The Canadian Model Forest Network (CMFN) had a very successful and exciting week of meetings which involved networking with partners, looking to new opportunities, and planning for the future. A wide range of Model Forests, partners, and expert organizations came together, sharing information between scales and sectors from across Canada.
Climate Change and Knowledge Exchange: Linking Practitioners Through the CMFN
The CMFN was joined by climate change experts and policy makers to share knowledge on the current status of climate change activities in Canada, and to discuss ways that researchers and practitioners could work together to further move the topic, through joint initiatives. As a result of this meeting, there were a number of thematic areas and projects associated that could be conducted in a collaborative manner, with the engagement of a wide range of stakeholders both from the CMFN community, as well as through the network of experts. Looking forward, the focus would be on developing partnerships and using existing multi-stakeholder platforms to deliver activities, such as those of Model Forests. This is only the beginning of the discussion and the CMFN will be actively engaged in identifying its role, in partnership with other stakeholders, in future climate change activities addressing the needs of both the research and practitioner communities.
National Symposium on the Status of Integrated Land Management in Canada
The CMFN joined Canada Land Resource Innovations (CLRI) in a workshop discussing integrated landscape management (ILM) in Canada. This began with an overview of its history, presentations of current activities, and where those involved see this topic moving into the future. The workshop allowed those actively engaged on projects to present summaries of their activities, with the broad categories of: current ILM frameworks, regional projects and perspectives on ILM, and decision support tools. The event ended with a discussion of priorities and possible next steps. The CMFN will continue to engage with CLRI as they continue the discussion with their partners and as further work is developed to build on this existing knowledge.
