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Key Message

The management of natural resources is on the frontline of the struggle for more sustainable and equitable development.

Team


Henry David Venema· Henry David Venema
Director - Sustainable Natural Resources Management
Alec Crawford· Alec Crawford
Project Manager
Anne Hammill· Anne Hammill
Senior Researcher
Brian Davy· Brian Davy
Associate
Bryan Oborne· Bryan Oborne
Associate
Darren A. Swanson· Darren A. Swanson
Senior Project Manager
Dimple Roy· Dimple Roy
Manager, Sustainable Natural Resources Management
Keith Bezanson· Keith Bezanson
Senior Fellow
Matthew McCandless· Matthew McCandless
Project Manager
Ola Ullsten· Ola Ullsten
Senior Fellow
Richard Grosshans· Richard Grosshans
Associate
Robert McLeman· Robert McLeman
Associate
Stephan Barg· Stephan Barg
Associate
Stephen Tyler· Stephen Tyler
Associate
Tony Hodge· Tony Hodge
Associate
Vivek Voora· Vivek Voora
Project Manager
Richard Lawford· Richard Lawford
Associate

Natural Resources

Building resilient ecosystems

What's New in Natural Resources?

  • Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: Advancing the geoengineering debate at the Arctic Council
    (PDF - 640 kb)
    The Arctic is like the canary in the coalmine, warning us about the increasing impact of climate change, which is felt first there. In 2007, the Arctic ice cap shrunk to its smallest size ever recorded, 37 per cent below the recorded average. Its abrupt decline, which deviates widely from the largely linear and predictable trend observed over the past few decades, has alarmed the scientific community and suggests we may be closer to a dangerous "tipping point" than previously anticipated. At the same time, economic globalization is coming to this marginalized region at last through increased resource exploitation, leading in turn to further emissions of greenhouse gases and further climate change.

    As unsavoury as it may be, this paper will argue that we must investigate geoengineering as an emergency option in case the mitigation regime fails. Given the dramatic consequences of climate change in the Arctic and the role of this region in the global climate, the Arctic countries have a special responsibility to lead this investigation and the debate surrounding it. As the only circumpolar governance forum on environmental issues, the Arctic Council is an obvious venue for this process. The paper explores the state of global geoengineering governance and how it should be constructed, and how the Arctic Council can contribute.

  • Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Project Area Ecosystem Services Valuation Assessment (PDF - 2.5 mb)
    Pimachiowin Aki Corp. is a non-profit organization working to establish a World Heritage Site within an area of about 40,000 square kilometers of intact boreal forest on the Ontario-Manitoba border. The non-profit group asked IISD to provide an estimate of the economic value of the services provided by Pimachiowin Aki’s natural environments to both residents and non-residents.

    While some spiritual and cultural benefits could not be easily valued in economic terms, ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, tourism, clean air and water resources do indeed have measureable economic value. The measurements are not exact, and, some benefits cannot be measured in dollar amounts, but using a valuation approach, the overall ecosystem service value provided by the Pimachiowin Aki was estimated to be approximately CDN$121.35 to $130.30 million per year.

    A summary of the report (PDF - 2.2 mb) is also available.

  • Ecohealth and Watersheds: Ecosystem Approaches to Re-integrate Water Resources Management with Health and Well-being
    Our health and well-being are linked to the watersheds in which we live, but our experience with managing watersheds for health is limited. This publication presents a new field of research, policy and practice that is addressing this need by focusing on watersheds as settings to integrate ecosystem management and public health.The reader is introduced to a range of international innovations—including two complementary approaches to health and the environment: ecohealth, which argues that human health and well-being are not only dependent on ecosystems but are also important outcomes of effective ecosystem management; and watershed-based integrated water resources management (IWRM), which is based on the premise that watersheds are appropriate units for managing social-ecological systems.

    The benefits of IWRM for health, social equity and social-ecological resilience are examined, emphasizing the potential role of well-managed watershed systems as buffers against environmental hazards and disasters, as well as new-generation settings for governance, social learning and human well-being. The paper highlights the need for integrated frameworks and governance—especially those that can speak to the converging agendas of public health, development and water resources management communities. Key issues are described, laying the foundations for future research, policy and outreach.

    A stand-alone Executive Summary (PDF - 120 kb) in English, Spanish and French is also available.

The Sustainable Natural Resources Management (SNRM) program carries out policy research, provides advice and builds capacity for integrated, participatory and sustainable natural resources management. IISD's work in Sustainable Natural Resources Management recognizes that the litmus test of good policy—regardless of its origins (global, federal, provincial, municipal)—is if it promotes local resilience. IISD believes that adaptive management builds resilient ecosystems. "Adaptive management" views each management action as an opportunity to further learn how to adapt to changing circumstances—learning by judicious doing. IISD is committed to the research, dissemination and application of those policies, tools and techniques at all scales that build community-level resilience.

The SNRM program's current projects focus on Western Canadian water and agriculture. The Prairie Water Policy Symposium, held in 2005 in Winnipeg, convened 100 water experts to discuss IISD's research on cumulative stresses on prairie water and the capacity to manage adaptively. IISD is now pursuing policy research on the conjunction of Integrated Water Resources Management and Payments for Ecosystem Services in the Canadian Prairie context.

Application of the tools and methodologies being developed by the SNRM program extend well beyond the Canadian Prairies. SNRM's international work also emphasizes building community-scale resilience to environmental stressors such as climate change and natural hazards. The uniquely tragic events of the 2004 Asian tsunami spurred members of IISD's SNRM team to undertake Natural Disasters and Resource Rights: Building Resilience, Rebuilding Lives, a project funded by IISD's Innovation Fund. The project examined the role of resource rights (such as ownership of land, and access to sea and forest products) in community resilience to natural disasters and the effectiveness of post-disaster reconstruction.

IISD's work in the field of natural resources follows a tradition of non-partisan, multi-disciplinary research leading to practical policy advice, and cuts across the following areas.

Contents