Addressing the socio-ecological impacts of climate change is critical for equitable and sustainable natural resource management, but measuring and defining those impacts can be challenging. A Southwest CASC-supported scientists whose findings were published in the journal Society & Natural Resources introduces a new rubric to evaluate forest management projects in California based on three key principles of environmental justice. They propose prioritizing projects that score high in: 

(1) the fair distribution of environmental costs, benefits, and resources 

(2) equitable access to information and decision-making  

(3) and the ability of Indigenous communities to practice decision-making.  

The study authors point out that the current metric in California for defining communities that are disadvantaged is limited, especially in forested and Indigenous communities. The proposed evaluation framework provides decision-makers with a new way to measure whether forest management projects are meeting environmental justice goals and to guide future funding and conservation strategies in California.   

This work is supported by the Southwest CASC Project, “Cultural Burning as a Climate Adaptation Strategy.”