About the Adaptation Design Tool (ADT)

About the ADT

Natural resource managers have communicated a need for improved methods and tools for effective adaptation of ecosystem-based management activities in the context of extreme events and rapid environmental change. In response to calls for practical support in this area, an inter-agency team led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed an Adaptation Design Tool (ADT) that uses a structured approach to break down the complex adaptation process into tractable steps. The tool guides users through a series of design considerations to:

1) adjust currently-planned management actions to be more climate-smart,

2) brainstorm and craft new adaptation actions to address remaining vulnerabilities, and

3) identify research gaps and interactive effects that need to be considered before implementation.

The ADT was developed under the Corals & Climate Adaptation Planning project of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, a collaborative effort of the EPA with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of the Interior and The Nature Conservancy.

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While initially tested for coral reefs, the tool is also fully transferable to other natural resource systems and sectors; it was adopted by the Chesapeake Bay Program and used in workshops on climate-smart design and strategic planning for black duck wetland habitat, seagrass habitat and toxic contaminant management.

This tool is intended to

• advance the practice of assessment and decision-making science,
• inform higher level strategic planning, and
• enable systematic, transparent and inclusive thought processes

to tackle the practical implications of rapidly changing conditions for ecosystem-based management.

History of ADT

Below is a list of important milestones to the Adaption Design Tool.

Publications

Reports

• Parker, B.A., J.M. West, A.T. Hamilton, C.A. Courtney, P. MacGowan, K.H. Koltes, D.A. Gibbs, and P. Bradley. 2017.  Adaptation Design Tool: Corals and Climate Adaptation Planning. Silver Spring, MD: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 27, 58 pp. DOI: 10.7289/V51N7Z5F
• The Chesapeake Bay Trust. 2018. Chesapeake Bay Program Climate-Smart Framework and Decision-Support Tool: Final Report (PDF). Technical lead: Z. Johnson; Project team: Z. Johnson, A. Hamilton, J. Hoffman, H. Herron, J. West, S. Julius, D. Gibbs. Prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc. for The Chesapeake Bay Trust, Annapolis, MD USA.

Journal Articles

• West, J.M., Courtney, C.A., Hamilton, A.T., Parker, B.A., Julius, S.H., Hoffman, J., Koltes, K.H. and MacGowan, P. 2017. Climate-smart design for ecosystem management: A test application for coral reefs. Environmental Management.
• West J.M., Courtney C.A., Hamilton A.T., Parker B.A., Gibbs D.A., Bradley P. and S.H. Julius. 2018. Adaptation Design Tool for climate-smart management of coral reefs and other natural resources. Environmental Management.
• Gibbs, D.A., West, J.M. and B.A. Parker. 2018. How to improve your "climate-smart IQ" using the Adaptation Design Tool. Proceedings of the Coast Guard Journal of Safety & Security at Sea, Vol. 75, Number 1, pp. 45-49.
• Gibbs, D.A. and J. M. West. 2019. Resilience assessment of Puerto Rico’s coral reefs to inform reef management. PLOS ONE 14(11): e0224360.
• Gibbs, D.A., West, J.M. and P. Bradley. 2021. Incorporating adaptation and resilience into an integrated watershed and coral reef management plan. PLOS ONE : 16(6): e0253343.

Online Training

• Adaptation Design Tool Online Course
• Coral Reef Restoration Online Course (with the Adaptation Design Tool)