High-Profile Conference Zeroes in on Canada’s Forestry Crisis

Industry experts to make urgent call for collaboration on climate change issues

Gatineau-Ottawa – The message is clear: Canada’s forests are at risk if we don’t prepare for and adjust our response to the climate changes ahead, say industry experts and organizers of SFM 2009, the upcoming research showcase to be hosted by the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Network in Ottawa-Gatineau, April 21-23. And that means the need for collaboration is stronger than ever as dignitaries and research scientists convene to present 14 years of research, and to assess what action should be taken to secure the future of one of our country’s most valuable natural resources.

“It’s time to find clever, innovative ways to adapt to the inevitability of climate change,” stresses Dr. C. S. (Buzz) Holling, founder of the Resilience Alliance and opening speaker for the three-day conference themed Envisioning Tomorrow’s Forests: Knowledge Networking for Sustainability. Pointing to the current mountain pine beetle outbreak in the interior forests of B.C. as an example – where the ongoing march of the beetles is being blamed on warmer temperatures due to global warming and is expected to wipe out 80 per cent of the province’s pine tree population by 2013 – Holling emphasizes the need for a more adaptive approach to forest management.

“There has to be much more attention paid to the regeneration of forests, whether they’re harvested, or killed by fire or insect outbreak,” he says. “Re-establishing a forest with the same complex of trees doesn’t work. Instead, we need to find ways to rebuild a forest with new varieties that have a much better ability to adapt to, and maybe benefit from, the climate changes anticipated.”

“The urgency of the coming forestry crisis needs to be addressed,” echoes SFM Network scientific director Dr. Jim Fyles, noting that forests account for 90 per cent of Canada’s land mass. “By rallying together the most knowledgeable people in the country on issues of climate change and forest management, and examining the cutting edge of what’s new and innovative, we are helping to provide strategy and direction for the future of this vital resource and the industries it supports.”

Recent evidence suggesting that the effects of global warming will occur earlier than expected will be presented at SFM 2009 by University of Waterloo professor and best-selling author Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon, who will also challenge attendees to rethink convention when it comes to sustaining Canada’s forests. According to Homer-Dixon, many of Canada’s ecological systems are simply too complex to be managed precisely and it’s time to concentrate on a new approach that focuses on resiliency (designing ecosystems that can withstand shock and adapt) and triage (identifying which areas of forest will survive and which areas need to be sacrificed).

“We’re in a world that I would categorize as a world of uncertainty as opposed to a world of risk,” says Homer-Dixon. “There’s a lot of warming in the pipeline and much more to come. What we need to do right now is preserve as much ecological and genetic diversity as possible for our children and grandchildren.”

Highlights of the event – which is expected to bring together several hundred research scientists, industry experts, Aboriginal leaders, politicians and representatives from major forest research organizations – include:

· Opening Plenary by Dr. C. S. (Buzz) Holling (Tuesday, April 21, 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.). Known for developing many of the concepts of complex dynamics and ecosystem resiliency (designing systems that can withstand shock without catastrophic failure), Holling will address the need for a new phase of innovation in the forest industry in order to adapt to climate change. He will compare his past involvement with key organizations to his current work with the Resilience Alliance to demonstrate how industry organizations can avoid the typical cycle of innovation, growth, stalemate or collapse by creating a more continual cycle of innovation that is better equipped to respond to change.

· Making the Impossible Possible, an address by world renowned strategist Dr. Peter Senge (Wednesday, April 22, 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.). Senge will examine how many well-intentioned efforts fail because the key parties don’t have the capacity to work together effectively. Reflecting on experiences from diverse cross-boundary and cross-sector collaborations, he will share tools and learning processes that will help the forestry industry make meaningful progress as it grapples with environmental woes and takes steps to a more sustainable – or resilient – world.

· Should the concept of sustainability guide forestry policy in the face of earlier-than-expected effects of global warming? Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon, a University of Waterloo professor and best-selling author, will challenge conventional ideas about the future of Canada’s forests as he argues it should not (Thursday, April 23, 8:50 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.). Homer-Dixon, whose father is a retired forester and who worked as a timber cruiser himself in his late teens, will share his skepticism about managing resources for future generations when it’s impossible to know for certain what the future will bring. Instead, he will offer alternative methods for forest management in a world of rapidly-changing climate.

· World famous geopolitical analyst, author and film-maker, Dr. Gwynne Dyer, on his new book Climate Wars (Thursday, April 23, 10:30 a.m.). Dyer predicts that greater global warming will have a pronounced effect on the Canadian climate and forest ecosystems in the coming years. While there may be ways to slow it down, he stresses the need for adaptation as a necessary part of any intelligent strategy for the future of the forest industry.

· 20 Partner-Researcher Showcases will cover a wide range of forest management topics such as forest-regeneration, succession and dynamics, carbon trading, decision support systems, Aboriginal tenure and trade-off analysis. Attendees will learn the latest techniques and advances relating to practical matters facing them in the field.

In addition to providing a unique perspective on issues considered vital to sustaining Canada’s forest resources and industries, the conference will also feature a panel discussion led by Dr. Peter Duinker, Project Manager of the Forest Futures Project, who will unveil the project’s key findings (Thursday, April 23). A “Carrefour” of kiosks, presentation booths and research posters will also be featured (Tuesday, April 21) as an ideal opportunity for networking and sharing of ideas.

“For years we’ve been assuming that we can establish with some degree of certainty what the future will be and then managing our forests to achieve that,” says Holling. “Now, with the uncertainty of climate change, it’s impossible to establish those fixed futures and that’s why there’s such an overwhelming call for a much more adaptive approach moving forward.”

For the conference program, please visit www.sfmnetwork.ca.