In the bigger picture, the adoption of any new management paradigm always includes challenges. In this case, the principles that form the foundation of EBM include several prevalent elements of sustainability, including collaborative management, integrated management, and adaptive management. On the other hand, EBM offers both fundamental and specific advice that, at first blush, seems to conflict with some current policy and practices.
Thus, the objective of this project is to identify the challenges of advancing the various EBM principles within forested landscapes of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
This project is the first of its kind in Canada, and long overdue. We, collectively, have been testing and implementing various bits of the EBM concept for almost 20 years now, but those efforts have been piecemeal. Case in point, the advancement of EBM ideas in other jurisdictions (e.g., Ontario and Quebec) have come at considerable cost in terms of time, money, and trust. We can benefit by learning from those experiences towards the advancement of EBM in the western boreal.
This document introduces the project, provides background on ecosystem-based management, and lays out the methods by which the final report was created.
