Search

In 2015, The Truth and Reconciliation Report (TRC) was released in Canada, outlining 94 Calls to Action which, include pushing Canadian post-secondary institutions to ethically engage Indigenous communities and knowledge systems. This paper seeks to respond to the TRC by offering a spatial analysis of the differences, broadly conceived, between Indigenous and western ontological structures. We consider these differences in terms of 'circles and lines' through a novice, settler understanding of how Mi'kmaw concepts of etuaptmumk (two-eyed seeing), netukulimk (conservation laws) and m'sɨt No'kmaq (all our relations) can be brought to support decolonial teaching and learning about such important and urgent matters as climate change. A related goal in this paper is pedagogic: we hope our own ambivalent learning here can be used as an example to reflect deeply on how settlers like us might/should/can't work with the ethical, political, and practical challenges of responding to the TRC in our research, involving, and considering Indigenous ways of knowing and being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canadian environmental governance formally began in the 1970s with an ambitious vision critical of the status quo. Until the Justin Trudeau government from 2015, this vision had been largely eroded when compared to the transformative environmental ideas, ambition, and efforts initially put forth. Drawing on elite interviews in Canadian environmental politics and an articulation of the dominant system, we develop and demonstrate a novel explanation for Canada's systematic failure to act more ambitiously on the environment. We argue that this failure is the result of progressive selection of Canadian environmental governance in relation to the dominant system at key selection moments. It is at those moments when the environment is least prioritized and the economy most urgently needs attention that environmental governance suffers the most. The paper concludes by emphasizing how features of the dominant political-economic system not typically thought of as environmental can have systematic environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canadian Arctic is a complex and fragile region which is currently experiencing unprecedented environmental degradation due to climate change. The effects of climate change on the Canadian Arctic is just one example where we're seeing the decline of ecosystems and socio-culture-environmental traditions. Mineral development in this already fragile ecosystem is indeed a contentious and high-risk endeavour. However, mining is currently one of the few industries and economic development opportunities in the Canadian Arctic, which is one of the poorest regions in Canada. Unfortunately, mining struggles to achieve environmental sustainability due to mineral development's inherent trade-off of short-term economic gains for long-term environmental impacts. Local communities are usually left with trying to find this balance. This paper analyzes how we can apply decision-making techniques and environmental management tools for the Canadian Arctic's mining industry to promote better environmental sustainability, understanding of environmental-economic trade-offs, and community involvement. Specific decision-making methodologies and management tools are analyzed to develop, discuss, and explore their application for the Canadian Arctic. This paper concludes with a framework that brings together the analyzed methods and Arctic specificities; to prioritize environmental issues and to ensure long-term thriving communities in the Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the consideration of climate change in environmental assessment (EA) in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, British Columbia, Canada. Based on an analysis of recent EA applications, results show that climate change is considered, to some extent, in all phases of EA for most LNG projects. However, stakeholders indicate a dissatisfaction with practice – often based on expectations about EA that exceed what it can deliver as a project-based tool, and sometimes based on an incomplete understanding of existing climate change legislation and targets. Results also indicate inconsistent application of existing climate change requirements across project EAs. Notwithstanding proponents often addressing climate change in their EA applications, climate change tends to receive little attention in project decision and approval conditions. The paper concludes with recommendations for better practice climate change consideration in EA that is commensurate with the scope and scale of project-level issues, complemented by more strategic EA and economic instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying a proposed project's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and scrutinizing their effect on climate change are increasingly required in Canadian environmental assessment (EA) processes. This paper investigates to what degree an EA authority's intention for the inclusion of GHG considerations has resulted in implementation into environmental impact statements (EISs) by proponents and how these considerations influence the achievement of GHG reduction targets. Fifteen projects across five Canadian jurisdictions were reviewed. The examination revealed that well-developed intentions by EA authorities did not necessarily result in proponents following guidelines for GHG consideration in their EISs due to the absence of regulation or clearly defined policies. Conversely, even though intentions by an EA authority are underdeveloped in some jurisdictions, EISs sometimes exhibited thorough GHG assessments due to mechanisms in the EA process through which GHG consideration by the proponent could be compelled. The examination did not reveal how GHG consideration in EA currently assists in meeting reduction targets. A GHG emissions limit imposed during the EA process could link EA to success in meeting these targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Weather is a key source of marine risk, but relationships between fishing activity, safety, and weather remain poorly understood. Critically, the fit between available marine forecast products, fish harvesters' needs, and harvester's decision-making processes has not been rigorously assessed. This paper addresses these gaps by documenting a) weather-related decision-making by harvesters, and its relationship to forecasts across multiple regions and fisheries on Canada's East coast (Newfoundland) and b) the dynamics of forecast production priorities. Methods: A multi-disciplinary, community-engaged research approach, conducted in partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association (NL-FHSA). Data consist of semi-structured interviews with fish harvesters and weather forecasters, focused on marine forecast production and use. Results: Results emphasize that there is a subjective "art" to both production and use of marine forecasts. Forecasters and harvesters share several common values regarding forecasts, but different emphases: forecasters favor some combination of accuracy, consistency, and utility, while harvesters are largely concerned with utility. Finally, harvesters' decision-making is based on nuanced and contextual interpretations of a few key hazards (winds and, to a lesser extent, waves). Conclusion: This community-engaged research has triggered experimentation with forecasts tailored to fisheries utility within Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). It lays the groundwork for ongoing, mutually beneficial dialogue between forecasters and harvesters, engaging harvesters with the forecasting process while familiarizing forecasters with harvester's decision-making processes. Ongoing industry partnerships (NL-FHSA) continue to sustain momentum from this study towards further enhancing the utility of future marine forecasts for small-scale harvesters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An objective analysis is one of the main components of data assimilation. By combining observations with the output of a predictive model we combine the best features of each source of information: the complete spatial and temporal coverage provided by models, with a close representation of the truth provided by observations. The process of combining observations with a model output is called an analysis. To produce an analysis requires the knowledge of observation and model errors, as well as its spatial correlation. This paper is devoted to the development of methods of estimation of these error variances and the characteristic length-scale of the model error correlation for its operational use in the Canadian objective analysis system. We first argue in favor of using compact support correlation functions, and then introduce three estimation methods: the Hollingsworth–Lönnberg (HL) method in local and global form, the maximum likelihood method (ML), and thediagnostic method. We perform one-dimensional (1D) simulation studies where the error variance and true correlation length are known, and perform an estimation of both error variances and correlation length where both are non-uniform. We show that a local version of the HL method can capture accurately the error variances and correlation length at each observation site, provided that spatial variability is not too strong. However, the operational objective analysis requires only a single and globally valid correlation length. We examine whether any statistics of the local HL correlation lengths could be a useful estimate, or whether other global estimation methods such as by the global HL, ML, orshould be used. We found in both 1D simulation and using real data that the ML method is able to capture physically significant aspects of the correlation length, while most other estimates give unphysical and larger length-scale values. Implications: This paper describes a proposed improvement of the objective analysis of surface pollutants at Environment and Climate Change Canada (formerly known as Environment Canada). Objective analyses are essentially surface maps of air pollutants that are obtained by combining observations with an air quality model output, and are thought to provide a complete and more accurate representation of the air quality. The highlight of this study is an analysis of methods to estimate the model (or background) error correlation length-scale. The error statistics are an important and critical component to the analysis scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses how 10 localities in the USA and England, recognised as leaders in clean energy and climate action, have used collaborative approaches to develop local climate change plans and energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy initiatives. It examines these planning and policy-making processes in the context of Margerum's [2008. A typology of collaboration efforts in environmental management.Environmental Management, 41 (4), 487–500] typology of “action”, “organizational”, and “policy-level” collaborations, as well as Gray's [1989.Collaborating: finding common ground for multiparty problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass] classification of collaboration in the “problem-setting”, “direction-setting”, and “implementation” phases. We conducted interviews with local elected officials, municipal staff, energy professionals, and citizen volunteers in each community, supplemented with an analysis of their adopted energy, climate change, and land-use plans. We find that despite the different government structures and political contexts between the two countries, there was a surprising amount of commonality in how the case study localities used collaborative planning to develop local climate plans and clean energy initiatives. These processes were most often initiated by local elected officials and/or high-level staff members, and then carried out in collaboration with local third-sector organisations and other community stakeholders. In the USA, collaboration was strongest at the policy level and in the direction-setting phase, with the distinguishing feature that citizen advisory boards or stakeholder working groups often took a more active role in shaping local plans and policies. The English localities had some of those same types of collaborations, but were more likely to also employ action collaboration, in the implementation phase, in which third-sector organisations coordinated with the locality to directly provide clean energy services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of homogeneous precipitation regions is essential in the planning, design and management of water resources systems. Regions are identified using a technique that partitions climate sites into groups based on the similarity of their attributes; the procedure is known as regionalization. In this paper the ability of four attribute sets to form large, coherent precipitation zones is assessed in terms of the regional homogeneity of precipitation statistics and computational efficiency. The outcomes provide guidance for effective attribute selection for future studies in Canada. The attributes under consideration include location parameters (latitude, longitude), distance to major water bodies, site elevation and atmospheric variables modelled at different pressure levels. The analysis is conducted in two diverse climate regions within Canada including the Prairie and the Great Lakes–St Lawrence lowlands regions. The method consists of four main steps: (i) formation of the attribute sets; (ii) determination of the preferred number of regions (selection of thec-value) into which the sites are partitioned; (iii) regionalization of climate sites using the fuzzyc-means clustering algorithm; and (iv) validation of regional homogeneity usingL-moment statistics. The results of the attribute formation,c-value selection, regionalization and validation processes are presented and discussed in a comparative analysis. Based on the results it is recommended for both regions to use location parameters including latitude, longitude and distance to water bodies (in the Great Lakes region) to form precipitation regions and to consider atmospheric variables for future (climate change) applications of the regionalization procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Climate drives ecosystem processes and impacts biodiversity. Biodiversity patterns over large areas, such as Canada's boreal, can be monitored using indirect indicators derived from remotely sensed imagery. In this paper, we characterized the historical space–time relationships between climate and a suite of indirect indicators of biodiversity, known as the Dynamic Habitat Index (DHI) to identify where climate variability is co-occurring with changes in biodiversity indicators. We represented biodiversity using three indirect indicators generated from 1987 to 2007 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer images. By quantifying and clustering temporal variability in climate data, we defined eight homogeneous climate variability zones, where we then analyzed the DHI. Results identified unique areas of change in climate, such as the Hudson Plains, that explain significant variations in DHI. Past variability in temperatures and growing season index had a strong influence on observed vegetation productivity and seasonality changes throughout Canada's boreal. Variation in precipitation, for most of the area, was not associated with DHI changes. The methodology presented here enables assessment of spatial–temporal relationships between biodiversity and climate variability and characterizes distinctive zones of variation that may be used for prioritization and planning to ensure long-term biodiversity conservation in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores Canada's approach to water governance. It argues that fragmented governance has had negative impacts on Canada's ability to manage water resources adequately (particularly in the context of urbanization, agriculture and resource extraction), and to deal with new issues (such as climate change). Further, it argues that Canada's highly decentralized approach to water governance creates challenges of integration, coordination and data availability. The paper explores possible future strategies for innovations in water governance that may have the potential to improve water management outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the paradoxical issues surrounding long-distance tourism to view polar bears, a form of tourism which is disproportionately (on a per capita basis) responsible for greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions that are negatively affecting survival chances of the species. It also notes that the phenomenon of “last chance tourism” is influencing more tourists to visit the region. The paper describes and explains the evidence that climate change is causing a substantial reduction in sea ice, vital for Arctic wildlife species survival, particularly mega fauna, such as polar bears. Churchill, Canada is one of the few places where tourists can easily view polar bears. A total of 334 on-site tourist surveys and 18 in-depth interviews were conducted to help evaluate tourist perceptions of climate change and to estimate their GHG emissions related to polar bear viewing tourism. Polar bear viewing tourists perceive climate change to be negatively impacting polar bears but do not necessarily understand how they themselves contribute to GHG emissions, or understand offsetting possibilities. The polar bear viewing industry is estimated to contribute 20,892 t/CO2 per season. Mitigation strategies, including reduction and offsetting programs are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors such as growth in human and livestock populations, climate change, and the globalization of trade are creating favourable conditions for the emergence of new and more complex public health threats. One Health (sometimes referred to as One World One Health) is an approach that considers complex public health threats through an integrated lens of animal, human and ecosystem health. Within the last five years, the One Health approach has been gaining momentum in the international and national community. This paper will focus on human population growth, food and water security and climate change as three factors that have a major influence on the emergence or re-emergence of disease and highlight the importance of facilitating understanding, integration and collaboration between the different sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Permafrost mounds covered by open or dense forests (or krummholz - stunted trees) correspond to the category of wooded palsas and wooded peat plateaux extensively distributed in wetlands of North America. Very few data exist on the origin and development of wooded palsas, in particular their inception during the Holocene and the structure and dynamics of their forest/krummholz cover over time. Aim: The main objective of this paper is to fill the gap of knowledge on the origin and structure of wooded palsas, with a focus on wooded palsas located at their range limit at the treeline in eastern Canada. Methods: Each of the nine sites studied was surveyed along a line transect to measure the topography, to record the vegetation cover, to infer the snow thickness and to measure the thickness of the active layer at the time of sampling. The size structure of the black spruce (Picea mariana) populations of three dense wooded palsas was described. Basal stem discs of living and dead Picea were recovered for age determination, except in one site where only dead stems were sampled. The minimum age of wooded palsas at each site was evaluated based on tree-ring dating of the oldest stems and radiocarbon dating of the organic layers. Results: The inception of wooded palsas occurred during two principal periods of permafrost expansion as shown by the combined tree-ring and radiocarbon dates obtained for each of the nine studied sites. Three wooded palsas formed between 750 and 1000 AD, whereas the inception of the other palsas occurred during the 1500s. The up-thrusting of the wetland surface associated with permafrost growth facilitated tree establishment more intensively during the first period than during the second period when full Little Ice Age conditions prevailed in wind-exposed peatlands. Conclusions: The maintenance of a permafrost mound under forest cover is a rare situation in northern environments, and wooded palsas in eastern Canada form peculiar ecosystems where forest and permafrost coexist; these have survived over the last 500 to 1000 years. It is believed that the inception of wooded palsas was facilitated during a prolonged period of snow-poor winter conditions. Tree establishment was possible due to well-drained soil conditions associated with palsa up-thrusting. Although thicker snowpack preventing deeper frost penetration into the soil is maintained by the development of a forest/krummholz cover, wooded palsas at the treeline can survive because of low annual temperatures, reduced solar radiation beneath the tree canopy, variable accumulation and duration of annual snowpack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia and Canada have been active participants in international climate change negotiations since the early 1990s and have often shared negotiating positions. This paper discusses why, in spite of considerable similarities in national circumstances, the Canadian government chose to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, while the Australian government decided against doing so. It is argued that a range of factors led to a narrower conception of the national interest in the case of Australia, which encouraged a focus on the short-term, economic costs of implementing the Protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the status of policy studies on Global Climate Change and how renewable and high-efficiency generation technology can be part of the solution. It considers critical technologies and solutions toward realizing the targets set in the Kyoto treaty. Discussed is energy effi ciency in power generation, environmental benefits of high-effi ciency gas turbines in competitive energy markets which display less NOx and CO[sub 2] emissions per unit of power produced while providing power generators with the most competitive electricity, and experience in India in mitigating climate change with renewable energy as seen by the UN and an advisor to the Indian government in nonconventional energy sources. Also discussed is stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere that will present dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system as called for under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]