As one of the largest countries in the world and with a high standard of living built on abundant natural resources, Canada could be affected as much as any industrialized nation by natural and human-caused environmental changes on our planet. Understanding global change and acting on this knowledge is essential if we are to preserve for our children and grandchildren a healthy, sustainable world.

The Canadian Global Change Program (CGCP) is pleased to present this overview, the first of its kind prepared in Canada. The overview seeks to build awareness of the Canadian effort to understand our changing planet how Canada is contributing to and benefiting from international research on global change in the biological and geological sciences, in atmospheric and oceanic studies, and in the emerging efforts to study the human dimensions of global environmental change.

The overview also provides profiles of a number of important global change research projects under way in Canada. These profiles reflect the breadth of Canadian research and demonstrate how the results of global change research can directly assist policy makers in addressing the economic and social concerns of Canadians.

Finally, the overview looks ahead to the future of global change research in Canada to the challenges that all sectors of Canadian society must respond to together.

Dr. Hugh Morris
Chair
Canadian Global Change Program
The Royal Society of Canada