Abstract

The potential effects of climate change on forests will likely have important implications for Canada’s ability to achieve sustainable forest management (SFM) objectives and goals as currently defined. Consequently, climate change was identified as one of two strategic issues of national importance for Canadian forest management, and the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) has recommended that consideration of both climate change and future climatic variability is needed in all aspects of SFM (CCFM 2008). 

Adaptation is often implemented at a local or regional scale, and it can be enabled by institutions and policies that support adaptation actions. The need for adaptation within forest management varies across ecosystems and is related to the vulnerability of SFM systems relative to their ability to achieve SFM objectives under a changing climate. Tools and knowledge that allow forest resource professionals operating at various scales to understand climate change and to effectively and efficiently adapt to potential impacts are required. The CCFM has addressed this need, in part, through its “Adapting Sustainable Forest Management to Climate Change” report series (see Edwards and Hirsch 2012), which outlines a comprehensive approach to understanding and adapting SFM to climate change. The current guidebook is part of the series and provides a “how to” tool for applying the CCFM adaptation framework described by Williamson et al. (2012).