Climate Change and Natural Resources: Biophysical and Socio Economic Impacts and Adaptations

Project Abstract:
Climate change has been identified as a major source of uncertainty in natural resources management in BC (Revisiting a Forest Extension Strategy for BC 2007, Southern Interior and Northern Interior Watershed Management Information Needs Assessments 2007). Programming around climate change directly addresses the BC Provincial Forest Extension Program strategic priority to manage for changing environments, timber value, productivity, markets, and public expectations. The purpose of this project is to begin examining the potential effects of climate change in the topic areas of watershed management, forest resource dynamics and socio economics.

In the last fiscal year, the Socio economics Extension Program implemented a program that synthesized carbon management information relevant to the management of forests in BC. The project synthesized information available in BC for managing forests for carbon, initiatives such as carbon budget modeling, cap and trade system negotiations, carbon offsets, and carbon sequestration protocols, and what tools (such as models, decision support systems, carbon planning software) are available in BC for forest carbon management. A draft LINK article and FORREX Series or JEM articles were deliverables from this project. The 2008/09 activities include finalizing the articles and publishing them. A meeting will be organized with the team of the Director of Climate Change and Forest Carbon, MFR and others to discuss the findings from this synthesis project and any follow up activity. It is expected that economic opportunities from forest carbon management would be one of the follow up items to be pursued. During 2008/09, it is expected that follow up activities to the last year’s synthesis work would include a more focused literature search and interviews with key players to define the opportunities and risks associated with forest carbon management. The second part of this study would be opportunities, challenges and tools for managing forests in BC for their value in storing carbon, for future extension programming. A graduate student will be hired to help carry out both parts of the study and two LINK articles would synthesize the findings.

In the 2008/09 fiscal year, Watershed Management programming around climate change will include both published products and peer assistance and outreach. The coastal specialist will attend the upcoming Canadian Water Resources symposium on “Changing Climate, Uncertain Futures, and Evolving Practice”, and will produce a LINK article summarizing the event. The coastal specialist with assistance from the southern interior and northern specialists will compile an annotated bibliography on climate change and water resources relevant to BC. The bibliography will be compiled in 2008/09 and published in 2009/10 and serve as the basis for future extension programming about climate change and watershed management. The specialists will also provide peer assistance and outreach related to climate change and water resources to ensure information is made available to interested clients.

The Early Stand Dynamics specialist will provide outreach support in the delivery of the 2008 Winter SISCO meeting, which is focused on how to manage todays forests to increase resiliency to climate change. A meeting summary will be published in LINK.

The Ecosystem Management and Forest Practices specialist will continue his involvement with the BC Climate Exchange and related peer assistance and outreach.

For further information on this project, please contact society@forrex.org.