This webinar originally aired on 30 October 2014.
Role-play simulations are experiential exercises that help community residents and decision-makers learn more about the scientific or technical issues being debated in various public policy controversies, such as whether and how to adapt to the risks associated with climate change. The New England Climate Adaptation Project (NECAP), a partnership of the Consensus Building Institute, the MIT Science Impact Collaborative, and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, is working with four at-risk coastal New England communities to: assess local climate change risks, 2) identify key challenges and opportunities for adaptation, and 3) test the use of role-play simulations as a means to educate the public about climate change threats and to help communities explore ways of decreasing their vulnerability and enhancing their resilience to climate change impacts. As part of this project, science-based role-play simulations were developed for each of the four partner municipalities. Tailored specifically for each community, these simulations were designed to engage participants in a mock decision-making process about a key climate change risk facing their community, such as the possibility of severe sea level rise and related impacts on coastal infrastructure. Simulations were based upon local climate change projections, risk assessments, and in-depth discussions with key community members and public officials in each town or city. This webinar will discuss the development and use of these simulations in two of these communities.
This webinar was cosponsored by the EBM Tools Network and EcoAdapt, and it was presented by Carri Hulet of The Consensus Building Institute, Tonna-Marie Surgeon-Rogers of Waquoit Bay NERR, and Steve Miller of Great Bay NERR.