Climate Change
Climate change is one of the most important threats to the capacity of forest landscapes to provide ecological, economic and social services in the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, the potential of forests to mitigate climate change represents a major opportunity for the forest sector, as forest ecosystems can either serve as a carbon sink or carbon source depending on their level of health and their resilience to climate change. There is remarkably little evidence that science-based decision-making processes are being incorporated into forest management practices in the Asia-Pacific region. As a result, considerable uncertainty exists over management policies aimed at enabling forests and forest-dependent communities to adapt to climate change. The goal of this project is to address this uncertainty and help forest managers and policy makers to develop effective management strategies to maintain resilient forest ecosystems for adaptation to climate change.
Carbon
A joint research project between UBC and the CGCF evaluating global carbon markets, forestry contributions, and the potential for international linkage.
UBC Youth Leadership Research Program
The Earth’s climate is rapidly changing, impacting weather, landscapes and resources that are key to planetary survival. As outlined in the 13th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 13), the United Nations (UN) aspires to engage communities in urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Many of these goals are organized through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Faced with increasing global uncertainty, it is now more important than ever to inspire the next generation to understand and mitigate these complex processes. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other multilateral organizations are increasingly turning their attention to engaging future leaders of the world in climate action.
To advance these objectives, the University of British Columbia (UBC) has designed a program to enhance knowledge of the nature and impacts of climate change at the high school level. A pilot version of the program will be implemented next year (2021), and eight or nine senior high school students will be selected to attend a 3-month interactive course on climate change that culminates in the completion of a research project. The course will provide an overview of environmental protection, climate change impacts, energy efficiency, carbon emissions reduction and global/local carbon trade. The geographic focus will include both global and local perspectives, with an emphasis on issues specifically relating to British Columbia (BC). Students will take part in research projects related to climate change science, technology, and policy. Projects will be prepared for and presented at the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 27) to the UNFCCC in November 2021.
Bamboo and Rattan
Recent partnership with the International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan (ICBR) has been established to provide more opportunities for our faculty to promote forest education and research cooperation. AFRC works to develop a professional Master’s degree program on bamboo and rattan management and utilization. UBC will host a short-term exchange program (6-12 months) for 2-3 young researchers from the ICBR annually. Training workshops and international conferences and exchanges of scholarly information will be co-organized to support the sustainable and stable development of INBAR.
Carbon Satellite
Remote sensing technologies used to combat climate change, a newly developed project that is still in progress.