Implications of Climate Change in British Columbia’s Southern Interior Forests conference

• Start Date: April 26, 2005
• End Date: April 27, 2005
• City: Revelstoke, BC

To download the conference summary for this event, click here. This is a 3.8 MB PDF file.

Conference description

On the first day of this two day event, about 115 participants learned about climate models and what they are projecting for British Columbia. They heard experts speak about the implications of a changing climate for fire, insects, ecosystems, biodiversity, birds, and mountain caribou. On the second morning, presentations were on the use of models to visualize climate change, on responses of the Ministry of Forests to climate change, and on approaches for resource managers who need to plan for the uncertainties of a changing climate. The second afternoon was spent in breakout sessions, trying to put the knowledge gained at the workshop into practice. Using case studies for a managed forest and a protected area, workshop participants reviewed management objectives, identified vulnerabilities, and suggested adaptation strategies.

Our workshop was attended by about 15 students from Selkirk College, as part of their field school. Thanks to the Community Initiatives Program of the Columbia Basin Trust, a class of Biology 11 students and a class of Geography 12 students from the Revelstoke Secondary School were able to attend parts of the workshop.

The financial and in-kind support from these agencies was important to the success of this conference:

• BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection
• Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Network
• Canadian Forest Service
• Canadian Institute of Climate Studies
• Columbia Basin Trust
• Downie Timber
• Environment Canada
• Parks Canada
• Pope and Talbot
• Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation
• Revelstoke Credit Union
• Royal BC Museum
• Tembec Forest Industries
• University of British Columbia
• US Geological Survey