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Climate change and Ontario forests: Prospects for building institutional adaptive capacity

H. Carolyn Peach Brown

Received: 14 September 2008 / Accepted: 6 May 2009 /
Published online: 26 May 2009
# Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009

Abstract:   Institutions play an important role in the adaptive capacity of a system in
responding to climate change. This review paper characterizes the status of the collective
institutional response (government, industry, First Nation, community, civil society) to
climate change in the forest sector of the Canadian province of Ontario, and highlights the
presence and nature of inter-institutional networks as part of the response. Based on a
synthesis of the commonalities in the public administration and policy literature on tackling
wicked problems, and the resilience literature, inter-institutional networks, which foster
exchange of different types of knowledge, are an important aspect of enhancing the
adaptive capacity of social–ecological systems such as the forest sector. Based on a content
analysis of publicly available documents and insights gained from representatives of
government, community members and non-governmental organizations, mitigation and
adaptations strategies are described. At the provincial level there have been some new
innovations in inter-institutional networks, but expansion of the forest stakeholders
involved in such networks would further enhance adaptive capacity. In particular, it is
important to network with First Nations and other forest-dependent communities who have
a heightened vulnerability to climate change. The presence of a collaborative capacity
builder could foster the transfer, receipt and integration of knowledge across the networks,
and ultimately build long-term collaborative problem-solving capacity in the Ontario forest
sector.

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