TABLE OF CONTENTS CGCP'S SUBMISSION TO THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY REVIEW CGCP NOW THE CGCP IS WIRED ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROJECT UPDATE U.S. GLOBAL CHANGE EDUCATION CONFERENCE INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF FUNDING AGENCIES MEET IN CANADA WHAT IS IGFA GEOINDICATORS OF RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE FORESTS AND THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE NATO-ARW INTERNATIONAL BOREAL FOREST RESEARCH ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IBFRA A SCIENCE PLAN FOR GLOBEC CANADA CITY OF OTTAWA - MUNICIPAL STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORTS FROGS AND TOADS TAKE THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED STUDIES OF ARTHROPOD BIODIVERSITY   CCP INFO CCP's RECENT ACTIVITIES CCP AND THE NATIONAL ACTION PROGRAM ON CLIMATE CHANGE THE AES DIGITAL CLIMATE ARCHIVE CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY 1995 - NATO SUMMER SCHOOL IN CANADA RECENT PUBLICATIONS EVENTS CALENDAR

DELTA is published quarterly by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). It is named after the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, a universal symbol for incremental change. This issue was edited and produced by K. Mortimer. The members of the DELTA Editorial Board are M.R. Dence (RSC), F. Kenneth Hare (Trent University), J. Holmes (Parliamentary Centre for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade), B. Kowaliczko (RSC), L. Maillette, (Université du Québec à Trois Rivières), R.A. Price (Queen's University) and J. Watson (RSC). We thank everyone who contributed. Your contributions or comments are always welcome. The next submission deadline is December 9, 1994. The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the writers, and do not necessarily represent those of the CGCP. CGCP'S SUBMISSION TO THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY REVIEW The following is the Canadian Global Change Program's (CGCP's) submission to the federal government's Science and Technology Review, a national forum on the future of science and technology in Canada, held recently in cities across Canada. Through the review, the government hopes to identify major needs in Canada that must be addressed to develop a more effective science and technology strategy. Global Change and the Science and Technology Review The Canadian Global Change Program welcomes the federal government's Science and Technology Review as a critical and timely initiative. Global change has never been more prominent on the national and international policy agendas. Canadians live in an era characterized by the globalization of our economy and the recognition that some of the root causes of this country's more pressing environmental problems are global in nature. Only by understanding global change can we manage investments in science and technology in ways that maintain the country's economic well-being and high quality of life. The Program also appreciates the opportunity to participate in the Review's consultations. In its related submission to the Review, the Royal Society of Canada addresses the broad question of the need for an industrial strategy in Canada. In this brief, the Canadian Global Change Program wishes to focus its unique perspective on the Review's three themes and, in particular, how our understanding of global environmental changes must be factored into Canada's strategic investment decisions in science and technology. Global Change and Sustainable Development Job creation and economic growth in Canada depend, in large part, on the long term health of a small number of resource sectors, particularly forestry, agriculture, and energy, in addition to emerging knowledge-based industries. In many communities and regions across the country, resource-based industries are currently the major employer. Sustainable development of Canada's natural resources is essential to the long term viability of these primary industries and, indeed, to the future of these communities and regions. Without sustainable practices, Canadians risk "mining" the quality of life of future generations. Science and technological innovation can help industries, individuals, and governments identify and adopt practices and attitudes that promote sustainable development. But innovation alone will not be sufficient. The goal of sustainable development requires information and awareness--a recognition of the impacts of global changes on Canada's environment and resources, and a long term perspective in anticipating and planning for change. Responding to global change demands a long term perspective. Short term adjustments simply are not effective, and efforts at "quick fixes" can do more harm than good. This means we need a long term research and planning horizon, and a scientific and policy-making capacity to support such a perspective. Global Change and Canada's Quality of Life Canadians are justly proud of their quality of life--a standard second to none in the world, according to the United Nations Development Programme. As we seek to maintain and enhance our quality of life, Canadians and their governments turn to challenges in our health and education systems, our justice system, our family support programs, and other social policy initiatives. Too often overlooked--at our own peril--are the very real impacts of global changes on the everyday lives of Canadians. Changes in the planet's climate, air, water and soil that can seem so remote have the power to strongly shape our quality of life. Climate changes, for example, could significantly alter food production patterns in Canada, disrupt food supplies and undermine the viability of many rural regions. The loss of biodiversity through habitat degradation and pollution threatens ecosystems in Canada and around the world, to say nothing of foreclosing options for medical breakthroughs through biotechnology. Even the most isolated part of the country, the high Arctic, is far from safe; its air, water, and the food chains--and with it, the health of many aboriginal communities--are seriously threatened by the long range transport of airborne pollutants. The scale and pace of such changes hold a critical lesson. Given the potential for environmental changes to affect our lives, an important strategic area for Canada in maintaining and enhancing its quality of life into the next century is to strengthen our understanding of global change. We must have the capacity to anticipate and respond to these changes. That capacity must, in turn, be built on strong support for long term basic research, and an informed public and policy-making community able to make and support decisions with a long term view. We should not, of course, despair of our ability to understand such changes and alter our behaviour. The case of ultraviolet radiation level warnings in Canada is instructive. Scientific understanding of the impact of changes in the atmosphere's ozone layer on humans has moved swiftly into the mainstream of public thinking and behaviour. Consider the "UV-index", now a standard part of every weather forecast, or the profusion of sunhats and sunscreen on children at any beach on a summer's day. Global Change and Advancement of Knowledge Global change research vividly demonstrates two lessons: that the advancement of knowledge about our global life-support system demands global data and global partnerships; that basic scientific research can, if allowed to, contribute directly and significantly to solving society's immediate economic, social, and environmental problems. First, the need for global partnerships. Strong international linkages are essential tools in advancing our understanding of global change. It is clear that on questions such as global climate change, long range transport of airborne pollutants, and biodiversity reduction, Canadian researchers cannot create all the global data they need. International linkages and influence do not happen by themselves. They demand a strong scientific capacity at home, and a variety of opportunities to exchange views and information with colleagues in other countries. A second concern relates to the perception that basic research is somehow so distant from the everyday lives of Canadians as to seem expendable. This perception threatens to undermine the country's very capacity to understand and respond to its problems now and in the future. Global change research, like many other areas of basic scientific research, can contribute to immediate problems. What are the likely impacts of oceanic changes on the Atlantic fishery? What policy changes are needed to protect Canadian jobs in the forestry and agricultural industries in the face of global climate change? What are the opportunities for reducing levels of greenhouse gas emissions? These are the kinds of questions that global change research is addressing, questions about jobs, competitiveness, the environment, and the quality of life of Canadians. To make decisions, governments and other decision makers require appropriate information. There is a growing need for information on the environment. Baseline information on the changing environment in Canada is essential for sound policies and strategies concerning global change as well as regional environmental changes. Canada's large size and variety of ecosystems makes the acquisition and management of data on present day and past environmental changes a particularly daunting challenge--but one that must be met because of Canada's national information and knowledge requirements and its obligations to international research partnerships. Global Change and S&T Investments There is no lack of scientific and technological research in Canada--many Canadian researchers at universities, industrial laboratories, and in governments are among world leaders in their fields. Yet there is widespread agreement that something is missing, that Canadians are not receiving the full return on their investments in this research. What, then, is the problem? The problem, in our view, is that for too long researchers and decision makers have operated in isolation, without common purpose or coordinated efforts. Without, in short, a national science and technology strategy. Perhaps, then, the central challenge to managing our investments in science and technology is to develop strategies for bringing our different perspectives, resources, and skills together in a rational and coordinated way. Above all, Canada needs better institutional arrangements and incentives to realize the benefits of integrating academic, industrial, and government investments in science and technology. These arrangements can become the strategic partnerships needed for developing common goals and for linking short and long-term objectives. The Canadian Global Change Program is one example of a strategic partnership committed to promoting research that bridges many different perspectives and is responsive to national needs and international opportunities. Global Change and Federal Leadership To summarize, the Canadian Global Change Program supports the current examination of Canada's science and technology investments, and suggests that three factors need to be kept in mind during the consultations. First, understanding global change is essential to realizing Canada's sustainable development and quality of life objectives. More than ever, knowledge is the driving force in the global economy. That knowledge now must be applied to strengthening our capacity to understand the complex changes occurring in the global environment and the effects of those changes on the water, air, and soil on which humans and all other life depend. Second, developing this capacity to anticipate and respond to global change, in turn, will require continued strong support for basic science in Canada to understand the science of global change; a long-term perspective in making strategic investment decisions; and ways of building bridges among science, governments, industry, and an informed public, so as to translate common understanding into common action. Finally, federal leadership is essential if we are to build these bridges and increase the return on our collective investments in science and technology. In taking on this challenge, the federal government can count on Canada's universities and industries to bring their considerable skills and resources to the task.