 Osaka, Japan
4th World Congress on
Climate Change and Global Warming
A qualitative approach to climate change resilience: Park manager’s perceptions in the Midwestern
United States
Ojetunde A Ojewola, Mark Morgan and Sonja Wilhelm Stanis
University of Missouri, USA
Climate change associatedwith parks and protected areas can affect visitor experiences, management priorities and legislative
requests for disaster relief funds. Impacts are unequal in geographic distribution and so are the perceptions of those who
live in different regions of the country. People have a tendency to be climate change deniers in areas where this phenomenon
is less obvious, which could affect how they respond to its mitigation and adaptation. Some factors that often influences one’s
perception of climate change include personal experience with climate related environmental impacts and observable changes
in the environment such as biodiversity loss, habitat degradation and more invasive species. Using a deductive approach
focused on community resilience framework, qualitative interviews were conducted with eleven district managers to examine
their perceptions of climate change impacts in Missouri State Parks and historic sites. An implication of this study focuses
on vulnerability, resilience and adaptation strategies. This research is part of a larger effort to understand climate change in
the Midwestern US, an area plagued by drought and flooding, prolonged heat waves, reduced air quality and new disease
ecologies. Although the social construction of climate change by every park managers differs especially based on its causation
and occurrence, every manager agrees that climate impacts are evident over time. Flooding is the most reoccurring identified
stressor. Each of the stressor is often characterized by one or more dimensions, severity, frequency, predictability, duration and
distribution. To build a more resilient system, identifying pre-existing vulnerabilities to reduce risk, strengthening adaptive
capacities through monitoring, partnering with relevant agencies, team work in the system and including place based climate
change communication are paramount. This study provides helpful insights to understand perceptions of resilience in park
settings which are important determinants of environmental decision making behavior, policy formation and communication
with relevant stakeholders such as park visitors.
Biography
Ojetunde AOjewola is currently pursuing Doctoral degree at the University of Missouri majoring in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. His research interest
is in understanding how social and natural sciences can be integrated to improve resource management. Presently, he is working with a team of researchers who
are studying vulnerability and resilience of Missouri State Parks to climate change.
Ojetunde A Ojewola et al., J Earth Sci Clim Change 2018, Volume 9
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7617-C3-045