TABLE OF CONTENTS STAGE SET FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE, MARCHI, WIRTH TELL CGCP SYMPOSIUM READERS WRITE CGCP NOW THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY LAND-USE AND LAND-COVER CHANGES: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CANADA SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON PROBLEMS OF THE ENVIRONMENT: A RENEWED CANADIAN PRESENCE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND HUMAN SECURITY PROJECT STARTS UP GECHS — AN OVERVIEW MONTREAL — GREENHOUSE GAS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES UNDER DEVELOPMENT IMAGES OF A TIGER*: HELP FOR THE ACRONYMICALLY- CHALLENGED CCP INFO THE CANADA COUNTRY STUDY: CLIMATE IMPACTS AND ADAPTATION CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE - HIGHLIGHTS THE EARTH SYSTEM: GEOLOGY LESSONS FOR OUR FUTURE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM "ELECTRICITY PRODUTION AND GREENHOUSE GASES : FACTS AND PERSPECTIVES" May 4-7 1997, Montreal, Québec RECENT PUBLICATIONS EVENTS CALENDAR

CGCP Now The following are highlights of the Canadian Global Change Program's (CGCP's) activities since the last issue of DELTA. The documents mentioned are available from the CGCP Secretariat (see page two for address). On November 6, 1996, the CGCP is hosting such prominent speakers as Environment Minister Sergio Marchi and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Timothy Wirth, at a symposium at the House of Commons titled Climate Change — the Science, the Economic Impacts and Options for Canadians. This event — which is being co-sponsored by the Canadian Climate Program — is part of the CGCP's ongoing effort to inform and involve top decision-makers in climate change issues. It will raise the profile of, and create a venue for information sharing on, the climate change issue among MPs, senators, scientists and members of the CGCP Research/Policy Committee. A meeting of experts in the field of human health and global change was convened by the CGCP in September 1996 to consider a framework for the program's long-term participation in this area. The group recommended the preparation of a discussion paper on global change issues and the determinants of population health for February 1996, and that a workshop be held at that time, with the paper as its focus. The group also recommended that the paper and results of the workshop form the basis for a range of CGCP projects in this area. In partnership with the Canadian Climate Program, the CGCP is preparing a submission for the December 1996 meeting of the combined Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, and Council of Energy Ministers. The submission updates the state of climate science, highlights key elements of the international scene and discusses some of the strategic options that Ministers may wish to consider as they shape Canadian climate change policies. The draft submission is currently being reviewed in preparation for translation and release in advance of the December meeting. Toronto, January 16-17, 1997 — workshop on the use of economic instruments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As part of its climate change initiative, the CGCP is organizing this multi-stakeholder workshop in partnership with the Queens University Ecoresearch Chair, the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development (who initiated the project), the World Resources Institute, Westcoast Energy, and Unidad de Analisis Economico, SEMARNAP in the Mexican Government, Environment Canada (Environmental Protection Services) and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The workshop will allow stakeholders to discuss opportunities and challenges associated with the design and use of economic instruments (e.g. a tradeable permit system) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the best ways to address these concerns and ensure that emissions reduction commitments are met. Representatives from governments, and the academic, non-governmental, and business communities in Canada, the United States, and Mexico are being invited. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Environment Minister Sergio Marchi and the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Basdeo Panday, on October 9, 1996. The MOU describes the North/South Global Change Project, a three year partnership between the CGCP and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) of Trinidad and Tobago. The project will help this Caribbean state develop and implement a national action plan on global change, assisting it to meet its commitments under international environmental agreements such as the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The fourth issue of the CGCP's special bulletin series, Changes, titled Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Additional Benefits, will be released in November 1996. It is based on the results of the Indirect Benefits of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy project recently concluded by the CGCP. Please contact the CGCP Secretariat if you would like to receive this or other Changes bulletins. The CGCP is in the final stages of compiling the Canada and the State of the Planet report which will summarize information and data about trends in the global environment, from a Canadian perspective. The report is undergoing review by its editorial committee and is expected to be available in Spring 1997 from Oxford University Press (in English) and Les Éditions MultiMondes (in French). The CGCP's first Annual Report was published in August 1996, followed by the program's Five Year Plan in September. Both documents illustrate how the CGCP has and will continue to implement its Strategic Plan, released in early 1995. The CGCP was a key convenor and funder of the Global Biodiversity Forum (see next article) held in Montreal in September, 1996, and was one of the sponsors of a workshop titled Perspectives on Biodiversity and the Economy — The Relevance of Biodiversity to Industry, organized by Queen's University and held in Kingston, Ontario on October 17, 1996. Meetings of the Canadian National Committees (CNCs) for the International Geosphere- Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Programme (IHDP), and the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) will take place in conjunction with the CGCP Board of Directors' meeting in January 1997. A discussion document titled Data Policy and Barriers to Data Access in Canada: Issues for Global Change Research in Canada was recently published by the CGCP. This report reviews national and international policies that impact the dissemination of data and information on global change issues. With partial funding from the CGCP, the Ontario Climate Advisory Committee organized a workshop titled Atmospheric Ozone: Issues, Science, Policy and Programs in Toronto, from September 16-18, 1996. The workshop attracted a significant number of participants and led to the formulation of a number of recommendations regarding both tropospheric and stratospheric ozone policy issues.