The SPARC project at Conservation International is collaborating with the Environmental Markets Lab at the Marine Science Institute at UC Santa Barbara under the Arnhold collaborative projects to understand how climate change is affecting the biodiversity benefits and efficacy of protected areas in marine and terrestrial systems, and how planning and management can promote resilience to changes. The SPARC portion of this work includes contributing to research efforts, designing and producing tools for application, and understanding hurdles to planning and management in the face of climate change.

The Funding Agreement will fund essential elements of SPARC’s contributions to the work described in this Statement of Work and more fully in Exhibit A. Computing resources are needed for storage and processing of large climate datasets and global analyses. Student interns will contribute both to the research efforts and design of accessible tools to both assist in these efforts and gain important experience in the intersection between research and application. Final communications deliverables such as user guides and pamphlets will be contracted to Oceanographics for professional-grade products.