Scientists predict the next 40 years will bring a 3C to 5C rise in mean annual temperature for British Columbia's Taku River region, and up to 30 per cent more precipitation. (David Nunuk)
CBC.CA
December 1, 2009
by Sharon Oosthoek
Deep in the wilds of northern British Columbia, people are trying to imagine what the region’s forests, salmon streams and alpine meadows will look like by 2050, when climate change is expected to have drastically altered the ecosystem.
The Taku River Tlingit First Nation and the province are in the midst of deciding how to manage three million hectares bordering Alaska and the Yukon. When it is completed in the spring of 2010, their agreement will be one of the last large land-use plans in B.C.
It may also be the first to explicitly address climate change by relying on research released earlier this year that helps predict which zones are best conserved as wilderness and which could be developed.
But it is a devilishly difficult task, scientists familiar with the area say.
How do you make conservation decisions when the land to be conserved is in the midst of dramatic change? In addition to warmer temperatures and increased precipitation, rapid changes in snow pack, water flow, permafrost, wildfire and insect infestations are all anticipated for the region.