Technical Bulletin No. 1097: Climate-Smart Forestry: Characteristics, Benefits, and Trade-Offs
Authored by:
Sara Correa García, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Canadian Forestry / Chercheuse scientifique senior, Foresterie canadienne
Kevin Solarik, PhD, Director, Canadian Forest Sustainability – Directeur, Durabilité des forêts canadiennes
Abstract
Climate change is altering the structure and function of Canada’s forests through rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and intensifying natural disturbances. While sustainable forest management has long guided responsible forestry in Canada, it has not fully integrated climate adaptation and mitigation as core objectives. In response, Climate-Smart Forestry (CSF) has emerged as a framework that incorporates adaptation, mitigation, and the preservation of social values into forest planning and operations. This report explores how CSF builds on Canada’s sustainable forest management legacy by characterizing and contextualizing existing tools, policies, and practices with the realities of a changing climate. It presents CSF’s three core components: adaptation to climate vulnerability, mitigation to enhance carbon sequestration, and the social dimension, emphasizing equity, Indigenous rights, and intergenerational value, and examines how these are being operationalized across Canadian forest landscapes. Case studies illustrate on-the-ground applications, including vulnerability assessments, assisted migration, and Indigenous-led practices such as cultural burning. The report also identifies emerging trade-offs among ecosystem services (e.g., biodiversity, wood supply, carbon storage, and water regulation), offering insights into how spatial planning and decision-support systems can help balance competing objectives. While CSF holds strong potential to strengthen forest resilience and contribute to climate change mitigation, its advancement is hindered by several barriers. Key challenges include regulatory fragmentation, economic constraints, along with gaps in data, capacity, and cross-jurisdictional coordination. Despite these obstacles, CSF should not be viewed as a replacement for sustainable forest management but as its natural progression, a forward-looking approach that leverages Canada’s institutional and scientific capacity to meet climate and sustainability goals more holistically.
Keywords
Adaptation, Climate Change, Climate-Smart Forestry, Ecosystem Services, Forestry, Forest Management, Mitigation, Sustainable Forest Management, Social Values, Trade-Offs
Mot-clés
adaptation, aménagement forestier, aménagement forestier durable, atténuation, changements climatiques, compromis, foresterie, foresterie intelligente face au climat, services écosystémiques, valeurs sociales
Related Resources
NCASI Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Database
Climate-Smart Forestry: Characteristics, Benefits, and Trade-Offs (BN-26-01)