Northern Climate ExChange

May 2000 Workshop:
Taking Action on Climate Change in the Yukon

Contents

Appendix B -- Presentation Summaries

Northern Climate ExChange

Aynslie Ogden
Project/Research Officer
Northern Climate ExChange

The Northern Climate ExChange was established in February 2000. Funding for the centre was provided by the Federal Government's Climate Change Action Fund, Government of Yukon, and Yukon College. The work of the centre is guided by a Steering Committee composed of representatives from the Council of Yukon First Nations, Yukon Conservation Society, Environment Canada, Government of Yukon, Association of Yukon Communities, and Yukon College. This interdisciplinary, interjurisdictional centre was established in part to advance knowledge on the impacts of climate change in the north, facilitate adaptation to these potential changes, and increase science and research capacity among northerners.

The Northern Climate ExChange initiated several projects to undertake during its first year of operations. These 'quick-start' projects will help launch the centre, and build a foundation for future work. Projects underway at the centre include:

Detailed information on these projects can be found in the background information package for the workshop.

The participants of the May workshop, Taking Action on Climate Change in the Yukon, which include community organizations, Yukon First Nations, educators, industry representatives, municipal, territorial and federal governments, will be working towards the development of a Climate Change Action Plan for the Yukon. The main objective of this workshop is for participants to define the role of the Northern Climate ExChange, and other agencies/organizations, in developing and carrying out this plan.

The long-term vision for the centre will be determined in part by the participants of the workshop. We will also be visiting communities throughout the year to discuss the Action Plan and get feedback on the plan as it develops. A progress report on the Action Plan will be presented at the AAAS workshop in September, and a draft version of the plan will be presented at the Circumpolar Summit in Winter 2000/Spring 2001.

Post-glacial Caribou and Human Use of Alpine Snowpatch Habitats -- A Retrospective View of Climate Change in Southern Yukon

Rick Farnell
Caribou Biologist
Department of Renewable Resources, YTG

Multidisciplinary research is being carried out resulting from the serendipitous discovery of large concentrations of caribou dung and other organic remains, as well as evidence of prehistoric human hunting, on permanent alpine snow patches in southern Yukon. This discovery has drawn attention to the potential these kinds of sites have for the recovery and preservation of environmental, biological and cultural information spanning several thousand years. The exceptional preservation environment of alpine ice patches will assist in reconstructing the record of climate change in the southern Yukon, and form a basis for modeling former patterns of wildlife distribution. The unprecedented recovery of bow and arrow and atlatl fragments and shafts together with antler and stone projectile points provides one of the first opportunities in Yukon for the study of this little known component of human technology. Recovery of small and large mammal and bird remains provides opportunities for addressing issues of paleobiology. Using carbon dating and oxygen isotope ratios in the ice as well as interpretation of archived air photos (1944-1995) and annual measurement from permanent melt-back datums at reference sites will yield insight into cryosphere dynamics and climate change. Given the present rate of melt back these ice patches may disappear in 5 to 10 years.

Biophysical Impacts of Climate Change in the Southwest Yukon: Using Long-term Data Sets to Predict the Future

David Hik
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta

Global change models predict that most of the Yukon will become warmer and potentially wetter over the next 50 years. However, many of these predictions are based on extrapolation from a relatively poor database for this region. If global change models are going to be truly useful for developing mitigation and adaptation strategies it will be essential to have more detailed information available to make regional and local predictions more realistic and accurate. Since it will take many years to identify the gaps in our understanding and collect the necessary information, much of the refinement of climate change predictions will probably have to be made using existing long-term records, where they exist.

In the southwest Yukon, as a result of continuous scientific investigation over the past 40 years, there is a wealth of information about climatic, physical and biological change. This paper provides a brief summary of some of the types of information available from this region, the results of preliminary attempts to understand the pattern of these changes, and approaches for interpreting the mechanisms causing these changes. Although our understanding of mechanisms responsible for climatic, physical and biological change are still weak, long-term records are invaluable in this assessment. The usefulness of long-term records for predicting future impacts of climate change also improves as the human context of these changes are better understood.

Figure 1

Fig. 1.  The St. Elias Mountains in the southwest Yukon are the dominant physical feature of the southwest Yukon. These mountains intercept much of the moisture from air masses in the Pacific Ocean, contributing to the prevailing aridity of forested regions of the Yukon Plateau. The accumulation of snow in the alpine also contributes to the overall hydrological dynamics of the Yukon. Many of the effects of climate change can be studied and monitored in this region.


Figure 2

Fig. 2.  The climate of the southwest Yukon has always been dynamic and variable over a range of different spatial and temporal scales. The processes of interest in attempting to understand climate change occur at all of these scales, however most emphasis is placed on local events that occur at more frequent intervals (i.e. < 50 years). However, it is necessary to use long-term records to make predictions about climate change and adapt to these changes.

Several different sorts of datasets exist in the southwest Yukon. These include detailed records of processes at different scales including the following.

  1. Geological history: Studies have determined terrain structure, the nature of periglacial features, tectonic activity, and rates of mountain uplift in the St. Elias. Some of these studies have also been associated with attempts to determine terrain stability and potential hazards in relation to climate change. For example, slope instability may result following recent glacier retreat or catastrophic flooding from glacier-dammed lakes.
     
  2. Paleo-ecological records: Information about long-term vegetation change comes primarily from sediment cores from smaller lakes in the forested areas. In most cases these records extend over the entire post-glacial (Holocene) period (last 12,000 years), and in some cases for more than 30,000 year. Vegetation changes are determined based on changes in the abundance and distribution of pollen in the sediments. These analyses provide information about impacts of nutrient deposition from loess and volcanic ash on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, migration of species and forest succession, and overall ecosystem productivity.
     
  3. Paleo-climatic records: A detailed record of snow accumulation and temperature (inferred from oxygen isotope ratios) is available from ice-cores recovered from the summit plateau of Mt. Logan in 1980 by Gerald Holdsworth. This 120 m record provided estimates of annual climate conditions from 1736. A second icecore will be recovered from Mt. Logan in summer 2001 by the Geological Survey of Canada, which will provide new detailed information about annual climate history of the past 1000 years and trace metals.
     
  4. Dynamics of glaciers and rivers: Numerous studies have examined the dynamics of glaciers and rivers in the southwest Yukon. In general, valley glaciers have been retreating and wasting at low elevations since the end of the little ice age (mid-1800's). In addition, long-term studies of surge-type glaciers are being conducted by Garry Clarke. River flow information has been collected by Environment Canada for several decades. There is particular interest in understanding the effects of glacier retreat on sediment exposure in rivers and potential effects on fish and other aquatic organisms.
     
  5. Meteorological data: Environment Canada established two permanent weather stations at the airstrips in Haines Junction and Burwash Landing in the late 1960's which provide continuous long-term climate data in this region. Other stations in Whitehorse, Mayo and Dawson have operated for 60-100 years, however all five of these stations are located in forested valleys. Higher elevation climate data is available for shorter periods from a number of sites in the St. Elias and Ruby Range Mountains from several scientific studies over the past 40 years, however the overall network for monitoring climate in the southwest Yukon is very thin. Overall, there is an increase in mean annual temperature, with winter temperatures increasing more rapidly than summer temperatures.
     
  6. Dendrochronolgical studies: There have been several studies of tree-rings in the Kluane region. These have recorded slow patterns of tree establishment following disturbance (fire, spruce bark-beetle outbreaks). In one case, scars in tree rings have been used to infer the population dynamics of snowshoe hares over the past four centuries, and the relationship between sunspots, climate and 10-year fluctuations in snowshoe hare numbers.
     
  7. Ecological studies: Numerous ecological studies of insects, fish, birds, large and small mammals, and vegetation have been conducted in boreal forest and alpine ecosystems over the past 30 years. Most work on small mammals and vegetation has been conducted by researchers working out of the Arctic Institute of North America's Kluane Lake Field Station, and many of the large mammal and landscape studies have been conducted by biologists in Parks Canada and the Yukon Government. Nevertheless, there is still insufficient information to confidently predict effects of climate change on wildlife and vegetation.

What will be the impact of climate change on plants and animals? In general, we need to rely on historical correlations because difficult to conduct experiments on most animal species. For example, an analysis of lambing success and horn growth of Dall's sheep in the Ruby Range suggests that summer weather conditions are critical in determining both reproduction and horn growth. Similarly the over-winter survival of small mammals such as Arctic ground squirrels and collared pikas appears to be adversely influenced by winters with low snow-cover or late snowmelt. Attempts to experimentally increase air temperatures during the growing season suggest that changes in plant communities will occur slowly, while changes in the timing of snow-melt in spring suggest that primary productivity will change very quickly.

In summary, long-term records tell us about the past, and this information is necessary to help develop appropriate responses to future climate change. Nevertheless, interpretation of these patterns depends on the context of the results and this context will be determined by our values, concerns, experience and judgment. The record of Yukon's past climate and ecology is a reminder that dramatic changes have occurred in the past and are occurring now as the atmosphere of Earth is warmed by human activities. Although the impacts and consequences of past climate changes can be inferred from historical records, the future remains most uncertain.

Wolf Creek Research Basin -- An Overview

J.R. Janowicz
Water Resources Division,
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Whitehorse, Yukon

The Wolf Creek Research Basin project was initiated in 1992 to provide a dedicated site to carry out applied water related research in the Yukon Subarctic. The initiative was funded by the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (DIAND) Arctic Environmental Strategy (AES) with support from Environment Canada's National Hydrology Research Institute (NHRI). The AES program had the broad objective of establishing an enhanced water management regime by improving the Department's knowledge of Yukon waters and by measuring changes in Yukon waters.

The project was adopted by the Canadian Climate Program as a Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) basin to study the impacts of climate change. An initiative of the World Climate Program, the project has the major goal of improving the ability to model energy and water balance processes and assess the sensitivity of these processes to climate change. A group of researchers from six Canadian Universities are currently carrying water resource related work in the basin.

More recently Wolf Creek was selected as an Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) site as part of the national network for biodiversity monitoring. This move has resulted in the expansion of research activities to include vegetation, fishery and wildlife components leading an integration of the overall project.

Background

The Wolf Creek Research Basin project was initiated in 1992 to provide a dedicated site to carry out applied research in the Yukon subarctic. The initiative was funded by the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (DIAND) Arctic Environmental Strategy Program (AES) with support from Environment Canada's National Hydrology Research Institute (NHRI). The AES program had the broad objective to "preserve and enhance the integrity, health, biodiversity and productivity of Arctic ecosystems for the benefit of future generations". This was to be achieved using an ecosystem approach to integrate information from four areas: contaminants, waste, water and environment/economy.

The Wolf Creek Project progressed through three stages of development. Initially the Wolf Creek project had a water focus with the goal of establishing an enhanced water management regime by improving the Department's knowledge of Yukon waters and by measuring changes in Yukon waters. Specific objectives included characterizing the hydrologic and water quality regimes of a Yukon subarctic mountain stream, and, using the basin as a dedicated location for carrying out applied studies. The Department would benefit from a dedicated area to determine various water abstraction rates and amounts including evapotranspiration, interception, sublimation and infiltration, to calibrate hydrologic flow models; as well as improving our understanding of the energy and water balance processes. This information then can be readily transferred to other areas in the Territory for flood forecasting purposes, and for use in environmental impact assessments and water licence application reviews for mining, forestry and other industrial applications.

Significant support and assistance was provided by NHRI, who have a strong research interest in developing improved snow accumulation, snowmelt and regional evapotranspiration routines for hydrologic modelling purposes. Field process studies directed towards this goal were being conducted by NHRI at sites in the southern boreal forest, northern prairies and a subarctic-tundra transition region near Inuvik. A mountainous headwater research site was sought to provide data on source regions of large basins such as the Yukon and Mackenzie.

The second stage of development occurred with the designation of Wolf Creek as a Canadian Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Program site. An initiative of the World Climate Program, the project has the major goal of improving the ability to model energy and water balance processes and assess the sensitivity of these processes to climate change. At the North American scale two simultaneous projects are underway to study the Mississippi and Mackenzie River Basins. The central objective of the Canadian study is to develop the ability to model energy and water balance in the north at spatial and temporal scales of 100 square kilometres and one month respectively. Specific study sites had included Trail Valley and Havikpak Creeks near Inuvik, and Beartrap Creek in Prince Albert National Park. Wolf Creek near Whitehorse was accepted as a third GEWEX study site. A series of GEWEX studies were proposed and are underway by both the university and government sectors. Individual interests include watershed runoff modelling, permafrost characterization and modelling, snowmelt energy balance modelling, and a watershed segmentation and spatial scaling component.

The current stage of project development occurred with the designation of the site as an Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) site. The EMAN program was developed to monitor the impact of environmental stresses on Canadian ecosystems with a focus on the biological components of the environment. An EMAN network of approximately 100 stations, has been designed to provide a national perspective on how ecosystems are being affected leading to the development of control measures to minimize the impact.

Study area

The Wolf Creek basin is located 15 kilometres south of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory at approximately 61 degrees north latitude. The basin occupies a 195 km² area in the southern Yukon headwater region of the Yukon River . With a northeasterly aspect, elevations range from 800 to 2250 metres with the median elevation at 1325 metres. It is situated within the Boreal Cordillera Ecozone straddling the Southern Yukon Lakes and Yukon-Stikine Highlands Ecoregions (Environment Canada, 1995). The geological makeup is primarily sedimentary in nature comprised mainly of limestone, sandstone, siltstone and conglomerate. Some volcanic materials consisting of andesite and basalt are present with some intrusions of granite. The basin is overlain with a mantle of glacial till ranging from a thin veneer to depths of one to two metres. The deposits consist of glacial, glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine origins. Fine textured alluvium covers most of the valley floors adjacent to drainages. Upper elevations have shallow deposits of colluvial material with frequent bedrock outcrops present. Valleys are extensively scoured. (Mougeot and Smith, 1994).

The basin is within the discontinuous/scattered permafrost zone with sporadic permafrost at higher elevations (Brown, 1977). The Wolf Creek watershed consists of three principle ecosystems, the boreal forest, subalpine taiga and alpine tundra with proportions of 22, 58 and 20 percent respectively (Francis, 1997). Treeline is located roughly at 1300 metres.

The basin has a sub-Arctic continental climate which is characterized by a large variation in temperature, low relative humidity and relatively low precipitation (Wahl et al., 1987). Mean annual temperature is in the order of -3°C. with a summer and winter monthly range of 5°C to 15°C, and -10°C to -20°C. respectively. Summer and winter extremes of 25°C and -40°C are not uncommon. An Arctic inversion develops during the winter months when air temperatures increases with elevation. Mean annual precipitation is 300 to 400 mm per year with approximately 40 percent falling as snow.

Basin streamflow characteristics and response are typical of a mountainous subarctic regime (Church, 1974). Streamflow response is characterized by peak flows of 10 to 20 m³/s in late May or early June due to snowmelt, with low flows occurring in March. Due to the significant lake storage and the proximity of Wolf Creek to Gulf of Alaska, minimum winter flows are relatively high, in the order of 0.4 m³/s (Janowicz, 1991). The basin is susceptible to intense summer rainstorm events which produce secondary peaks (Janowicz, 1986). Following extremely cold winters, defined as winters with at least 3 consecutive day periods with the mean daily temperature lower than -40°C, an aufeis formation at the outlet of Coal Lake, will completely restrict outflow from the lake and result in the formation of an ice dam. The ice dam has been observed to fail at the onset of snowmelt releasing a flood wave which may on occasion produce the annual peak (Jasek and Ford, 1997).

Future objectives

The Wolf Creek Research Basin project was initiated in 1992 to provide a dedicated site to carry out applied water related research in the Yukon Subarctic. The initiative was funded by the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Arctic Environmental Strategy (AES) with support from Environment Canada's National Hydrology Research Institute. The project was later adopted by the Canadian Climate Program as a Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) basin to study the impacts of climate change. More recently Wolf Creek was selected as an Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) site as part of the national network for biodiversity monitoring. This move has resulted in the expansion of research activities to include vegetation, fishery and wildlife components leading an integration of the overall project. The project also offers broader educational opportunities for local student demonstrations, field exercises and laboratory assignments.

The future objectives of the Wolf Creek Research Basin program are to develop and implement an integrated research and monitoring plan which enhances and expands existing biologically based activities, and strengthens the link between these with existing hydrometeorologically based activities. The research and monitoring plan should include local and public involvement including local information, while optimizing opportunities and connections with national and international programs. The project should include a strong information management and communication component. Linkages to the various policy sectors should be enhanced and further educational opportunities explored.

Cooperating agencies

References

Brown, R.J.E. 1977. Permafrost in Canada. Map compiled by R.J.E. Brown. In Hydrological Atlas of Canada. Environment Canada, Ottawa.

Church, M.A., 1974. Hydrology and permafrost with reference to northern North America. In Permafrost Hydrology, Proceedings Workshop Seminar, Canadian National Committee International Hydrological Decade, 7-20.

Environment Canada. 1995. Terrestrial Ecozones of Canada. Ecological Land Classification Series No. 19, Ottawa.

Francis, S. 1997. Data Integration and Ecological Stratification of Wolf Creek Watershed, South-Central Yukon. Report prepared for Indian & Northern Affairs Canada and Agriculture Canada. Applied Ecosystem Management Ltd., Whitehorse, 23pp.

Janowicz, J.R., 1986. A methodology for estimating design peak flows for Yukon Territory. Proceedings of Cold Regions Hydrology Symposium, edited by D.L.. Kane, American Water Resources Association, 313-320.

Janowicz, J.R., 1991. Regionalization of low flows in Yukon Territory. In: NorthernHydrology: Selected Perspectives, edited by T.D. Prowse and C.S.L Ommanney, NHRI Symposium No. 6, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 141-150.

Jasek, M. and G. Ford. 1997. Coal Lake Outlet Freeze-up, Containment of Winter Inflows and Estimates of Related Outburst Flood on Wolf Creek, Yukon Territory. Presented at Joint Eastern and Western Snow Conference, Banff, May, 1997.

Johnstone, J., S. Herron and L. Spicer. 1996. Yukon Baseline Water Quality Study -- Wolf Creek at Alaska Highway. Water Resources Division, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Whitehorse.

Mougout, C.M., and C.A.S. Smith. 1994. Soil Survey of the Whitehorse Area. Vol. 1, Takhini Valley. Research Branch, Agriculture and Agri -- Food Canada. Whitehorse, (unpublished manuscript) 56pp.

Roberts-Pichette, P. 1996. Ecological Science Cooperatives: Tombstone data for cooperating and proposed sites. EMAN Occasional Paper no.2, Burlington.

Rostad, H.P.W., L.M. Kozak and D.F. Acton. 1977. Soil Survey and Land Evaluation of the Yukon Territory. Saskatchewan Institute of Pedology, Publication 5174, 495pp.

Wahl, H.E., D.B. Fraser, R.C. Harvey and J.B. Maxwell. 1987. Climate of Yukon. Environment Canada, Atmospheric Environment Service, Climatological Studies Number 40, Ottawa.

Climate Change in the Yukon

Eric M. Taylor
Regional Climatologist
Environment Canada
Vancouver, B.C.

The earth's climate has never been static. In the 13th century global temperatures were relatively warm, but then cooled from 1400 AD to about 1900. During the last century global temperatures have risen about 0.5°C and some of this warming is likely a result of increased concentrations of so-called greenhouse gases. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that the earth's climate will continue warming over the next 100 years as human activities continue to alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of these greenhouse gases-primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide (IPCC 1995). The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed. Uncertainty exists about the details of how the earth's climate will respond to these increasing greenhouse gases.

Energy from the sun drives the earth's weather and climate. It heats the earth's surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse. Without this natural "greenhouse effect," temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead the earth's average temperature is a more hospitable 16°C. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earth's atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols, a common air pollutant, cool the atmosphere by reflecting light back into space. However, sulfates are short-lived in the atmosphere and vary regionally.

Temperatures in the Yukon have also risen in the last century. This presentation will explore these changes and show the changes that could occur over the next 100 years in the Yukon as projected by computer models of the climate.

Yukon State of the Environment Report on Climate Change

Yvonne Harris
Manager of Planning and Resource Policy
Department of Renewable Resources, YTG

The presentation will include a brief overview of the contents of climate change chapter of the 1999 Yukon State of the Environment Report that is expected to be published shortly and comments on two approaches to SOE reporting: the concise data oriented approach and the report with data plus explanatory text.

Some jurisdictions are opting for the production of SOE reporting based only on trend data, with very limited background and conclusions. The 1995 and 1999 Yukon SOE are fairly extensive reports that not only provide the status of climate change, water, land, wildlife, wetlands and forests, but also provide the background and often conclusions arrived at on the basis of the data. The Yukon will be evaluating the 1999 report and considering the process for environmental reporting to be used in the future. In the discussion we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of producing the in-depth report (as per the 1995 & 1999 SOE) with graphics and explanatory text versus a more concise report that provides the data without the conclusions or the background.

A Northern Research Network -- Results of the Yellowknife Workshop on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies for Canada's Northern Territories

Larry Dyke
Geological Survey of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario

Jesse Jasper
Environment Canada
Yellowknife, N.W.T.

No matter what measures are taken to reduce the production of 'greenhouse gases', the concentrations of these substances, which retain heat in the atmosphere, will continue to increase for many years. Recognizing this fact, the federal government is encouraging the exchange of climate change information and continued research to aid individuals and economic or social organizations to adapt to the impacts that climate change may bring.

A northern workshop to discuss this topic was held in Yellowknife for three days in February, 2000, with funding from the federal government's Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF). Workshop presentations illustrated 1) the sensitivity of the environment to climate change (e.g. extra 10s of cm of thaw during the unusually warm year of 1998 along the Beaufort Sea coast); 2) the implications of warm years or a warming trend, (e.g. easier access to the Northwest Passage will increase shipping activity and the potential for environmental impacts; 3) and regional initiatives for exchanging information and planning research (e.g. the Sustainability of Arctic Communities project for promoting an appreciation of how the Porcupine Caribou Herd may respond to climate change). Participants then joined breakout groups to discuss implications of climate change for the following activities in the North: Communities and Infrastructure, Water Resources/Hydrology, Coasts, Marine Resources and Traditional Use, Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife.

All sectors expressed the need to know more about sensitivities of various environmental components to climate change. Although there is frustration at not confidently knowing exactly how our climate will change in the near future, our understanding of environmental sensitivity to climate change is improving. The understanding of how particular game species fit into ecosystems and the sensitivity of these ecosystems to climate change is benefitting increasingly from the combination of aboriginal knowledge and scientific studies. Agencies responsible for providing services, facilities or operations which are vulnerable to climate change are also interested in a better understanding of how terrain and water will react to climate variability. Connecting sources of data, analyses, and interpretations with those needing information or advice is fundamental to promoting climate change adaptation. Local experience, practice and knowledge was also identified as crucial to thorough research on climate change and its' impacts on the environment. Organizations already exist (colleges, research and monitoring initiatives) that are addressing these objectives locally or regionally. The Northern Climate ExChange program at Yukon College is currently the most directed activity promoting climate change awareness and communication on a broad northern basis. It serves as a model for a facility to coordinate communication and research on climate impacts and adaptation for the entire north.

Community Involvement in Climate Change Research and Monitoring

Chris Burn
Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario

All research in northern Canada must now include some integrative community components. Reductions in government activities mean that much monitoring of the environment will only now occur on a community-led basis. In order for monitoring to proceed, the programs must have clearly-defined objectives, and, in essence, be research projects. Yukon communities offer some of the best prospects in northern Canada for successful, long-term, community-based research and monitoring of the impact of climate change on our environment. In general, the communities are small and stable, and have been established for a considerable period, but they may lack the resources to design and execute monitoring or research programs. Partnerships with the research community may be necessary to provide this capacity. Such partnerships usually evolve over time, and contain elements such as friendship and respect, which cannot be legislated or taken for granted. Other, more tangible, elements must also be present, particularly interested and available local people, and financial support. Our permafrost research program in central Yukon has evolved along these lines, with critical financial support for community involvement provided by the Northern Research Institute, Yukon College. The long-term commitment to the program from researcher, community, and community agencies has contributed to a database that is useful for local purposes, and serves as a benchmark against which future change can be measured. The program has involved seventeen people from Mayo, and provides summer employment for one or two students annually. There is a smaller-scale program in Takhini River valley, 50 km west of Whitehorse.

Northern Climate Change Schools Program

Remy Rodden
Conservation Education Co-ordinator
Department of Renewable Resources, YTG

Funds and expertise are being sought from the Climate Change Action Fund for an experience-based program that integrates many subject areas and maximizes the use of new technology. Students could be involved in hands-on data collection, community outreach and Internet exchanges. If funded, three schools, in each of the three territories, will be sought to participate in this innovative approach to studying climate change and its effects on the north. The guiding principles and four components of the program are summarized below.

Guiding principles

Component 1: Participatory research

Educators and students in each school will participate in a number of the following research activities:

Component 2: Product development

Educators and students in each participating school will cooperatively develop:

Component 3: Product delivery and dissemination

The outcomes of the pilot-project, including reports and evaluations of the above-mentioned products, will be made available to northern, national, and international audiences through:

Component 4: Evaluation

The results and experiences of the pilot project will be assessed and evaluated throughout the year, and at the end of the fiscal year according to the following general criteria:

The following individuals have been involved on the Project Committee for this proposal:

Research and Monitoring

Joan Eamer
Environment Canada

Survey of climate change related research and monitoring in the Yukon

Past climate reconstruction

Long term monitoring

Research and monitoring projects

Integrated (multi-disciplinary) projects

Other relevant climate-related research and monitoring

Some characteristics of climate change research in the Yukon

Adaptation to Climate Change in the Yukon: Starting the Dialogue

Stewart Cohen
Environment Canada and University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C.

Reacting to short term weather events is a part of life that we are quite familiar with. We know about the challenge individuals, families and communities face when confronting extreme events, such as winter storms, heavy rainfall, droughts and forest fires. What has been surprising, however, is the recent worldwide trend of increasing costs due to weather-related disasters during the 1980s and 1990s. Canada has experienced this too, with the 1995-99 period being particularly costly (Figure 1). The 1997 Red River flood and 1998 ice storm in Ontario-Quebec demonstrated vulnerabilities, as well as the capacity of society to respond.

Figure 1. Natural Disaster Costs

Figure 1. Natural Disaster Costs

When thinking about adaptation to future climate change, there may be lessons to be learned from these extreme events. There have also been a small number of studies that have looked at future scenarios. A few observations from these studies are summarized below:

How can we consider past experiences when assessing future climate change? There is scientific consensus that if greenhouse gases continue to increase, temperatures will increase, especially in the western Canadian Arctic, but details about regional changes are still uncertain. Ice cover is expected to become thinner and permafrost will certainly thaw to some degree, but there is little agreement on future changes in precipitation and the probability of future floods. There will probably be a longer growing season, but also a longer fire season. At the same time, communities are changing, and new arrangements for resource management and community development are being constructed. How will these changes affect the relationship between Northern society and climate? We have few examples of exploration of long term scenarios of climate and regional development. The Mackenzie Basin Impact Study (MBIS) was an initial experiment to try to create this dialogue in the North. The Northern Climate Exchange provides an opportunity to further that dialogue.

Thinking about climate change and regional development together

Often, the subject of climate change adaptation is addressed in a generic way, covering basic categories of response:

In a recent review, Burton (1996) found that the most common type of response is prevention of effects. Options include technological, legislative, institutional, and market-based mechanisms. There are actions that can be taken at individual sites (e.g. mines, power plants) to reduce vulnerability, but many of these mechanisms can have broad implications. It is also important to note that adaptation is not free, and there are already considerable investments that governments and industries have made to adapt to today's Northern climates. Climate change may lead to changes in these costs. But there are good reasons to consider anticipatory adaptation to future uncertain climate change:

Figure 2. Resource Development in Canada's North
(Prowse, personal communication)

Figure 2. Resource Development in Canada's North

How might future long-term development decisions affect the Yukon's vulnerability to climate change and what opportunities might present themselves? For example, mining activity is expanding throughout the North (Figure 2). How can government and industry reduce vulnerability of transportation and infrastructure to permafrost thaw? What can and should be done about changing forest fire risks (Figure 3), changing growing seasons, and changing ice conditions? These questions could be related to existing government programs, private sector activities or community activities (e.g. Co-management Boards, land claims, economic development plans)? How should these various programs consider scientific uncertainties? Are there any options that may be taken in a proactive manner despite the uncertainties? What are the options for the next 1-5 years, 5-10 years, 10-30 years? How could impacts in other places affect the Yukon, and how should the Yukon monitor and prepare for these?

Figure 3. Aggregate Changes in Forest Growth and
Area Burned with Changing Climate in the Mackenzie Basin

Figure 3. Aggregate Changes in Forest Growth and Area Burned with Changing Climate in the Mackenzie Basin

Another important issue to consider is the role of local information in adaptation. New ways for collecting and archiving this knowledge are being tried in the North (e.g. Eamer and Kofinas, 1998; Ford, 1999), and there is increasing recognition that this needs to be fully integrated into impact and adaptation assessments (Weller and Lange, 1999). We need to consider the possibility that future scenarios of climate change, combined with future changes in economic development, may challenge some long standing practices in managing land and water resources. It has been said that "the future is not what it used to be." On the other hand, previous generations have demonstrated tremendous skill at adapting to environmental, technological and social changes, and lessons have been learned from these experiences. How can local and historical information contribute to a dialogue about an uncertain future?

Role of the Northern Climate Exchange?

The creation of the Northern Climate Exchange provides an important new resource for Northerners to learn more about the climate change issue, and to contribute their knowledge so that a regional response to climate change impacts can be developed. This is an opportunity to identify what kinds of services might be provided by the Exchange to support impacts research and the design of adaptation options.

Although climate change is a global issue, impacts and adaptation have important regional dimensions. This discussion should be taking place in conjunction with dialogues on emissions reduction or 'mitigation' (Figure 4). Adaptation and mitigation overlap in many ways, such as in the case of forests being managed as carbon sinks, and the implications this kind of strategy would have on current and future uses of the land for parks or commercial forestry. Is there a role for the Exchange beyond facilitating research and archiving on climate change impacts and adaptation in the Yukon? Should the Exchange become a promoter of adaptation measures through public outreach programs? Could it become the focal point for advisory panels or round tables on adaptation? Could it or should it play a role in organizing and/or fundraising for impacts research and adaptation projects?

Figure 4. Putting Impacts and Adaptation into Context (Smit, 1993)

Figure 4. Putting Impacts and Adaptation into Context

References

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