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Keynote address at Ontario Climate Consortium’s Inaugural Climate Change Research Symposium (speech notes)
Scott Vaughan's keynote address at the Ontario Climate Consortium’s Inaugural Climate Change Research Symposium discusses the urgent need for integrated climate adaptation strategies, the economic risks of non-linear temperature increases, and the necessity of policy coherence in government spending.
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Document type: Briefing
AN ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, NATIONAL LEGISLATION, JUDGEMENTS, AND INSTITUTIONS AS THEY INTERRELATE WITH TERRITORIES AND AREAS CONSERVED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES
This report analyzes the legal and institutional frameworks in Canada as they relate to Indigenous Peoples' Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs). It examines the tension between Canadian state law—characterized by a history of colonialism and assimilation—and the inherent rights of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples to govern their traditional lands and resources.
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Document type: Report
IISD Submission to the British Columbia Carbon Tax Review
This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) evaluates the impact of British Columbia's carbon tax and provides recommendations for its future. The document argues that the tax has successfully reduced emissions without hindering economic growth and suggests maintaining the current policy structure while addressing emerging challenges such as natural gas expansion and price misalignment with the United States.
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Document type: Briefing
Agricultural Participation in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Canada: Four case studies
This case study report examines agricultural participation in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) across four Canadian watersheds: the Okanagan Basin (BC), Lower Souris River (SK), Yamaska (QC), and Souris River (PEI). It analyzes the drivers and barriers to producer engagement, the institutional structures governing water management, and the resources provided by federal and provincial governments. The report concludes that while financial incentives are a primary driver for adopting beneficial management practices (BMPs), there is a critical need for better integration between high-level IWRM planning and on-the-ground agri-environmental implementation, supported by localized technical extension and consistent monitoring data.
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Document type: Case study
Evaluation of Integrated Management Initiatives
This report evaluates Integrated Place-based Management (IPM) initiatives, focusing on how goals are defined and how monitoring and evaluation frameworks measure long-term environmental and governance impacts. It analyzes Canadian and international case studies to identify trends in the transition from short-term project reporting to long-term, adaptive monitoring that combines outcome-based environmental indicators with process-based governance indicators.
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Document type: Report
University Data Centres: Policy and business case for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
This report evaluates the feasibility of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from university data centres in Canada by analyzing three relocation or modification scenarios and proposing a 'green community cloud' alternative. The study focuses on three institutions: Dalhousie University, the University of Ottawa, and the University of Alberta.
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Document type: Report
Canada’s Role in the Global Energy Picture
This report, an excerpt from a paper presented at the Banff Dialogue in April 2010, argues for the creation of a coherent national energy strategy for Canada to better manage its diverse energy resources and navigate its heavy trade dependence on the United States while transitioning toward low-carbon energy.
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Document type: Report
Harnessing Current Government Practices to Plan for and Adapt to the Risks and Uncertainty Posed by Climate Change
This research paper, prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) for the 2010 World Resources Report, argues that existing government practices can be harnessed to manage the risks and uncertainties of climate change. The authors propose a framework of seven adaptive policy-making practices divided into 'planned adaptability' and 'autonomous adaptability' to help policy-makers navigate complex, unpredictable socio-economic and ecological systems.
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Document type: Research paper
Rapid Assessment Case Study: The Environmental Information Infrastructure of Pulse Production in Canada
This case study examines the environmental information infrastructure supporting lentil production and conservation tillage in Canada, specifically within the Prairie region. It analyzes how information flows between farmers, researchers, and organizations to manage soil fertility and erosion, while identifying gaps between farm-level informal monitoring and national-level formal reporting.
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Document type: Case study
Living With Climate Change: How Prairie Farmers Deal with Increasing Weather Variability
This report examines how farmers in the Canadian Prairie agroecosystem, specifically in Saskatchewan, adapt to increasing weather variability and climate change. Using the CRISTAL tool, the research identifies key weather stresses, their impacts on farm resources, and the coping strategies employed by producers. The findings distinguish between 'status quo' farmers and 'innovative' or 'leading' farmers, concluding that resilience is closely linked to diversification, the adoption of new technologies like zero-till farming, and a reduced dependence on government programs.
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Document type: Report
Developing sustainability indicators with Winnipeg’s urban First Nations community
This report describes a project by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to develop sustainability indicators for the urban First Nations community in Winnipeg. The initiative focuses on a community-led process to identify key issues and measures of well-being across four domains—social, environmental, economic, and cultural—based on the Aboriginal Medicine Wheel, aiming to create a baseline for monitoring progress and influencing policy.
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Document type: Report
Document de travail sur les perspectives canadiennes en matière d’environnement
This research paper, written by Dale S. Rothman of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) for Environment Canada, serves as a conceptual document for the development of the Canadian Environmental Outlook (CEO). It defines the CEO as an integrated environmental assessment designed to provide a forward-looking analysis of the interactions between society and the environment to support strategic decision-making and policy formulation in Canada.
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Document type: Research paper
Field Testing the Draft Canadian Biodiversity Index: A REPORT ON APPLYING REAL ECOSYSTEM DATA TO THE CBI
This report details the proof of concept testing (POCT) of the Canadian Biodiversity Index (CBI), a tool designed to consistently assess and convey biodiversity status and trends across Canada. The testing applied the CBI framework to two distinct ecounits—Netley-Libau Marsh in Manitoba and Banks Island in the Northwest Territories—to evaluate the index's methodology, the effectiveness of its normalized scoring scale, and the challenges of data availability.
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Document type: Report
YCLSF PARTICIPANT MANUAL 2006/2007
The YCLSF Participant Manual 2006/2007 is a comprehensive guide for recent Canadian graduates participating in the Young Canadian Leaders for a Sustainable Future (YCLSF) program. Managed by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the program provides entry-level overseas work experience in sustainable development to help participants build careers in the field. The manual details administrative requirements, placement preparations, financial compensation, reporting obligations, and strategies for adapting to living and working abroad, as well as the process of re-entering Canada.
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Document type: Guide
Environmental Improvement Zones (EIZ)
This guide proposes the implementation of Environmental Improvement Zones (EIZs) in Winnipeg to enable neighbourhoods to develop local action plans for environmental sustainability. Based on the 'Sustainable Winnipeg' strategy, the guide outlines key environmental issues—including climate change, urban energy, land use, transportation, waste, water, and pesticides—and details pilot results from three diverse neighbourhoods: Whyte Ridge, Riverview, and West Broadway. It advocates for a shift from 'one size fits all' municipal programming toward community-based social marketing (CBSM) to foster long-term behaviour change.
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Document type: Guide
Full Cost Accounting for Agriculture – Year 2 Report
This report, prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), develops a conceptual methodology called the 'Impact Pathway approach' to value changes in agri-environmental indicators. The report tests this methodology on five specific indicators: Risk of Water Erosion, Risk of Water Contamination by Phosphorus, GHG Emissions, Energy Use Efficiency, and Wildlife Habitat Availability. It identifies critical data gaps, particularly in transport modelling for water-related indicators, and explores linkages between these valuations and integrated economic-environmental modelling and social indicators.
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Document type: Report
Agri-Environment and Rural Development in the Doha Round
This research paper examines agri-environmental and rural development programs within the WTO framework, specifically focusing on the 'Green Box' of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). It analyzes the practices of the 'Quad' countries (EU, US, Canada, and Japan) and evaluates how the Doha Round negotiations might impact the ability of developing countries to implement similar sustainable agriculture policies.
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Document type: Research paper
YCLSF Host Organization Guide
The YCLSF Host Organization Guide, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in 2001, provides operational instructions for organizations hosting interns under the Young Canadian Leaders for a Sustainable Future project. The project is part of the Government of Canada's Youth International Internship Program (YIIP), designed to provide unemployed or underemployed Canadian youth up to age 30 with their first paid international career experience in sustainable development.
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Document type: Guide
The Effects of Climate Change on Recreation and Tourism on the Prairies
This status report examines how climate change and variability are expected to affect outdoor recreation and tourism in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. It analyzes the relationship between the natural resource base (water, vegetation, and wildlife) and recreational activities, noting that while warmer temperatures may extend the summer season, they threaten winter sports and water quality. The report highlights the economic risks for rural communities diversifying into tourism and provides recommendations for more locale-specific climate scenarios and resource management strategies.
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Document type: Report
Neonics, Honey Bees, and Food Security
This briefing by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment examines the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bees, biodiversity, and global food security, with a specific focus on the agricultural landscapes of Ontario and Québec.
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Document type: Briefing