Navy Partners with TNC on Climate Adaptation

Coastal buildings flood during 2012 storm on Naval Base Ventra County’s Point Mugu. Photo Credit: Carey Batha

The Nature Conservancy recently announced a partnership with the United States Navy to prepare for the impacts of climate change on Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) in California. This initiative marks the first time the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is partnering with a nongovernmental organization to protect a military installation from sea level rise and other consequences of rising global temperatures.

The DoD has defined climate change as a major threat to America’s national security, especially to coastal military installations in the United States and worldwide. The Department is also one of the most important coastal landowners in the United States, controlling over 200,000 acres of coastal land in California alone. The Nature Conservancy’s efforts at NBVC will include evaluating the effects of climate change on the base’s natural resources and infrastructure, assessing the base’s ability to adapt to sea level rise, and conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the various options for protecting the base and the surrounding coastal areas, including the use of nature-based solutions.

The partnership was featured on national media outlets Marketplace and Greenwire.