A business case for climate change adaptation by forest industry in central Canada: Presented at the CIF/IFC 2020 National Conference and 112th Annual General Meeting held 15–17 Sept. 2020

Abstract

Extreme weather events and increasing climatic uncertainty are already affecting the Canadian forest sector. Climate change projections indicate impacts will likely worsen with increasing risk to forest operations and resources. Despite the calls for adaptation, there is little evidence that adaptation is taking place, whether in terms of planning or practices. Much of the forest industry response to date has been ad hoc and reactive. In contrast, Louisiana-Pacific Canada Ltd. (LP) in Swan Valley, MB decided to proactively address climate impacts and risks. A Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) was completed to review past weather-related disruptions, identify their vulnerabilities to both the current weather extremes and to future climates. Through the help of an independent facilitator, the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers’ guidebook was tailored to meet LP’s context and needs. The CVA team identified a wide range of possible adaptation options and created business cases for short-listed adaption priorities that LP is beginning to pursue and implement. The outcomes from this effort show what is necessary to support an adaptation process that is mainstreamed into company decision-making procedures and can be applied more broadly across the Canadian forest sector. One key innovation was the incorporation of business cases into the assessment. Identifying and quantifying the expected benefits helped support vulnerability implementation in several different ways. Furthermore, at a more systemic level, the experience identifies the importance local knowledge plays in advancing adaptation action and how these local efforts can contribute towards supporting more effective climate adaptation action across the entire forest management system. This work also contributes to laying the groundwork for future policy focus, integrating science, and management into forest management systems.