Prairie Resilience: A Made-in-Saskatchewan Climate Change Strategy

In 2017, the Government of Saskatchewan developed a comprehensive climate change strategy designed to make the province more resilient to the climatic, economic and policy impacts of climate change. In the strategy, the Government of Saskatchewan builds upon actions they have already taken and introduces measures to strengthen their province and build resilience to climate change. The Government of Saskatchewan has been implementing measures of its climate change strategy since it was launched in 2017, titled Prairie Resilience: A Made-in-Saskatchewan Climate Change Strategy. The core principle of Prairie Resilience is resilience – the ability to cope with, adapt to, and recover from stress and change. Prairie Resilience is a strategy that takes a system-wide approach and includes more than 40 commitments designed to make Saskatchewan more resilient to the effects of a changing climate. The commitments – which go beyond emissions reductions alone – span Saskatchewan’s natural systems and resources, infrastructure for electricity, transportation, homes and buildings, and community preparedness. The Climate Resilience Measurement Framework monitors resilience-related progress in five key areas: natural systems (including our land, water and forests), physical infrastructure, economic sustainability, community preparedness, and the well-being of people to adapt and prosper in a changing environment. The Ministry of Environment reports annually on the Framework’s 25 scientifically-based indicators to enhance their understanding of how the province is responding to effects of a changing climate.

Understanding and Assessing Impacts

Prairie Resilience was developed using data from a wide range of sources, including: IPCC reports, ECCC reports, think tank publications, academic publications, citizen groups and administrative files. When assessing the impacts of proposed policies, the Government of Saskatchewan conducted internal modeling but also sought to verify the modeling results with stakeholder consultations. The latest research shows Saskatchewan is getting more rain, which leads to more floods. At the same time higher temperatures dry the ground faster accelerating the onset and severity of drought. Warmer winters are causing more problems with pests and invasive species, mountain pine beetle has already destroyed forests in neighboring provinces.

Identifying Actions

Critical to a resilience strategy is identifying efforts that can be undertaken within specific areas of focus. The province has developed climate resilience policies in several areas, including: natural systems, physical infrastructure, economic sustainability and community preparedness. These policies cover the ways climate change is affecting Saskatchewan. Although many policies have implications for more than one area of focus, they are identified under the area of best fit. Such as, methane action plan, output based performance system, commitment to renewable energy, cover cropping, zero-tillage, forest management plans, culvert expansion, flood mapping, emergency preparedness planning, monitoring infections disease pathways and strengthening municipal drinking water systems.

Implementation

Soon after the December 2017 release of Prairie Resilience the Government of Saskatchewan initiated broad-based engagement to generate awareness of the provincial strategy and to seek input on the development of specific regulatory approaches, and the development of Saskatchewan’s Climate Resilience Measurement Framework. For example, the Government of Saskatchewan has: provided over 100 presentations on Prairie Resilience and the associated commitments to groups and organizations outside of government. Met with over 200 different participants including industry, academics, municipalities, Indigenous communities and non-governmental organizations. Held over 50 bi-lateral sessions with various participants and interest groups. Met with 19 Métis communities represented by over 500 community members, six Tribal councils and attended twelve community engagement sessions with the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council that included representation from approximately 200 community members. Highlights of implemented actions since the launch of the climate change strategy, as reported in the Climate Resilience in Saskatchewan 2020 Report, include: Since April 2019, all forest harvest designs in Saskatchewan incorporate natural disturbance patterns. In the last two fiscal years, an additional 81 culverts were upgraded/replaced to meet the new provincial flood standard. This helps ensure the province’s transportation network is more resilient to extreme weather events. In 2019, Saskatchewan continued to increase the area of Crown land with wildfire fuel management work. This reduces the risk of wildfire to northern communities. Completion of wildfire fuel management for the remaining areas is expected by 2028, earlier than the original target of 2030.

Outcomes and Monitoring Progress

Between 2008 and 2015, the Government of Saskatchewan invested $60 million in GoGreen funding through public-private partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance biodiversity and educate the public about the effects of climate change. Since the launch of Saskatchewan’s climate change strategy in 2017, government continues to make significant progress on the strategy’s commitments. Highlights include: Engagement with a wide variety of organizations on the direction of climate strategy in Saskatchewan. Development of enabling legislation: two acts, four sets of regulations and two standards across government. The Climate Resilience Measurement Framework monitors resilience-related progress in five key areas: natural systems (including our land, water and forests), physical infrastructure, economic sustainability, community preparedness, and the well-being of people to adapt and prosper in a changing environment. The Ministry of Environment reports annually on the Framework’s 25 scientifically-based indicators to enhance their understanding of how the province is responding to effects of a changing climate. Government has released two climate resilience reports since launching the framework in 2018, with the latest report indicating improved resilience to climate change. Resilience measures are assessed to be either good, fair or poor. Eighteen measures in the 2020 report are classified as good, an increase from 15 in the 2019 report. Six are classified as fair, and there are once again no measures with a poor status.

Next Steps

The Ministry of Environment will continue to report annually on the Climate Resilience Measurement Framework’s 25 scientifically-based indicators to enhance their understanding of how the province is responding to effects of a changing climate. As the Government of Saskatchewan works toward the overall goal of provincial resiliency and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, they will continue to seek input from: Emissions-intensive sectors; Sectors that may have offsets to offer the market; First Nations and Métis peoples; Environmental interests; Leaders of organized communities; and Citizens.

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