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Presenters: Dr. Elizabeth Nelson and Dr. Diana Stralberg (co-moderators), Dr. Carlos Carroll, Jennifer Grant, Dr. Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis and Dr. Gregor Schuurman

This session will bring together conservation practitioners and researchers to discuss the implications of climate change for protected areas management and conservation priorities. Given the magnitude of change expected over the next century, conservation area managers are already identifying adaptation strategies for species and ecosystems under their protection. The identification of areas of likely ecological persistence (refugia) can inform efficient allocation of conservation resources. However, it is also important to understand when and where resistance is futile, and to begin developing strategies for accommodating, facilitating, and even expediting change.

Session co-organizers Dr. Elizabeth Nelson (Parks Canada) and Dr. Diana Stralberg (University of Alberta) have invited four panelists to provide brief presentations, followed by a series of small group discussions, with the aim of working together to answer the overarching question: “When should we resist, accept, or even facilitate change, and how can we combine these strategies effectively?”