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The UF Water Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Lynn Scarlett will be our Water Institute Distinguished Scholar Speaker on Tuesday January 25.

Together with the Office of Sustainability, the Florida Climate Institute and the Graham Center, we are proud to co-host Dr. Scarlett in a number of important events discussing the interdisciplinary aspects of water, climate, energy and sustainability. See below and attached flyer.

Lynn Scarlett, former Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2005-2009, is a senior Visiting Scholar at Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C. and an environmental analyst working on climate change adaptation, environmental risk management, “green business and infrastructure,” energy and water issues, landscape-scale conservation, and science and decision making. Project partners include the US Forest Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Department of Agriculture’s Office of Environmental Markets, Rice University, Central Arizona Project, Lincoln Institute, and research for the Oil Spill Commission. Dr. Scarlett was also instrumental in Everglades restoration planning to include adaptive management principles and climate change science.

Tuesday January 25

3 - 4:30pm - UF Water Institute Distinguished Scholar Seminar - "Climate Adaptation: Science, Collaboration and Communities"

Includes refreshments & discussion

Reitz Union - room 282

Abstract: Four features characterize climate change and its effects on lands, water, wildlife, and communities. These include: 1) the multiple spatial and temporal scales of the climate change problem set; 2) the high levels of uncertainty about effects, particularly regionally and locally; 3) the interconnected complexity of the changes underway; and 4) the highly dynamic nature of climate effects changes. What are the implications of these characteristics for decision makers? We will need institutions and decision processes that facilitate "collaborative federalism," with joint decision making among multiple governing units. The high level of uncertainty regarding climate effects, particularly at regional and local scales makes ongoing learning imperative and highlights the significance of adaptive management. High uncertainty also underscores the central role of science and technical expertise in decision making about whether, when, and how to respond to the effects of a changing climate. This centrality of science and technical expertise raises another conundrum—what some have referred to as the "technocracy versus democracy" quandary.Climate change issues are highly technical and complex but policies and adaptation decisions may significantly affect people and involve trade offs. These differential effects on people heighten the relevance of participatory democracy and collaboration and present a fundamental question. How is it possible to increase public involvement in decision making when the scientific and technical issues associated with some climate effects challenges are so complex? The third characteristic--the interconnectedness of climate change effects--raises challenges of agency silos in which responsibilities for sectors or issues are fractured and divided. Finally, climate effects are highly dynamic, with the pace of change sometimes dramatic. Like the characteristic of uncertainty, the highly dynamic nature of climate change effects implies the need for adaptation. It may also heighten the need for policy options centered on resilience, or, more specifically, management options that provide functionality across a broad range of conditions. Twenty-first century governance, as the Lincoln Institute in Cambridge has pointed out, may reveal a new lexicon of collaboration, shared power, networks, consensus, and iteration. All these features, for policy makers, make decisions provisional, and they diffuse responsibilities. This sort of diffuse, provisional decision making is difficult to reconcile with traditional notions of accountability. What decision processes and institutions can provide the necessary flexibility, accountability, coordination, and collaboration that will enhance policy and management outcomes?

8pm - Keynote Speech "Conservation in an Era of Scarcity"

Reitz Union - Grand Ballroom

She will discuss her thoughts and experience with shifting policies and implementation plans for energy and climate change in the US, as well as her work on the Senator Graham's Oil Spill Commission.

Thursday January 27

6pm - Deep Water: A Special Report to UF by Oil Spill Commission Co-Chairs Bob Graham and William Reilly, with Lynn Scarlett as moderator

The co-chairmen of the presidential commission investigating last summer’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will be presenting their exclusive findings in a special evening at the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. Dr. Scarlett will moderate.

Research Coordinator

UF Water Institute

Gainesville, FL 32611-6601

ph: 352-392-5893 x2114