Forest Biodiversity and Grassland Ecosystems

Resource management can be used to sustain natural processes and conditions in forested and grassland areas.

A range of wildlife and plant species benefit from conserving representative amounts of old growth forests and imitating natural patterns of disturbance.

Global warming and climate change is happening and it is a challenge the entire world is facing. History has taught us that mankind is at it best when it’s most needed. This does not mean, however, that we should sit back and wait until everything solves itself. Instead, we should get up, study the problem, think of possible solutions and come up with a well designed plan.

A New Climate for Conservation Nature, Carbon and Climate Change in British Columbia is an example of this kind of initiative. In this study, researchers present key recommendations on how to address climate change and changes in biodiversity. The paper first discusses the importance of British Columbia's biodiversity, the current condition of the climate state, its impact on B.C.'s biological diversity, future ecosystem, species and genetic responses, and finally resilience and ecological adaptation. The study continues with an overview of the natural capital and the ecosystem services, the role of ecosystems in climate change, the changing policy in forest and carbon mitigation in British Columbia, the emerging research into forest and carbon dynamics and the current forest and carbon mitigation pilots.

Based on their study, the researchers have come up with 6 key recommendations. First of all, it is important to make sure that the nature conservation strategies and the climate action strategies will become integrated. The second recommendation that they put forward is that the core protected areas should be broadened into a climate conservation network. Besides covering more ground, it is important that new tools, legislation and incentives will be introduced. Because of it significance, the researchers focus on one specific incentive as a separate recommendation: provide incentives for stewardship in every sector. Basically, this means getting everyone involved in every possible area. The fifth recommendation that the researchers put forward is that British Columbia should take the lead on carbon and biodiversity valuation because British Columbia is well positioned at the institutional, legal, social, ecological and economic levels to take advantage of the emerging economy of natural carbon sequestration. Finally, it is recommended that the principle that humans are part of nature and that our survival is intertwined with nature's survival will be established.

Studying global warming and climate change and the effects they have on biodiversity is important. In order to do this well, all the variables and their connections should be thoroughly investigated. Once this is done, a clear and global plan can be designed to address the challenges we are facing.

Source: A New Climate for Conservation Nature, Carbon and Climate Change in British Columbia