Great Lakes Adaptation Forum
Accelerating equitable climate adaptation in the Great Lakes Region through innovation and technology
Overview & Ambition
Building off of the success of the 2014 and 2016 Fora, the 2018 Great Lakes Adaptation Forum (GLAF) brought together practitioners and scholars from across the Great Lakes region for three days of sharing strategies and approaches to climate adaptation in an engaged learning program September 24-26 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Forum supported interactive sessions and was an opportunity for exchange between hundreds of researchers and professionals working on climate change adaptation at the local, state, and regional levels in the U.S. and Canada. The 2018 GLAF focused on equity in climate adaptation and accelerating action through innovation and technology.

Sharing Across Sectors
Experts and leaders in many sectors and populations – such as health, agriculture, urban planning, and tribes – are working to accelerate climate change adaptation action. It is more necessary than ever to share successful practices and brainstorm ways to transfer these successes to new contexts. The Forum’s program approach will breakdown silos between these sectors, creating ample opportunity for practitioners to share best practice, lessons learned and work jointly to produce solutions to climate challenges facing our region.
Leadership
GLAF 2018 was co-hosted by the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA) and the American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP). GLISA and ASAP worked with an Advisory Board to develop the Forum approach and session tracks, and with a Program Committee to review session programs and determine the agenda.
2018 Great Lakes Adaptation Forum
September 24-26, 2018 | Ann Arbor, Michigan
The 3rd Great Lakes Adaptation Forum brought together practitioners and scholars from across the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States for 3 days of sharing climate adaptation and resilience solutions and products in an engaged learning program. Exciting, high energy sessions included speakers, working groups, panel discussions, and many opportunities for interaction and collaboration.
Dr. Jonathan Overpeck, Dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability, provided the Forum’s opening remarks and Dr. Daniel Wildcat, a professor at the Haskell Indian Nations University, was the keynote speaker. You can view their remarks here.
All presentations from the Forum are available on the Sched website. Please visit the session description page and scroll to the bottom to download a presentation.