Climate change and protected areas policy, planning and management in Canada's boreal forest

For over a decade, the international scientific community and protected areas professionals have recognized that climate change will have critical implications for protected areas policy, planning and management. However, only a limited literature to date has focused on the implications of climate change for specific protected areas jurisdictions (i.e., national and/or provincial/territorial parks systems). This paper provides an overview of the potential impacts of climate change on Canada's system of boreal protected areas, highlighting the cross-jurisdictional policy, planning and management sensitivities in this biome. Results of a nation-wide climate change survey with protected area organizations are also presented, which reveal a strong incongruity between the perceived salience of climate change for protected area policy and management and a lack of available resources to provide capacity to deal with the challenge of climate change adaptation. To safeguard against the limitations of traditional protected areas system planning, and to ensure the persistence of boreal ecodiversity over the 21st century and beyond, we call for more rigorous and practical discussion by Canadian protected areas agencies and organizations on the issue of climate change and for a collective and proactive management response. Key words: protected areas, climate change, boreal forest, Canada, adaptation, impacts, policy, planning, management

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Projected Impacts of Climate Change on the Protected Areas of Myanmar

Climate ◽

10.3390/cli8090099 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. 99

Author(s):

Thazin Nwe ◽

Robert J. Zomer ◽

Richard T. Corlett

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Spatial Modeling ◽

Protected Area ◽

Economic Problems ◽

Global Environmental ◽

Elevational Range ◽

Environmental Stratification ◽

Open Forests ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Protected areas are the backbone of biodiversity conservation but are fixed in space and vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change. Myanmar is exceptionally rich in biodiversity but has a small protected area system. This study aimed to assess the potential vulnerability of this system to climate change. In the absence of good biodiversity data, we used a spatial modeling approach based on a statistically derived bioclimatic stratification (the Global Environmental Stratification, GEnS) to understand the spatial implications of projected climate change for Myanmar’s protected area system by 2050 and 2070. Nine bioclimatic zones and 41 strata were recognized in Myanmar, but their representation in the protected area system varied greatly, with the driest zones especially underrepresented. Under climate change, most zones will shift upslope, with some protected areas projected to change entirely to a new bioclimate. Potential impacts on biodiversity include mountaintop extinctions of species endemic to isolated peaks, loss of climate specialists from small protected areas and those with little elevational range, and woody encroachment into savannas and open forests as a result of both climate change and rising atmospheric CO2. Myanmar needs larger, better connected, and more representative protected areas, but political, social, and economic problems make this difficult.

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Impacts of Climate Change and Climate Variability on Wildlife Resources in Southern Africa: Experience from Selected Protected Areas in Zimbabwe

Selected Studies in Biodiversity ◽

10.5772/intechopen.70470 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Olga L. Kupika ◽

Edson Gandiwa ◽

Shakkie Kativu ◽

Godwell Nhamo

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Variability ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

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Can protected areas mitigate the impacts of climate change on bird's species and communities?

Diversity and Distributions ◽

10.1111/ddi.12426 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

pp. 625-637 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Pierre Gaüzère ◽

Frédéric Jiguet ◽

Vincent Devictor

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

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Projected impacts of climate change on a continent-wide protected area network

Ecology Letters ◽

10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01297.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 420-431 ◽

Cited By ~ 179

Author(s):

David G. Hole ◽

Stephen G. Willis ◽

Deborah J. Pain ◽

Lincoln D. Fishpool ◽

Stuart H. M. Butchart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Protected Area ◽

Area Network ◽

Protected Area Network ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

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Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Distribution of Major Non-Timber Forest Plants in Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Nepal

Resources ◽

10.3390/resources7040066 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 66 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Vishwas Chitale ◽

Ramesh Silwal ◽

Mir Matin

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Products ◽

Ecological Significance ◽

Maxent Model ◽

Planning And Management ◽

Non Timber Forest Products ◽

Forest Plants ◽

Effective Conservation ◽

Anthropogenic Drivers ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

For many decades, non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been an important livelihood commodity in Nepal as a traditional source of food, fiber, and medicines. However, the importance of NTFPs have been recognized only recently. NTFPs form more than 5% of Nepal’s national gross domestic product and are facing threat due to anthropogenic drivers and changing climate. Understanding of the current distribution and future dynamics of NTFPs is essential for effective conservation planning and management. In the maiden attempt, we used the Maxent model to understand the current and predict the future distribution by 2050 of 10 major NTFPs in Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Nepal. The prediction accuracy of the models calculated based on the area under curve was high (>90%) and the prediction by 2050 highlights potential increase in distribution range of seven NTFPs and potential decrease in that of three NTFPs in the study area. The results from our study could play an important role in planning and management of these NTFPs considering their high economic and ecological significance and sensitivity to predicted climate change.

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Tropical Protected Areas Under Increasing Threats from Climate Change and Deforestation

Land ◽

10.3390/land7030090 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 90 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Karyn Tabor ◽

Jennifer Hewson ◽

Hsin Tien ◽

Mariano González-Roglich ◽

David Hole ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Service Provision ◽

Protected Area ◽

Environmental Conservation ◽

Risk Category ◽

Regional Patterns ◽

Climate Risks ◽

Humid Tropical Forest ◽

Global Drivers

Identifying protected areas most susceptible to climate change and deforestation represents critical information for determining conservation investments. Development of effective landscape interventions is required to ensure the preservation and protection of these areas essential to ecosystem service provision, provide high biodiversity value, and serve a critical habitat connectivity role. We identified vulnerable protected areas in the humid tropical forest biome using climate metrics for 2050 and future deforestation risk for 2024 modeled from historical deforestation and global drivers of deforestation. Results show distinct continental and regional patterns of combined threats to protected areas. Eleven Mha (2%) of global humid tropical protected area was exposed to the highest combined threats and should be prioritized for investments in landscape interventions focused on adaptation to climate stressors. Global tropical protected area exposed to the lowest deforestation risk but highest climate risks totaled 135 Mha (26%). Thirty-five percent of South America’s protected area fell into this risk category and should be prioritized for increasing protected area size and connectivity to facilitate species movement. Global humid tropical protected area exposed to a combination of the lowest deforestation and lowest climate risks totaled 89 Mha (17%), and were disproportionately located in Africa (34%) and Asia (17%), indicating opportunities for low-risk conservation investments for improved connectivity to these potential climate refugia. This type of biome-scale, protected area analysis, combining both climate change and deforestation threats, is critical to informing policies and landscape interventions to maximize investments for environmental conservation and increase ecosystem resilience to climate change.

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The Sustainability of Thailand’s Protected-Area System under Climate Change

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13052868 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2868

Author(s):

Nirunrut Pomoim ◽

Robert J. Zomer ◽

Alice C. Hughes ◽

Richard T. Corlett

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Protected Area ◽

Active Species ◽

Global Environmental ◽

Spatial Reorganization ◽

Bioclimatic Conditions ◽

Species Specific ◽

Environmental Stratification ◽

Earth System Models

Protected areas are the backbone of biodiversity conservation but vulnerable to climate change. Thailand has a large and well-planned protected area system, covering most remaining natural vegetation. A statistically derived global environmental stratification (GEnS) was used to predict changes in bioclimatic conditions across the protected area system for 2050 and 2070, based on projections from three CMIP5 earth system models and two representative concentration pathways (RCPs). Five bioclimatic zones were identified composed of 28 strata. Substantial spatial reorganization of bioclimates is projected in the next 50 years, even under RCP2.6, while under RCP8.5 the average upward shift for all zones by 2070 is 328–483 m and the coolest zone disappears with two models. Overall, 7.9–31.0% of Thailand’s land area will change zone by 2070, and 31.7–90.2% will change stratum. The consequences for biodiversity are less clear, particularly in the lowlands where the existing vegetation mosaic is determined largely by factors other than climate. Increasing connectivity of protected areas along temperature and rainfall gradients would allow species to migrate in response to climate change, but this will be difficult in much of Thailand. For isolated protected areas and species that cannot move fast enough, more active, species-specific interventions may be necessary.

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The capacity to adapt?: communities in a changing climate, environment, and economy on the northern Andaman coast of Thailand

10.31230/osf.io/kjfz2 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Nathan Bennett ◽

Philip Dearden ◽

Alin Kadfak

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Adaptive Capacity ◽

Environmental Degradation ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Multiple Scales ◽

Coastal Communities ◽

Economic Opportunities ◽

Management Interventions ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

The health and productivity of marine ecosystems, habitats, and fisheries are deteriorating on the Andaman coast of Thailand. Because of their high dependence on natural resources and proximity to the ocean, coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to climate-induced changes in the marine environment. These communities must also adapt to the impacts of management interventions and conservation initiatives, including marine protected areas, which have livelihood implications. Further, communities on the Andaman coast are also experiencing a range of new economic opportunities associated in particular with tourism and agriculture. These complex and ongoing changes require integrated assessment of, and deliberate planning to increase, the adaptive capacity of communities so that they may respond to: (1) environmental degradation and fisheries declines through effective management interventions or conservation initiatives, (2) new economic opportunities to reduce dependence on fisheries, and (3) the increasing impacts of climate change. Our results are from a mixed methods study, which used surveys and interviews to examine multiple dimensions of the adaptive capacity of seven island communities near marine protected areas on the Andaman coast of Thailand. Results show that communities had low adaptive capacity with respect to environmental degradation and fisheries declines, and to management and conservation interventions, as well as uneven levels of adaptive capacity to economic opportunities. Though communities and households were experiencing the impacts of climate change, especially storm events, changing seasons and weather patterns, and erosion, they were reacting to these changes with limited knowledge of climate change per se. We recommend interventions, in the form of policies, programs, and actions, at multiple scales for increasing the adaptive capacity of Thailand’s coastal communities to change. The analytical and methodological approach used for examining adaptive capacity could be easily modified and applied to other contexts and locales.

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The Influence of Changing Conservation Paradigms on Identifying Priority Protected Area Locations

Land Use, Climate Change and Biodiversity Modeling ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-619-0.ch014 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 286-302

Author(s):

Alan Grainger

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Carbon Cycling ◽

Conservation Planning ◽

Protected Area ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Complex Interactions ◽

Mitigate Climate Change ◽

Hydrological Services

Conservation planning for climate change adaptation is only one in a long sequence of conservation paradigms. To identify priority locations for protected areas it must compete with three other contemporary paradigms: conservation of ecosystem services, optimizing conservation of ecosystem services and poverty alleviation, and reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. This chapter shows how conservation paradigms evolved, discusses the merits of different approaches to modelling potential impacts of climate change on biodiversity, and describes the hybrid BIOCLIMA model and its application to Amazonia. It then discusses conservation planning applications of the three other contemporary paradigms, illustrated by examples from Amazonia and Kenya. It finds that rapid paradigm evolution is not a handicap if earlier paradigms can be nested within later ones. But more sophisticated planning tools are needed to identify optimal locations of protected areas when climate is changing, and to use protection to mitigate climate change. These should encompass the complex interactions between biodiversity, hydrological services, carbon cycling services, climate change, and human systems.

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