An organized toolbox: choosing the appropriate tools and methods to support climate change adaptation

Water managers face a confusing plethora of evolving tools and methods for considering climate change in water management. Many approaches require substantial investments in data gathering, analysis, or stakeholder engagement, leading managers to search for the ‘best' approach or tool to use for their decision making situation. However, the irreducible uncertainty associated with climate change calls for an iterative approach to risk management using a mix of tools and methods matched to the stage of risk management being addressed, the specific water resources topics and time scales of relevance, the resources available for planning, and desired characteristics for stakeholder engagement. To assist planners and managers in selecting the appropriate tools and methods for different applications, we have integrated several organizing frameworks into an interactive ‘toolbox'. The toolbox characterizes a variety of extant tools and methods useful for water planners and managers, as well as supporting training resources. The toolbox also is useful for identifying gaps where additional tools, methods, or professional development training are needed.