Adaptation Policy in Practice | ConserveVirginia: Building Flood Resilience through State Land Conservation

Third Installment in GCC’s Adaptation Policy in Practice Series

Land conservation can play a vital role in a state’s comprehensive approach to addressing the risks of flooding. However, identifying and prioritizing which parcels of land to conserve, matching each acquisition with funding, and establishing appropriate on-the-ground conservation measures are each difficult enough on their own. Solving all three at once is a complex public policy challenge for any government.

ConserveVirginia is one example of a holistic system that combines data-driven statewide mapping, integrated planning processes, and clear funding priorities to address flood risk along with other more familiar land conservation challenges. In the latest installment of Georgetown Climate Center’s Adaptation Policy in Practice series, GCC’s Adaptation Program Director Joshua Saks explores how Virginia uses land conservation as a flood resilience strategy, and details how the state’s approach couples comprehensive geographic data with resilience policy and funding decisions.

“State governments are increasingly recognizing that land conservation is an important tool for climate adaptation,” said Saks. “To realize their full potential, conservation programs need to carefully prioritize which lands to acquire, then tether those decisions with funding and to real policy on the ground. That combination is what makes Conserve VA so unique, special and effective.”

Launched in 2019 and codified into state law in 2021, ConserveVirginia encompasses both a GIS-based priority mapping tool that identifies approximately 7.8 million acres of high-value conservation lands across seven categories, one of which is explicitly dedicated to Floodplains and Flooding Resilience. State law requires that the map is incorporated into the review criteria for grants, connects it institutionally to the state's Chief Resilience Officer, and mandates that funded conservation projects incorporate category-specific standards to protect the conservation values the map identifies. The result is a complete implementation chain: the map identifies the priority, grants fund the acquisition, and deed restrictions lock in the conservation protections.

Georgetown Climate Center's Adaptation Policy in Practice series spotlights the nation’s most effective state-level climate adaptation initiatives, presenting practical analysis for leaders building comprehensive adaptation programs. Each brief examines not just what works, but how it works: the legislative foundations, funding mechanisms, community engagement strategies, and replication frameworks that transform successful state innovations into actionable blueprints.

Read the full issue brief here.

Explore more examples of state adaptation leadership from GCC.