Date

Event 

2010

2009

2008

Armchair Discussion: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

On May 19, 2010, the Policy Research Initiative, in collaboration with Sustainable Prosperity, Environment Canada and the Canada School of Public Service, hosted Mr. Pavan Sukhdev, Special Advisor, Green Economy Initiative, United Nations Environment Programme.

Mr. Sukhdev spoke about the importance of linking economic growth with the protection of ecosystems. The United Nations Environment Programme is in the process of releasing the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity study. Mr. Pavan Sukhdev reviewed that report and provided strategies for creating informed policy options to address biodiversity and related topics.

Mr. Pavan Sukhdev leads the United Nations Environment Programme’s Green Economy Initiative, which includes the Green Economy Report, the Green Jobs report and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity study (TEEB), of which he is also Study Leader. The Initiative, which is advising decision-makers across the globe on the transformation to a green economy, in countries as diverse as Jordan, Korea, Brazil and India, as well as European nations, has authored a number of leading international economic studies and reports on key issues and innovative new instruments, such as 'green' national accounts and payment for ecosystem services, and opportunities to make them work on the ground.

Presentation

• The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) (Pavan Sukhdev, UNEP)

Meeting with Dutch researchers Jan Rotmans and Derk Loorbach

On October 28 and 29, 2009, the Policy Research Initiative hosted two leading scholars in the field of transition management: Professors Jan Rotmans and Derk Loorbach from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Professors Rotmans and Loorbach gave presentations at the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, the Canada School of Public Service, as well as an additional three presentations to federal public servants from various departments. These sessions addressed transition approaches for sustainability and generated lively discussion and key insights.

Please follow the links below for short bios on Professors Rotmans and Loorbach, a short description of the Dutch transition approach accompanied by PowerPoint slides of their presentation and web links to further resources on the topics discussed.

• Biographies
• Background on Transition Management
• Presentation Slides

Adaptive Policy-Making

On February 4, 2009, the Policy Research Initiative and the Rural Development Network hosted a presentation by Darren Swanson from the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) on Creating adaptive policies: seven things policymakers should know to craft better policies in today's dynamic and uncertain world. The presentation was based on A Guide to Creating Adaptive Policies, a book due to be published in June 2009 by the IISD and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) (India), made possible with a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). This book examines the challenge that policy-makers face in today’s inter-connected, fast-paced and changing world, and presents seven tools that policy-makers can use to help ensure that their policies perform under these dynamic and uncertain conditions. The tools that were discussed are relevant to all government departments. Specific examples were drawn from agriculture, water resources management and climate change.

Adaptive policies are a special type of policy created for the complexity of the 21st century. Policies of this type anticipate the variety of situations that lie ahead through robust design using (1) integrated and forward-looking analysis, (2) multi-stakeholder deliberation and by monitoring key performance indicators to trigger (3) automatic policy adjustments. But not all circumstances can be foreseen. Adaptive policies are able to move toward positive outcomes in settings that cannot be predicted in advance. This can be accomplished by doing (4) regular and systematic policy reviews and improvements and by working with certain aspects of complex adaptive systems, such as (5) leveraging the self-organizing and social-networking capacity of communities, (6) decentralizing decision-making to the lowest and most effective jurisdictional level, and by (7) promoting variation in policy responses. This presentation elaborated on these seven tools as a practical guide for policy-makers who work on complex issues.

Agenda

Presentation

Brochure on Adaptive Policy

Meeting with David Pannell