Institut de l’environnement - Mémoires // Institute of the Environment - Research Papers

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10393/32545

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Visitor Perspectives on Alternative Parking Management Strategies: Implications for Meech Lake Parking Access and Visitor Use Management in Gatineau Park
(2024-08) Padvaiskas, Ashley V.; Heintzman, Paul
Parks and protected areas often operate under a dual mandate, such that their management aims to conserve the natural environment while providing quality recreational opportunities for visitor enjoyment. Unfortunately, growing visitation trends have created complex managerial challenges when attempting to balance conservation goals with conflicting visitor demands across some of the most highly visited parks across Canada, including Gatineau Park. While even minimal levels of recreational use in an area can impose substantial environmental and social impacts, growing visitor densities at popular destinations in Gatineau Park, including Meech Lake, are likely to continue to strain managerial efforts put forth to restore the ecological integrity of the park and provide desired positive visitor experiences. This paper, based on a review of existing literature and various case studies, aims to identify parking management options and sustainable transportation alternatives that could be implemented in the Meech Lake sector of Gatineau Park to address parking shortages at Parking Lot 13 during the busy summer season. Four alternative parking and transportation strategies are considered: variable rate parking fees; time-managed entry reservation systems; active modes of transportation; and the exploration of a shuttle bus service expansion. Each approach is examined based on its advantages, limitations and public perceptions. The purpose of this study is to help inform Gatineau Park’s managerial team of the most efficient means of managing visitor use of Parking Lot 13 at Meech Lake with minimal pushback from the public to sustain current recreational activities and provide a safe and high-quality visitor experience.
Black carbon emissions related to transportation in Canada: Sources, impacts, and recommendations
(2024-07) Czerwinski, Alessia; Dawson, Jackie
The incomplete combustion of fine particulate matter produces black carbon (BC), an atmospheric pollutant that has a major direct and indirect impact on the climate, environment, and human health. The Arctic region is especially impacted by climate change, in part due to BC emissions. Canada has a major obligation to cut its emissions as a key member of the Arctic Council, with its majority of emissions stemming from transportation. Although Canada has been reporting on BC for a number of years, the corresponding regulations to tackle this problem are lacking or not enforced. This paper, through a systematic literature review of academic and grey literature, provides a snapshot of the sources and impacts of BC emissions as well as the current relevant Canadian regulations. These current regulations were analysed for their successes and their gaps pertaining to regulating BC within the transportation sector. Finally, recommendations are provided based on relevant international regulations and the established gaps. These recommendations include urban planning modifications to reduce the impact of BC emissions, increased collaboration with Canada’s partners such as the United States, and opportunities for growth inspired by existing projects. KEYWORDS: Canada, black carbon, Arctic, environmental regulations, transportation
Indigenous Fire Knowledge: Benefits, Barriers, and Best Practices Across Four International Cases
(2024-07) France, Kyla; Young, Nathan
This major research paper examines the critical role of Indigenous Fire Knowledge (IFK) in mitigating the effects of climate change, namely wildfires. Today, there is a growing global call to revive IFK to improve wildfire management and uphold Indigenous rights. This study employed a document analysis and case study approach, integrating insights from peer-reviewed and grey literature using a blended coding strategy to inform its findings. Despite identified barriers to mobilising IFK such as societal perceptions of fire, jurisdictional challenges, and resource constraints, the analysis of case studies from the Karuk Tribe, Firesticks Alliance, the Secwépemc Nation, and Indigenous Fire Brigades finds effective approaches to mitigate wildfire impacts through Indigenous fire practices. The paper presents recommendations for Canada that include formal partnerships between governments and Indigenous communities/organizations, supporting bottom-up, Indigenous-led initiatives, and promoting education on IFK and accrediting cultural burning practices. Keywords: Indigenous Fire Knowledge (IFK), wildland fire, knowledge bridging, disaster risk reduction, Indigenous fire stewardship, community, self-determination
Holding Canadian Universities Accountable: An Assessment of Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments
(2024-08) Gupta, Nidhi; Rivers, Nicholas
This paper examines the current status of fossil fuel divestment at Canadian universities. Many fossil fuel divestment commitments are often made by institutions, however the follow up and status are generally less publicized. This leaves the question of how effectively are institutions following through with their divestment statements. Therefore, this paper uses the concept of accountability to determine the efficacy of fossil fuel divestment at Canadian institutions. Accountability is defined by Bovens (2007) and adapted to the governance and sustainable practices found at Canadian universities. A framework for assessing accountability was created based on the areas of interest for stakeholders, as well as defined criteria in accountability from the literature. The framework was applied to five Canadian universities, and evaluated four categories: transparency, responsibility, responsiveness, and financial disclosure. The assessment found that all universities assessed are on track to meet their divestment commitments. While some universities were found to be stronger than others in the areas assessed, all universities had a considerable amount of information available. However, many universities were found to have long divestment timelines, considering the inception of fossil fuel divestment student advocacy groups to the deadline for full divestment at a university. Additionally, clear and streamlined communications from universities is recommended to provide progress on divestment. Although universities may be on track, this is not always clear unless a thorough assessment is done. Enhancing reporting or consistent updates are two examples of methods that can provide strong communication. Overall, this will ensure the accountability expectations for fossil fuel divestment commitments at universities are better met.
Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement: A Synthesis of Research on its Climate Mitigation Potential and International Governance Challenges
(2024-08) Painter, Jenna; Juillet, Luc
Deploying carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies has been deemed necessary to complement drastic emissions reductions and limit global warming to well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures by the end of the century (IPCC, 2023). Attention has turned to deploying CDR in marine environments (mCDR) due to the ocean’s natural capacity for sequestering and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is an mCDR approach that aims to increase the ocean’s chemical storage capacity for atmospheric CO2 by adding alkaline materials to its surface to enhance its natural buffering capacity (Kheshgi, 1995; Wang et al., 2023). This scoping review synthesized the academic literature on OAE’s CDR potential, climate mitigation benefits, and the opportunities and challenges associated with the international governance of OAE and mCDR approaches. Earth model scenarios of OAE show different potentials for atmospheric CO2 uptake and storage due to varying model parameters, such as the scale of OAE (e.g., global or regional), the location of OAE, the amount and type of alkaline material added, and the forecasted emissions pathway. Overall, model scenarios of global, regional, and coastal OAE using various natural and synthetic alkaline materials indicate that oceanic uptake and storage of atmospheric CO2 would increase (e.g., Jin & Cao, 2023; Fakhraee et al., 2023). OAE termination scenarios indicate that once OAE ceases after a certain period, the ocean stops taking up CO2 at an enhanced rate; however, the CO2 previously sequestered remains in the marine environment (e.g., Ilyina et al., 2023; Keller et al., 2014). Corresponding with the enhanced oceanic CO2 uptake and reduced atmospheric CO2 concentrations, future projected increases in average global surface air temperature are predicted to decrease under OAE scenarios (e.g., Gonzalez et al., 2018; Sonntag et al., 2018). However, despite OAE’s potential for climate mitigation, numerous knowledge gaps remain regarding its impact on the climate system and the marine environment. Future multi-model research into the effectiveness and feasibility of OAE and its influence on the global climate system and ocean ecology is required (Butenschan et al., 2021; Lenton et al., 2018). mCDR approaches, including OAE, have no legally binding international governance regimes (Bach et al., 2024). However, numerous frameworks likely have implicit roles in mCDR governance due to their connections to the marine environment and climate change, such as the London Protocol, Paris Agreement, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and Convention on Biological Diversity (Gambardella, 2019; McGee et al., 2018). While research on mCDR approaches is needed to evaluate their effectiveness and impacts, experimental groundwork and deploying OAE and other mCDR techniques are expected to face numerous governance challenges (Gattuso et al., 2021; Sovacool et al., 2022). Substantial challenges for mCDR governance stem from the potential of transboundary harm and the fragmented international law framework for the ocean (Boettcher et al., 2021; Roschel & Neumann, 2023). Further, mCDR research and deployment will likely have low social acceptability due to risks to the marine environment and human well-being (Cox et al., 2021). To address these challenges, transdisciplinary and inclusive research is needed to develop a governance approach that comprehensively assesses mCDR approaches (McGee et al., 2018; Roschel & Neumann, 2023). OAE displays a strong potential for climate mitigation. Future research is needed to assess OAE’s CDR potential under different earth system models and determine OAE’s impact on marine ecosystems and biodiversity (Feng et al., 2017; Jin & Cao, 2023; Lenton et al., 2018). An inclusive and transdisciplinary approach to mCDR governance is required to create an extensive and foresighted framework that addresses the unique challenges and opportunities of mCDR approaches for climate mitigation (Bach et al., 2024; Loomis et al., 2022; McGee et al., 2018).
Understanding the Design of Rural Agricultural Development Projects: The Case of Climate-Smart Villages in Kenya
(2024-04) Yang, Geneva Juanyu; Huggins, Chris
In the face of climate change-induced disasters that reduce crop yields and threaten farmer livelihoods, many development agencies started endorsing climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as the agricultural best practice in a warming world. The Climate-Smart Villages (CSV) in Nyando, Kenya are a participatory, outcome-focused agricultural research for development project that developed a series of tailored CSA interventions that have been shown to improve productivity, farmer adaptation, and greenhouse gas mitigation. Through systematic literature review and key informant interviews, this research paper first identified factors that enabled or constrained the project’s effectiveness: community engagement; local and national partnerships; capacity building; providing agricultural resources; incorporating gender considerations; monitoring and evaluation; outreach targeted at marginalized members; prioritization of project outcomes; and an integrated articulation of a theory of change. Next, the research paper contextualized the project in, and compared it with, historical and contemporary rural agricultural development projects in Kenya. By learning from the design and implementation of projects such as the Nyando CSVs, policymakers and development practitioners can maximize project outcome across multiple dimensions in the context of climate change. This case study provides a critical examination of best practices which can be further tested and applied. Keywords: climate-smart agriculture; rural development; climate change; Kenya
“Despite the scarcity of data available, there are no major data gaps” — The inadequacy of assessments of effects on bats in Canadian federal impact assessments
(2024-06-14) Campbell, Charlie; Findlay, Scott
Pharmaceutical Pollution in Ontario: Identifying and Assessing the Toxicity of Pharmaceutical Compounds for Environmental Release Management
(2024-06-03) Hichri, Yasmeen; Pick, Frances
Impacts of changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System on Wetlands in Southern Ontario
(2024-06-03) Rosario, Rosabelle; Rivers, Nicholas
The impact of communicating your SDG impact - a guide for business schools writing PRME reports
(2024-05-31) Vinogradova, Sonia; Himick, Darlene
Mineralizing the Road to Canada's Green Future: Jurisdictional considerations surrounding critical mineral extraction and production for Electric Vehicle Batteries in Canada
(2024-05-31) Workentin, Kevin Joseph; McCarney, Geoff
Sue Big Oil: Canadian Municipalities v. Fossil Fuel Giants
(2023) Johnson, Isabella; Chalifour, Nathalie
Climate litigation has become a useful tool to hold governments and corporations accountable over their role in the climate crisis. Indeed, more than 500 lawsuits were filed worldwide - alleging climate inaction, greenwashing tactics, and corporate deception - from 2020 to 2022 alone. Starting in 2018, municipalities across the United States (US) began filing lawsuits against the Carbon Majors, contending these companies should be held financially liable for extreme weather events – exacerbated by fossil fuel extraction and production - and consequent climate adaptation measures. This paper will discuss the Sue Big Oil campaign in BC, which aims to replicate the US litigation, and analyze four case studies from the US and the Netherlands to determine what political lessons – including opportunities to ease the financial impact of climate change, understand the fossil fuel industry’s knowledge of the crisis, make a political statement, and advance equity - the campaign can take from these lawsuits. The paper culminates with recommendations for local elected officials in BC on the benefits and risks associated with a potential class action lawsuit.
Establishing Sustainability or Sustaining the Established: An Agroecological Analysis of Recent Canadian Food Policy
(2023) DeRuyter-Adams, Cassandra; Bronson, Kelly
This research project explores to what extent the design of major recent federal initiatives within the Food Policy for Canada (the Policy) supports a sustainable food system within Canada according to agroecological principles. The project conducted a content analysis supported by NVivo 12 to categorize grey literature and a qualitative literature review to analyze academic sources. The literature review provided context to present alongside the content analysis’ findings. The most common principles of agroecological food system sustainability were connectivity, land and natural resource governance, social values and diets, and participation. While these principles indicate more transformative food system action, fundamental concerns about the Policy’s support and inclusion of agroecologically sustainable principles were identified. Keywords: Agroecology, sustainability, Canada, food system, Food Policy for Canada
Design and Implementation of an Electricity System Optimization Model for Remote Communities in Canada
(2023) Sargent, Leanne; Rivers, Nicholas
This study presents an energy system optimization model based on linear programming techniques to predict least-cost electricity generating systems for five remote communities in Quebec, Canada. The model integrates hourly electricity demand data, hourly wind speed data, and hourly solar power generation data, and considers relevant costs, to identify the optimal combination of generating technologies capable of meeting the communities' electricity demand throughout the year. To account for environmental considerations, the model was subject to two separate constraints. First, a carbon tax on carbon emissions from the system was incrementally increased. Second, carbon emissions were gradually constrained, ultimately reducing to zero allowed emissions. The results suggest that even in the absence of either aforementioned constraint, the least-cost system already incorporates wind power in conjunction with existing diesel generation, and a system with zero carbon emissions is less expensive still than a system fully reliant on diesel. Further, the results suggest that a carbon emissions constraint is a more impactful policy option to incent carbon emissions reductions than a carbon tax for the five communities studied, as the carbon tax increased system price while providing insignificant carbon emissions reductions.
A UK Case Study: What Canada can learn from their consumer food waste policies
(2023) Ing, Kristyn; Saner, Marc
Food loss and waste (FLW) is a problem in Canada, where consumers and households generate one of the largest sources of avoidable food waste. The United Kingdom (UK) is a leader in addressing consumer food loss and waste through government policies and programs. For Canada to learn from the UK’s consumer food waste policies, I conducted a systematic literature review of the academic and grey literature in addition to government documents. Through my case study, I compared the landscape of the UK’s FLW policies and programs to that of Canada and provided recommendations that could be harnessed by the Government of Canada to address this issue. Recommendations included providing consistent federal funding to national waste reduction councils and organizations, creating monitoring and evaluation frameworks during foundational policy development, linking FLW reductions to climate change ambitions and investing in behavioural science research. KEYWORDS: UK, Canada, food loss and waste (FLW), consumer behaviour, circular economy, public policy and programs
Organic Waste Diversion in Atlantic Canada
(2023) Vanderkloet, Rachel; Rivers, Nicholas
Sustainable waste management is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving landfill space, and producing valuable end-products. Organic waste diversion plays an important role in sustainable waste management with various environmental and economic benefits. Organic waste diversion is not a new concept, and many areas have had systems in place for over 20 years. One area where there are significant variations in residential organics waste diversion rates is Atlantic Canada. This research paper investigates the factors that contribute to these variations and explores the barriers and opportunities for increasing diversion across the region. Through a comprehensive literature review, the study investigates several factors that may affect diversion rates, including population density, access to composting facilities, curbside collection, and public education and outreach programs. The paper explores unique challenges in organics waste diversion in rural areas of Atlantic Canada due to limited access to resources and infrastructure. The study also highlights various opportunities for progress, such as increased funding for diversion programs and more data collection and reporting on waste management. Overall, this research paper provides insights for policymakers and practitioners looking to improve diversion rates and advance sustainable waste management practices in Atlantic Canada.
Policy Lessons and Indigenous Governance: Providing a Basis for a Successful Salmon Reintroduction Framework in the Upper Columbia River
(2023) Dufort, Alexandra; Marschke, Melissa
Since the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in the mid 1900s, the passage of anadromous salmon to the Upper Columbia River Basin has been completely hindered. Studies have determined that there remains viable habitat for these species of salmon in the Upper Columbia which could support natural reproduction. The Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative (CRSRI), an Indigenous-led program, is now working to reintroduce these salmon to their historic habitat for the betterment of the ecosystem and cultural and economic well-being of the local Indigenous communities that once depended on them. A provincial policy – the British Columbia Wild Salmon Policy, and a Canadian law – the federal Species at Risk Act – are examined to assess their potential use to a governance system for reintroduced salmon of the Upper Columbia River Basin. Indigenous rights and land claims also provide support for First Nation’s constitutional rights to manage resources on their traditional territory. In this paper, I argue that First Nations led governance is a must in this reintroduction scenario; First Nations are well placed to lead a management program that equally takes into account Indigenous knowledge, western science, and community input. Necessary considerations for this governance framework are also outlined, citing explicitly defined long-term goals and management plans (such as distribution and abundance objectives, extent of commitment to management, and criteria to determine when salmon have been fully re-established), the consideration of potential consequences (potential implications with protection status of other species, political consequences, etc.), and iterative processes as main focus points. Key recommendations include establishing an advisory board made up of Indigenous groups, researchers, and stakeholders to implement a community-based program that works collaboratively with federal and provincial governments and programs as well as NGOs to implement the necessary biological, socioeconomic, organizational, managerial, and political strategies. Key Terms: Upper Columbia River Basin, salmon reintroduction, First Nations led governance
An investigation of the best practices for implementing a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) single-use non-alcoholic beverage container deposit-refund system in Ontario
(2018) Maciaszek, Agatha; Katz-Rosene, Ryan
Ontario contributes to the widespread and pervasive problem of plastic pollution as more than 50% of the single-use beverage containers sold in the province end up in the landfill or environment. This problem persists even with an extensive recycling program in place for household packaging waste. One plausible solution to increasing plastic bottle recycling rates, strengthening plastics’ end-use value and alleviating the negative externalities associated with disposable products is for the province to implement a deposit-refund system (DRS) for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) single-use non-alcoholic beverage containers. This system charges a deposit to the consumer at the point of purchase and refunds the charge when the product is brought to a specified recovery collection point. The purpose of my research is to examine what features or best practices of a DRS yield high recovery rates, of which can be applied in Ontario, if it decides to introduce this program. These practices have been determined by conducting a comparative case study of six jurisdictions with a DRS in place: California, Oregon, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Norway, and Sweden. An analysis and synthesis of similarities, differences and patterns across the cases is conducted. The results demonstrate the features of a DRS that yield high recovery rates which are intended to guide the potential implementation of this system in Ontario.
Predicting the fossil fuel divestment decisions of Canadian post-secondary educational institutions
(2018) Charrois Vervoort, Daniel; Findlay, Scott; Rivers, Nic
This report provides an analysis of the fossil fuel divestment campaign and its impacts on Canadian post-secondary institutions. Based on the divestment decisions of 22 Canadian post-secondary educational institutions, we illuminate institutional attributes that are associated with a divestment campaign and decision. We also collected divestment press releases and news reports and characterized the rationales, and alternative actions into distinctive types. The results bear important implications for increasing our understanding of higher education endowment fund management. Key Words: divestment; endowment; environmental, social, governance (ESG) criteria; fossil fuels; responsible investing; stranded assets
The Price of Garbage: an analysis of the effect of user-pay programs on waste diversion in Ontario municipalities
(2018) Chiasson, Christina; Rivers, Nicholas
As the province of Ontario moves towards its goal of becoming waste free, there remains a substantial uphill battle to curb waste away from landfill and towards more sustainable end-of-life management facilities such as recycling, reusing, and composting plants. Diverting disposed materials into recovery facilities will help Ontario develop its circular economy and will relieve ever increasing pressures on local landfills. This study analyses the direct effect that waste policies have on residential waste diversion rates, with particular investigation into unit-based pricing mechanisms commonly known as user-pay or pay-as-you-throw programs. This study is intended to help policymakers decide which policies are most effective at increasing waste separation, and although the main focus is on user-pay schemes, bag limits, frequency of curbside recycling collection, curbside organic/leaf and yard waste collection and the level of promotion and education funding are also investigated for their effects on diversion rates in Ontario. This study uses the extensive database of information of Ontario municipalities’ waste programs provided by the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, and performs a series of simple and multiple linear regressions to determine the relationships between each waste policy and diversion rates. Between 216-243 municipalities were considered over a nine-year period from 2008-2016. The results of the study indicate a significant relationship between user-pay schemes and increased diversion, and also indicate that the policies may be more effective in urban communities than in rural ones.

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