Adaptive Policy Analysis of Forestry and Wetlands Policies in Manitoba

This 2013 report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) applies the Adaptive Design and Assessment Policy Tool (ADAPTool) to evaluate the climate change adaptability of forestry policies and the design of a new wetlands policy in Manitoba. The analysis assesses both 'planned adaptability' (response to anticipated stressors) and 'autonomous adaptability' (capacity to respond to unanticipated events) across several provincial policy instruments.

• The analysis of three existing forestry policies—the Timber Quota Allocation Policy, Forest Renewal Program, and Wood Supply Process—indicates that they generally perform well on the adaptability scale, particularly regarding autonomous adaptability.
• Among the forestry policies, the Timber Quota Allocation Policy demonstrated the highest overall adaptability, being the only one to fall within the 'green area' of the analysis diagram, meaning it contributes well to both planned and autonomous adaptability.
• Significant gaps exist in the forestry sector's ability to address specific climate vulnerabilities, with 20 out of 86 identified adaptation actions remaining completely unsupported by the analyzed policies.
• The forestry policies were found to be more robust in their implementation phase than in their design phase, with a higher degree of multistakeholder deliberation occurring during implementation.
• The Forest Renewal Program was identified as vulnerable to climate change stressors, as projected impacts may hinder the ability to meet provincial standards.
• For the proposed Manitoba wetlands policy, the analysis identified two primary stressors: climate change and land-use competition and conversion.
• The exploratory analysis for the wetlands policy suggests it could potentially support a high percentage of adaptation actions: 90% of applicable climate change actions and 84% of land-use actions could be indirectly supported.
• To enhance the adaptive capacity of the new wetlands policy, the report recommends establishing a multistakeholder wetland council and a bi-annual conference to facilitate formal review and social networking.
• The report suggests that the wetlands policy should employ a diverse mix of regulatory, economic, institutional, and expenditure instruments to increase the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes.
• The pilot test of the ADAPTool for new policies (applied to the wetlands policy) was found to be only 'mildly useful' because the policy had already been in development for several years.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2013). Adaptive Policy Analysis of Forestry and Wetlands Policies in Manitoba. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptool_manitoba_forestry.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Adaptive Policy Analysis of Forestry and Wetlands Policies in Manitoba. 2013. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptool_manitoba_forestry.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Adaptive Policy Analysis of Forestry and Wetlands Policies in Manitoba |date=2013 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptool_manitoba_forestry.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2013adaptive, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Adaptive Policy Analysis of Forestry and Wetlands Policies in Manitoba}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptool_manitoba_forestry.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }