Adapting to Climate Change

Other Links

Adaptation Approaches

• BC's Future Forest Ecosystem Initiative (FFEI) FFEI is is a Ministry of Forests and Range initiative for maintaining and enhancing the resilience of B.C.'s forest ecosystems.
• Mapping New Terrain: Climate Change and America's West This report from the Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains (CIRMount) describes work underway in the Pacific Northwest to address water supply, forest dieback, urban-wildland issues, wildfire, biodiversity and wildlife through a program of observation, research, decision support, communication, and international relations.
• The Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy addresses the potential threat that wildfires can pose to public safety, property, and vital natural resources. In 2005, Forest Ministers across Canada committed to a common vision, shared principles, and a proposed path of action to enhance wildland fire management.
• Timber Supply and the Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation in British Columbia – 2007 Update
• Climate Change and Forest Genetic Diversity: Implications for Sustainable Forest management in Europe This report, sponsored by the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme, outlines current knowledge of how Europe's forest trees will cope with and adapt to climate change. It also discusses the implications for practicing sustainable forest management in Europe, and provides recommendations to the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe process. This publication presents the outputs from a workshop in March 2006, organized by Bioversity International and IUFRO.
• From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007
• The Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan provides a high level framework to deal effectively with the impacts of the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic in BC. The Mountain Pine Beetle Emergency Response Implementation Strategy outlines how resources are being applied to help mitigate impacts of the mountain pine beetle infestation.

Carbon

• Managing for a Carbon-Concerned Future - A Decision-Making Framework – This report by the Conference Board of Canada outlines a process for companies wishing to develop new carbon management approaches and opportunities.
• Forest Carbon Accounting

Mitigation

• The BC Climate Action Secretariat website describes BC's greenhouse gas emissions targets and progress on government's commitments to address climate change.
• Canada ecoENERGY – The Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE)
  Ways to reduce energy use in buildings and houses, industry, personal vehicles and fleets. Homeowners and owners of small and medium-sized organizations can also apply for financial assistance from ecoENERGY Retrofit, as well as other grants and financial incentives.

Modeling, Tools, and Resources

• The Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium provides practical regional climate information, data, tools, and interpretation to facilitate adaptation to climate variability, change, and extreme weather events.
• ClimateBC – is a computer program that enables the user to obtain selected monthly climate variables for any point in BC. Historic data and future possible climates simulated by global climate models area available for individual points. It can also be used to created gridded data for use in geographical data systems. ClimateBC is available for free as a Windows-based stand-alone program or as a web-based application. A selection of gridded data are available.
• BioSIM is a software tool for use in forecasting events in the seasonal biology of insect pests. Forecasts are made by simulation models provided by the system and are based on regional air temperature and precipitation interpolated from nearby weather stations, adjusted for elevation and location differentials with regional gradients.
• Climate data and projections are available through the PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model) climate mapping system, developed at Oregon State University. PRISM is a unique knowledge-based system that uses point measurements of precipitation, temperature, and other climatic factors to produce continuous, digital grid estimates of monthly, yearly, and event-based climatic parameters.
• The Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC) – is dedicated to stimulating collaboration and building capacity to produce practical climate information for education, policy, and decision-making in the Pacific Northwest.

Partners

• BC Climate Exchange – promotes learning about climate change, and provides links to climate change resources.
• The Northern Climate Change Network (NCCN) – connects partners to increase awareness about new information, projects, tools, and resources for making adaptations to minimize the effects climate change may have on northern BC communities.
• Preparing for Climate Change in the Fraser Basin: How Can our Water Management Systems Adapt?
  On November 6, 2007 the Fraser Basin Council (FBC) hosted a workshop in Vancouver on adaptive decision-making, water management and climate change. The workshop explored links between climate change adaptation strategies and decision-making processes in the Fraser Basin. Details are available in the backgrounder and workshop summary.
   
• UBC's Centre for Forest Conservation Genetics – incorporates climate change in research related to all aspects of forest genetic resource management.
• UK Forests and Climate Change – The Forestry Commission of Great Britain looks at the interaction between forests and climate change.
• Weather, Climate and the Future: B.C.'s Plan – British Columbia's plan to address climate change.

Science

• Research Branch Climatology The BC Ministry of Forests and Range web page on Research Branch Climatology describes recent work to improve our understanding of the influence of climate on forest and range management.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – was established by WMO and UNEP to assess scientific, technical and socio- economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.
• Ministry of Environment – Environmental Quality Branch – the Ministry of Environment is BC government's lead agency for addressing climate change. This website includes indicators of climate change in BC, State of the Environment reporting, and numerous other information resources.
• Does Harvesting in Canada's Forests Contribute to Climate Change? – Canadian Forest Service Science - Policy Note
• Ministry of Forests and Range – Research Branch: Climate Change