B.C. disasters, extreme weather show need for climate-resilient agriculture
CTV
Wildfires, sweltering heat and extensive flooding in British Columbia last year have underscored the importance of strengthening the agricultural sector's resilience to the effects of climate change and extreme weather, experts say.
Wildfires, sweltering heat and extensive flooding in British Columbia last year have underscored the importance of strengthening the agricultural sector's resilience to the effects of climate change and extreme weather, experts say.
“We should be building the infrastructure for the next 30 years, starting yesterday,” said Sean Smukler, chair of agriculture and environment at the University of British Columbia.
B.C. is “ahead of the curve” in Canada, he said, pointing to the government-funded Climate & Agriculture Initiative launched in 2013. It has developed eight regional adaptation plans along with climate-related resources for the sector, while supporting research at the farm level.
Still, the province's adaptation efforts have been incremental when they should be urgent, said Smukler,who's also the principal investigator at the university's Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes Lab.
He said funding is needed to match the scale of the challenge.
“We have to get going now or else we're just going to be in a reactionary mode constantly, and reactionary mode is going to be so costly, much more costly than if we were being proactive and planning out a viable future,” he said.
The second half of 2021 in B.C. offers a snapshot of potential costs.
