What is Being Done

The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is contributing to the Ontario government's commitment to reduce the rate of global warming and the impacts of climate change.  This commitment is described in the Ministry’s strategic plan ‘Our Sustainable Future’, and in a second document entitled ‘MNR’s Strategic Plan on Climate Change’.

The Ministry’s response to climate change is strategic and based on sound science.  We are working to:

1. UNDERSTAND and predict the impacts of climate change on Ontario’s natural resources and ecosystems.

MNR has sponsored, co-sponsored, or participated in many research projects designed to provide a better understanding of the impacts of climate change on the health of Ontario’s ecosystems, communities, and people.

 

NFI Crew Data Collection

For example, MNR recently published a report that reviews the potential impacts of climate change on many birds and mammals that occur in Ontario. Of 175 species studied, 10 species demonstrate evidence of population contraction, 62 demonstrate population expansion, and 103 demonstrate unclear responses. This report will help scientists design future studies and assess the status of species of conservation concern. 

For detailed information, read the full report entitled:
 
The Known and Potential Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity in Ontario’s Terrestrial Ecosystems: Case Studies and Recommendations for Adaptation (2007)

2. Develop tools and techniques that help REDUCE the impacts of climate change.

A tree has many values. A tree cleans the air, provides shade, increases wildlife habitat, helps prevent flooding, stores carbon and provides wood products. Trees help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As part of the United Nations’ Environment Programme, Ontario has committed to plant 50 million trees in southern Ontario by 2020.

 

MNR and Trees Ontario are working with many partners and private landowners to plant up to five million trees per year in southern Ontario to reach the 50 million goal. The trees will remove 6.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from our atmosphere by 2050.

 

For detailed information, read the full report entitled:

Forecasting Carbon Storage and Carbon Offsets for Southern Ontario Afforestation Projects: The 50 Million Tree Planting Program

 

3. Help Ontarians ADAPT to climate change.

Ontario’s climate is changing and Ontarians will need to adapt to these changes. 
Ontarians need to work together to understand the impacts and develop strategies that will help reduce the impacts of climate change on their community.  For example, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment Canada, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority sponsored a series of workshops in Great Lakes communities to identify known and potential impacts and to develop adaptation strategies.  The workshop results are summarized in a report entitled:“Coastal Zone Management under a Changing Climate in the Great Lakes.”

 

The Ministry has developed an educational mapping tool that shows how Ontario’s climate might change in response to increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  The maps show the potential temperature and precipitation that could result from two different scenarios (two different types of human behaviour) based on different rates of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

 

The Climate Change Mapping Browser allows the user to project temperature and precipitation patterns based on the ‘A2’ and ‘B2’ scenarios of human activity throughout the 21st century.  See how your actions can make a difference.

To learn more about what the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ontario government are doing to address climate change, please visit the following websites:

• Go Green Ontario – a good source of information about climate change, its effects and ways you can help improve Ontario’s environment and your quality of life.

• Ontario’s Action Plan on Climate Change - The Ontario government is building on four years of action fighting climate change with an ambitious plan for our province to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

• MNR’s Response to the Known and Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Natural Resources in Ontario:  A Progress Report and Supporting Studies (October 29, 2007)– a list of publications and reports outlining the Ministry’s contribution to understanding and reducing the effects of climate change.

Photography

Peter Ulig