Meteorologists will present and discuss the seasonal climate forecast for the spring-summer 2013 season for the southwest of the United States and northern Mexico with special focus on the border region. Currently, the conditions suggests a dryier late spring and higher risk of persistent and severe drought during early summer along the border states of Mexico and Unites States. What are the prospects for drought in our region? What are the implications for agriculture, water management, and other activities?

 

 

Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) is an innovative management approach that considers entire ecosystems, including humans and the environment, rather than managing one issue or resource in isolation. NatureServe’s EBM Tools Program, with support from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, is working to develop a knowledge base of tools, primarily software and other highly documented methods, that can help implement EBM processes in coastal and marine environments and their watersheds.

 

Some of the primary uses for EBM tools are: a) Collecting, managing and processing data about ecosystems and human communities; b) Generating and visualizing scenarios of potential consequences of different management decisions on natural resources and the economy; c) Facilitating communication with the public and stakeholder involvement in planning and management processes.

 

When used in an effective process, these tools: 1) Help incorporate a wide array of ecosystem and human considerations into decision making; 2) Save time and help explore a wider range of alternatives by automating analyses and processes that occur repeatedly; 3) Help build collaboration among diverse project participants by creating a forum where stakeholder groups learn about and need to account for each others’ goals and concerns.

 

This webinar is an overview of the impact patterns of tropical cyclones from 1970 through 2012 using an international disaster database to identify the impact from the landfalling tropical cyclones. More than 30 landfall events occurred during the period; we examined the top 25 cyclones based on rainfall accumulation, as well as the top 10 cyclone-related disasters based on the affected population. Each event resulted in affected population from 20 000 to more than 800 000. Excessive rainfall accumulations and daily rates, over highly populated areas, are associated with the occurrence of disasters. Six of the top 10 Cyclone-related disasters occurred during El Niño and three during neutral conditions; however, looking at the top 25 events, 10 occurred during El Niño and 10 during neutral conditions.