US National Adaptation Forum

The National Adaptation Forum gathers the adaptation community to foster knowledge exchange, innovation and mutual support for a better tomorrow. Join the convening of adaptation practitioners from around the country focused on moving beyond adaptation awareness and planning to adaptation action.

The 3rd National Adaptation Forum took place on May 9-11, 2017 in Saint Paul, MN and gathered 1065 participants from 48 states, the District of Columbia, two territories, three Canadian provinces, and five additional countries. Practitioners represented all levels of government, non-governmental organizations, community groups, academia, university and high school students, and corporate and private industry.

The City of Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and State of Minnesota were instrumental in its success. The Forum included an opening with Mayor Coleman of City of Saint Paul, Mayor Hodges of City of Minneapolis and Senator Franken of Minnesota to kick-off the 2017 Forum during the opening plenary. Anne Hunt, Environmental Policy Director, Saint Paul’s Mayor’s office was key to Forum Coordinators building relationships with city and state leaders. Our goal was to acknowledge our host city partners and raise the adaptation efforts taking place to a national level. The Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership Conference (MCAP) partnered with the Forum and hosted their conference concurrently with the opening of the Forum on May 9, 2017. All MCAP participants access to not only MCAP session but all Forum sessions offered on opening day including the Forum Networking Reception which includes the Poster Sessions and Tools Café .

This partnership resulted in 227 Minnesota participants attending the Forum! The Forum offered a diverse, robust and action-oriented program with 24 main topics (e.g. agriculture and food security, climate justice, critical infrastructure, natural resources, public health, and retreat) and 14 cross-cutting themes (e.g. actionable climate science, equitable adaptation, faith based stewardship, and nature-based solution). The 2017 Program included the following opportunities for participants: 2017 Forum Welcome, 5 plenaries (Municipal, Community, Business, Natural Resources and Holistic), 88 symposia, 13 training sessions,15 working groups,121 posters and 20 decision making tools

Testimonials from the 3rd National Adaptation Forum

“I truly mean it when I say that it was the best conference I have been to in years. What an impressive group of people doing such inspiring work! Thank you for including me!”- Lauren Withycombe Keeler, PhD, Visiting Assistant Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University

“The National Adaptation Forum was fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed my time there attending the pre-forum workshop, plenaries, concurrent sessions and networking events.” - Kelly Muellman, AICP, Sustainability Program Coordinator, Minneapolis City Coordinator’s Office of Sustainability

“It was a true pleasure attending and presenting at the 2017 NAF. Thank you for all of the hard work you and your team put into it! A wonderful opportunity to convene with other adaptation professionals, network, and discuss challenges we are facing. Looking forward to 2019.” - Alex Westhoff, AICP, Planner, County of Marin (California), Community Development Agency

“It was wonderful to be in the company of so many others who understand the importance of climate adaptation. The Monday pre-forum community workshops were especially rewarding. The Forum validates the efforts of my small community based organization and gives us all hope!” - Sheila Murray, Community Resilience to Extreme Weather (CREW)

“I cannot imagine a better conference for students who are pursuing a career in the field of climate adaptation.” Alexander Hurley, Ohio University

Link:

http://www.ecoadapt.org/programs/national-adaptation-forum

http://www.nationaladaptationforum.org/sites/default/files/naf-2015-program-web.pdf