GEO-6 Assessment for North America

GEO-6 Regional Assessment for North America

The shifting political situation in the US is also creating uncertainties about the effectiveness of government programmes to keep working forests and farms intact and sustaining the protection of ecological values. Some interest groups advocate private property owner rights and limits on government programmes that provide incentives for active management. Efforts to launch broad-based public dialogue about these issues are emerging from groups operating at various spatial scales. Examples include the Forest Trends Association internationally; Solutions from the Land alliance nationally and regionally; and the Malpai Borderlands Group regionally.

Climate change mitigation and sustainable land management

There are two aspects to this issue. The first is how crops produced on croplands and in forests can be used to help mitigate carbon emissions. The second is how altering crop production practices can help reduce emissions from production activities and make crop production more resilient in the face of changing climates.

Mitigation through different crop production methods and forest management practices

Adapting crop production methods and forest management practices are leading to major changes in land and water use, different crops, and better management of production inputs. There are significant opportunities for adaptation measures to limit climate change impacts in agriculture and forestry Malcolm et al. (2012). These include tools to guide seed selection, planting decisions, and management practices; identification of plant varieties and management practices well-suited to changing pest risks; and development and adoption of new technology.

Management practices on public and private forests may also need to change.

Hotter and dryer weather patterns

are expected to lengthen the wildfire season in many areas and lead to larger and hotter wildfires. The US Departments of Agriculture and the Interior are also implementing the

170

National Fire Plan, the President’s Healthy Forests Initiative, the Healthy Forest Restoration Act and the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 to address the risk of catastrophic wildfire and improve forest and rangeland health on federal lands by thinning biomass density. In addition, regeneration foresters are beginning to plant commercial tree species, such as genetically-improved loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), north of the species’ historic range, in anticipation of changes in temperature patterns.

Several tree seed and

seedling suppliers are breeding ‘super seedlings’ with genes to take advantage of warmer climates and planning to introduce new species, such as Eucalyptus cultivars that are commonly grown in warmer countries, to the southern US because of their potential to increase fibre yields in altered future climates.

3.2.3 Biota

The accelerating decline of biodiversity is a serious global environmental threat (Leadley et al. 2014).

In North

America, positive and progressive plans and approaches are underway that are geared towards biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of living resources.

Canadian policies have shifted over the last ten years towards deregulation, making it easier for developers to implement various projects that might have a compromising impact on wildlife and ecosystems. Some degree of reversal is anticipated with the election of the new government in Ottawa in the fall of 2015. In the US, political opponents of the Endangered Species Act have largely failed to weaken its impact, though several legislative proposals or bills that remain pending (Clark 2015; Schlickeisen et al. 2011). Ideological divides over the proper approach to biodiversity conservation are palpable in both countries, and reflect broader perspectives on the roles of government, the private sector, civil society, and human-nature relations.

Recovery plans for species at risk in Canada have made considerable strides in recent years. By early 2015 there were 521 animal and plant species classified as endangered, threatened, or of special concern under the Species at Risk

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 | Page 8 | Page 9 | Page 10 | Page 11 | Page 12 | Page 13 | Page 14 | Page 15 | Page 16 | Page 17 | Page 18 | Page 19 | Page 20 | Page 21 | Page 22 | Page 23 | Page 24 | Page 25 | Page 26 | Page 27 | Page 28 | Page 29 | Page 30 | Page 31 | Page 32 | Page 33 | Page 34 | Page 35 | Page 36 | Page 37 | Page 38 | Page 39 | Page 40 | Page 41 | Page 42 | Page 43 | Page 44 | Page 45 | Page 46 | Page 47 | Page 48 | Page 49 | Page 50 | Page 51 | Page 52 | Page 53 | Page 54 | Page 55 | Page 56 | Page 57 | Page 58 | Page 59 | Page 60 | Page 61 | Page 62 | Page 63 | Page 64 | Page 65 | Page 66 | Page 67 | Page 68 | Page 69 | Page 70 | Page 71 | Page 72 | Page 73 | Page 74 | Page 75 | Page 76 | Page 77 | Page 78 | Page 79 | Page 80 | Page 81 | Page 82 | Page 83 | Page 84 | Page 85 | Page 86 | Page 87 | Page 88 | Page 89 | Page 90 | Page 91 | Page 92 | Page 93 | Page 94 | Page 95 | Page 96 | Page 97 | Page 98 | Page 99 | Page 100 | Page 101 | Page 102 | Page 103 | Page 104 | Page 105 | Page 106 | Page 107 | Page 108 | Page 109 | Page 110 | Page 111 | Page 112 | Page 113 | Page 114 | Page 115 | Page 116 | Page 117 | Page 118 | Page 119 | Page 120 | Page 121 | Page 122 | Page 123 | Page 124 | Page 125 | Page 126 | Page 127 | Page 128 | Page 129 | Page 130 | Page 131 | Page 132 | Page 133 | Page 134 | Page 135 | Page 136 | Page 137 | Page 138 | Page 139 | Page 140 | Page 141 | Page 142 | Page 143 | Page 144 | Page 145 | Page 146 | Page 147 | Page 148 | Page 149 | Page 150 | Page 151 | Page 152 | Page 153 | Page 154 | Page 155 | Page 156 | Page 157 | Page 158 | Page 159 | Page 160 | Page 161 | Page 162 | Page 163 | Page 164 | Page 165 | Page 166 | Page 167 | Page 168 | Page 169 | Page 170 | Page 171 | Page 172 | Page 173 | Page 174 | Page 175 | Page 176 | Page 177 | Page 178 | Page 179 | Page 180 | Page 181 | Page 182 | Page 183 | Page 184 | Page 185 | Page 186 | Page 187 | Page 188 | Page 189 | Page 190 | Page 191 | Page 192 | Page 193 | Page 194 | Page 195 | Page 196 | Page 197 | Page 198 | Page 199 | Page 200 | Page 201 | Page 202 | Page 203 | Page 204 | Page 205 | Page 206 | Page 207 | Page 208 | Page 209 | Page 210 | Page 211 | Page 212 | Page 213 | Page 214 | Page 215 | Page 216 | Page 217 | Page 218 | Page 219 | Page 220 | Page 221 | Page 222 | Page 223 | Page 224 | Page 225 | Page 226 | Page 227 | Page 228 | Page 229 | Page 230 | Page 231 | Page 232 | Page 233 | Page 234 | Page 235 | Page 236 | Page 237 | Page 238 | Page 239 | Page 240 | Page 241 | Page 242 | Page 243 | Page 244 | Page 245 | Page 246 | Page 247 | Page 248 | Page 249 | Page 250 | Page 251 | Page 252 | Page 253 | Page 254 | Page 255 | Page 256 | Page 257 | Page 258 | Page 259 | Page 260 | Page 261 | Page 262 | Page 263 | Page 264 | Page 265 | Page 266 | Page 267 | Page 268 | Page 269 | Page 270 | Page 271 | Page 272 | Page 273 | Page 274 | Page 275 | Page 276 | Page 277 | Page 278 | Page 279 | Page 280 | Page 281 | Page 282 | Page 283 | Page 284 | Page 285 | Page 286 | Page 287 | Page 288 | Page 289 | Page 290 | Page 291 | Page 292 | Page 293 | Page 294 | Page 295 | Page 296 | Page 297 | Page 298 | Page 299 | Page 300 | Page 301 | Page 302 | Page 303 | Page 304 | Page 305 | Page 306 | Page 307 | Page 308 | Page 309 | Page 310 | Page 311 | Page 312 | Page 313 | Page 314 | Page 315 | Page 316 | Page 317 | Page 318 | Page 319 | Page 320 | Page 321 | Page 322 | Page 323 | Page 324 | Page 325