Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
will.allow.us.to.learn.by.doing,.and,.over.time,.will.greatly.reine.our.understanding.
of.park.ecosystems.and.the.eficacy.of.our.management.decisions.and.actions.
DISCUSSION
Most.of.the.ideas.presented.in.this.chapter.are.not.new.to.the.conservation.commu-
nity..The.need.for.an.adaptive-management.approach.to.adapt.supported.by.strong.
EI.monitoring.has.been.recommended.as.the.basis.for.an.adaptation.strategy.at.Parks.
Canada.by.Lemieux.and.Scott.(2005),.Scott.and.Sufling.(2000),.Scott.and.Lemieux.
(2005),.Staple.and.Wall.(1996),.and.Welch.(2005,.2008),.and.more.broadly.for.pro-
tected. areas. adaptation. in. general. by. Heller. and. Zavaleta. (2009),. Lawler. (2009),.
Lawler. et. al.. (2009b),. Root. and. Schneider. (1995),. and. Hulme. (2005).. However,.
although.widely.recommended.for.many.years,.the.direct.operational.application.of.
ongoing.and.focused.adaptive.management.approaches.in.protected.areas.manage-
ment.is.rare..Given.the.scale.and.intensity.of.predicted.shifts.in.arctic.and.subarctic.
biotas,.and.in.the.ecological.drivers.and.processes.that.determine.their.distribution.
and.vigor,.the.adoption.of.a.proactive.adaptation.system.by.park.management.teams.
will.be.fundamental.to.adapting.to.these.inevitable.changes.
Through.the.PCA.commitment.to.establishing.ecological.integrity.monitoring.in.
all.national.parks,.and.through.the.impetus.provided.through.the.International.Polar.
Year.and.ParkSPACE.projects,.the.development.of.the.crucial.inventory.and.monitor-
ing.components.of.the.knowledge.system.proposed.in.this.chapter.is.well.under.way.
in.northern.national.parks.in.Canada..The.ability.of.park.inventory.and.monitoring.
programs.to.provide.the.level.of.information.required.to.measure.and.assess.the.most.
important.elements.of.ecological.change.will.depend.on.the.development.of.effective.
program.designs,.especially.EI.measure.selection,.and.ongoing.park.investments.in.
monitoring..The.Agency.is.not.yet.at.the.point.where.management.needs.drive.park.
science,.although.progress.is.being.made.as.a.result.of.the.relatively.recent.and.evolv-
ing.need.to.report.every.5.years.on.the.state.of.the.park..Scaled-down.climate.model-
ing.and.predictive.models.of.ecological.change.are.also.undeveloped.at.this.time..A.
key.to.successfully.implementing.useful.knowledge.systems.that.will.permit.adapta-
tion.to.climate.change.effects.will.be.greatly.facilitated.by.the.development.of.long-
term.partnerships.with.other.government.agencies,.academia,.and.local.communities.
This.chapter.focused.on.an.approach.for.proactively.managing.ecological.change.
within. northern. national. parks,. but. clearly. even. the. most-informed. and. effective.
park-management.system.will.not.by.itself.be.successful..In.spite.of.the.large.size.of.
many.of.our.northern.national.parks,.the.scale.of.predicted.ecological.change.will.
require.regional.and.national,.as.well.as.continental.and.circumpolar.international.
cooperation.and.focus.for.effective.adaptation..A.key.task.for.this.cooperation.at.a.
regional.scale.is.the.development.of.multistakeholder.land-use.plans.that.ensure.the.
functional. connectedness. and. facilitate. adequate. protection. of. lands. in. the. matrix.
between. protected. areas.. In. the. Canadian. North,. matrix. (i.e.,. nonpark). lands. are.
generally.in.a.very.healthy.state,.but.this.is.largely.due.to.low.populations.and.lack.
of.economic.activity,.not.to.effective.land-use.policy..This.overall.healthy.situation.
is.rapidly.changing.as.climate.warms,.ecological.change.accelerates,.and.economic.
and. community.development. opportunities.increase.. The.decreasing.usefulness. of.
