What climate adaptation can learn from evolutionary adaptation

Evolutionary and climate adaptation both describe how complex systems respond to environmental change, either via natural selection or deliberate human choices. Although adaptation in both contexts is expected to produce favorable outcomes, it can also result in maladaptation—ineffective, unintended, or harmful outcomes. As an emerging area of practice in conservation, climate adaptation could benefit from insights from evolutionary biology about when adaptation is most effective and when it fails. Here, we introduce a framework to identify parallels and distinctions between evolutionary and climate adaptation to highlight best practices and improve climate adaptation strategies. As an example of its application, we identify four common causes of maladaptation shared across evolutionary and climate adaptation contexts—lack of diversity, trade-offs and constraints, loss of signal, and shifting targets. Insights from evolutionary adaptation underscore the importance of diverse adaptation portfolios, innovative and replicable strategy combinations, integrated monitoring and knowledge-sharing mechanisms, and flexible, forward-looking refinement to mitigate the risks of maladaptation. Differences between evolutionary and climate adaptation—especially the role of goal setting, evaluation, and moral responsibility—introduce unique opportunities to confront bias, navigate complexity, and improve outcomes through intentional, inclusive decision-making that reflects conservation values and societal goals. We illustrate this framework with a case study that applies evolutionary principles to climate adaptation in practice and navigates the social dimensions of adaptation planning with intention. Approaching climate adaptation as a dynamic, learning-oriented process that acknowledges the potential for failure, much like adaptive management, enables conservation practitioners to navigate the complex challenges of climate adaptation with greater resilience and effectiveness.