Preparing for and Responding to Disturbance: Examples from the Forest Sector in Sweden and Canada

Forests

E. Carina H. Keskitalo²  Nicole Klenk¹  Ryan Bullock³  Andrea L. Smith⁴ 

[1] Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada; E-Mail:;Department of Social and Economic Geography, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden;School of Environment & Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Room 323 Kirk Hall, 117 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C8, Canada; E-Mail:;Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS), York University, 349 York Lanes, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada; E-Mails:

关键词: adaptation;    adaptive capacity;    Sweden;    Canada;    forestry;    economic crisis;    forest pests;    storms;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f2020505

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Coping or adaptation following large-scale disturbance may depend on the political system and its preparedness and policy development in relation to risks. Adaptive or foresight planning is necessary in order to account and plan for potential risks that may increase or take place concurrently with climate change. Forests constitute relevant examples of large-scale renewable resource systems that have been directly affected by recent environmental and social changes, and where different levels of management may influence each other. This article views disturbances in the forest sectors of Sweden and Canada, two large forest nations with comparable forestry experiences, in order to elucidate the preparedness and existing responses to multiple potential stresses. The article concludes that the two countries are exposed to stresses that indicate the importance of the governing and institutional system particularly with regard to multi-level systems including federal and EU levels. While economic change largely results in privatization of risk onto individual companies and their economic resources (in Canada coupled with a contestation of institutional systems and equity in these), storm and pest outbreaks in particular challenge institutional capacities at administrative levels, within the context provided by governance and tenure systems.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.