This piece is based on Episode 3 of a three-part series on climate change and forests, on the Forests of the Future Podcast. It explores how FSC understands climate change, the difference between mitigation and adaptation, and why accounting for climate risks is becoming essential for sustainable forest management. The episode shares Indigenous perspectives on wildfire management, the importance of local knowledge in climate adaptations, and science-backed approaches to resilience and adaptation in the face of a rapidly changing climate.
Listen to Episode 3 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Castbox
Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson is a Senior Fire Advisor with Indigenous Leadership Initiative, author and host of the podcast Good Fire. She has a stark message about the way fire is changing in Canada.
“Indigenous people have had a long relationship with fire in Canada. Millennia ago we saw lightning fires and the positive benefits they brought to the landscape and communities, like the growth of bitter berries, and deer and moose attracted to fresh grasses after fire. Indigenous people learned to put fire on the ground to achieve those benefits. But the fires we’re seeing now don’t have good ecological benefits. They’re burning so hot because of climate change and poor forest management, causing multigenerational impacts where we won’t be able to use those forests for decades or even centuries,” she says.
Professor Christian Messier, forestry researcher at Université du Québec à Montréal, agrees. “Wildfire is a natural disturbance important to maintaining plants, insects and other life. The problem today is the extent of the fires and the fact they’re burning in areas not adapted to fire,” he says.
Forests at the heart of a changing world
As our previous podcast episodes explored, our rapidly changing climate puts forests front and centre: as a key area of risk, but also as a powerful climate solution.
While forests have historically been an effective carbon sink, the climate is changing so quickly that many tree species are not adapted to harsher conditions like drought, heat and unseasonal frost. This creates risks for forests, the communities that rely on them, and forest ecosystems as a whole. The real possibility of a collapse could release decades of stored carbon, creating a disastrous climate feedback loop.
Biodiversity as a solution
Vivian Peachey, Director of Climate and Landscape Solutions at FSC Canada, notes that globally the organization has prioritized the climate crisis and is implementing a climate and biodiversity strategy.
“Forests are naturally resilient, but the current situation may be beyond their adaptive capacity. Local extinctions, loss of services and loss of carbon storage are real risks. So how do we ensure our standard reflects the latest scientific approaches?” she says.
In 2024, FSC Canada received funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada to explore this question. Through the Forests as Climate Solutions (FaCS) program, Vivian and her team are examining how an updated standard, alongside tools such as Climate Vulnerability Assessments, can strengthen adaptive capacity, maintain carbon storage and support resilient forests.
One answer is increasing biodiversity in managed forests, and potentially introducing tree species better adapted to drought and insects. “We can think of it as ‘vaccinating’ our forests against climate change by bringing in better adapted species,” says Prof. Messier.
Dr. Cardinal Christianson notes that supporting biodiversity has always been the Indigenous way, with elders referring to monocultural row crops as ‘hungry forests’ because they offer limited resources. “The only way out of this crisis is to stop burning fossil fuels, but increasing biodiversity is the most effective adaptation approach and will make forests more resilient.” This is especially true for wildfire management: “Fire behaviour changes when there is more biodiversity, and you’re less likely to lose large areas of forest,” she says.
Managing for biodiversity also protects water and air quality, enhances carbon storage and safeguards cultural and recreational forest values. These benefits are recognized by FSC’s Verified Impact solution, which connects forest managers with revenue sources for protecting ecosystem services, including biodiversity.
Blending global and local responses
FSC’s climate and biodiversity strategy sets global direction, while an updated national standard will provide clearer guidance on enhancing forest and community resilience.
Vivian emphasizes the importance of incorporating local knowledge in any climate response. “Forest managers, scientists, researchers and communities are experts in adaptive management and knowing what’s best for the forest. Collaboration and co-creation are key,” she says.
The FaCS team is convening a broad range of expertise and perspectives, and is particularly mindful of the disproportionate impacts of climate change and forest degradation on Indigenous peoples and communities — and the knowledge Indigenous communities hold that is essential to resilience.
Dr. Cardinal Christianson notes that balancing national and local contexts can be challenging. “There has to be national leadership, but with flexibility for local leadership. Centralized decision-making around fire hasn’t been good for Indigenous communities. We need policy based on the best science and Indigenous input, with flexibility in how it’s applied at the local level,” she says.
Next steps
Changing FSC’s national standard is typically a years-long process requiring extensive consultation. However, the research being conducted by the FaCS team is already offering insights that are supporting forest managers and communities to strengthen their adaptive capacity, through financial recognition for conservation practices like the Verified Impact tool, or Climate Vulnerability Assessments that support climate risk mitigation.
The team has around ten pilots underway and is seeking additional organizations to participate, with some funding available.
Ultimately, FSC’s goal is to support biodiversity and resilient forests in Canada and globally. “The more we integrate adaptation and mitigation into forest management approaches, the better the outcomes,” says Vivian.
Listen to Episode 3 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Castbox