Forests can have significant potential to mitigate climate change. Conversely, climatic changes have significant potential to alter forest environments. Forest management options may well mitigate climate change. However, management decisions have direct and long-term consequences that will affect forest-based communities. The northern boreal forest in Ontario, Canada, in the sub-Arctic above the 51st parallel, is the territorial homeland of the Cree, Ojibwe, and Ojicree Nations. Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) is the political representative of these Nations that are signatories to treaties 5 (Ontario's portion) and 9. The researcher and NAN collaborated to record observations of changes in the forest environment attributed to climate change and to share and exchange information and perspectives about climate change in 2011. Data were collected from members of ten NAN First Nations whose territorial land stretches across an area of ~110 800 km2. Forty-three individuals contributed to the data. These individuals represent political leaders, Elders, land users (hunters, trappers, fishers, and gatherers), community land use planning and winter road-making staff, and other community members. The research philosophy "CREE"-C=capacity building, R=respect, E=equity, and E=empowerment-underpinned the methodology, Participatory Action Research (PAR). The benefits and lessons learned in applying PAR from the research partnership are woven into the discussions. Climate change effects are occurring on NAN First Nation territorial land and these effects are explored through the Indigenous lens of "blue-ice". Blue-ice is a term embedded in the Indigenous languages across the fieldwork area. Its presence on the land is linked to transportation in carrying out traditional activities on the land and the delivery of modern goods and services into these First Nation communities. The disappearance of blue-ice is affecting food and energy security. A term often used in the climate change discourse is adaptation. Yet the First Nation perception of "adaptation" is different than the Western concept and we reframed the term to reflect their Indigenous worldview. In the scientific literature much has been written on boreal forests and forest carbon sequestration with respect to climate change. First Nation perspectives and knowledge about climate change in their territories is limited in the literature. Northern NAN First Nations living in the boreal forest have a unique understanding of climate change effects and need to play a significant role in the development of climate change policy for Ontario's northern boreal forest. Bridging Western and Indigenous knowledge and perspectives about climate change is necessary to formulate the best possible solutions to address climate change.

Climate change is expected to affect people's health and livelihoods in northern Indigenous communities more adversely than in others due to existing socio-economic conditions and direct reliance on the environment to support Indigenous livelihoods. The central research questions of this study are: How has climate change affected Indigenous livelihoods and Indigenous health in Northern Ontario communities, and how might these be affected into the future? These were answered by conducting research in two parts: a comprehensive literature review, and interviews with 15 members of a First Nation community. From the literature and interviews, Indigenous community members made significant observations related to climate change including increasingly unpredictable and intense weather, declines in ice cover duration and ice thickness, declines in the abundance of some traditional food species, and negative health outcomes. Several participants had experienced severe enough changes that their livelihoods had been diminished due to a decreasing ability to participate in certain traditional activities such as hunting, ice fishing, and trapping and a decline in harvest success for traditional foods like moose, fish, and blueberries. Projections of changes in environmental conditions and traditional food species abundance throughout this century demonstrated that in Northern Ontario, there will be continuing trends of declines in ice cover duration and ice thickness, increasingly intense weather, more frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves and forest fires, declines in water quality due to proliferation of waterborne diseases and the occurrence of cyanobacterial algal blooms, and declines in the abundance of moose and preferred fish species.

"[This report] documents how climate change is reducing First Nations' traditional food sources, driving up the cost of imported alternatives, and contributing to a growing problem of food insecurity and related negative health impacts."--Publisher website.

Climate change is already being experienced in Ontario's Far North with implications for First Nations communities that are reliant on winter road systems. The first study of this thesis examined how winter road seasons have been affected historically by particular climate conditions by focusing on the timing of opening dates of the James Bay Winter Road (JBWR). This study established a minimum threshold of 380 freezing degree-days (FDDs) below 0°C, a threshold subsequently used to assess the impacts of climate change on winter road systems in the future using climate change projections. The second study explored the current vulnerability of the Fort Albany First Nation community regarding physical, social/cultural, economic impacts associated with changing winter roads and its seasons, as well as river ice regimes. Through the analysis of key informant interviews and winter road user surveys on the changes in winter roads and river ice regimes, the six major themes were identified. As a result, the JBWR has now become a critical seasonal lifeline for not only providing a relatively inexpensive land transport of essential goods and supplies, but also reconnecting coastal remote communities by physical, social, and cultural activities during winter. The third study focused on the viability and longevity of winter road systems in Ontario's Far North for the next century using recent climate model projections using three Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. Using FDD threshold established in the first study as the main metric, climate conditions are expected to remain favourable in Big Trout Lake and Lansdowne House during winter road construction through the end of 2100. However, climate conditions would possibly be unfavourable for winter road construction at Moosonee, Kapuskasing, and Red Lake by 2041−2070. These studies demonstrate that there is an immediate need to develop adaptation strategies in response to impacts of climate change on winter roads in Ontario's Far North.

With a long history and deep connection to the Earth’s resources, indigenous peoples have an intimate understanding and ability to observe the impacts linked to climate change. Traditional ecological knowledge and tribal experience play a key role in developing future scientific solutions for adaptation to the impacts. The book explores climate-related issues for indigenous communities in the United States, including loss of traditional knowledge, forests and ecosystems, food security and traditional foods, as well as water, Arctic sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and relocation. The book also highlights how tribal communities and programs are responding to the changing environments. Fifty authors from tribal communities, academia, government agencies and NGOs contributed to the book. Previously published in Climatic Change, Volume 120, Issue 3, 2013.

This report summarizes the most recent literature describing the impacts of current climate and the potential effects of anticipated climate change on the environment and on those social and economic sectors in Ontario most likely to undergo significant changes. After the introduction, chapter 2 describes the physical and socio-economic resources of Ontario. Chapter 3 details current climatic conditions in the province, including variability and recent trends. Chapter 4 reviews the impacts of the current climate on the following sectors: water resources, human and ecosystem health, the built environment, and industries such as energy, transportation, tourism and recreation, agriculture, forestry, construction, and finance. This chapter also examines the relationship between climate and regional air issues. Chapter 5 surveys future climate scenarios and assesses the impacts and opportunities arising from these scenarios for the same sectors addressed in chapter 4. Chapter 6 reviews the research and application of adaptive measures in five areas: water resources, human and ecosystem health, the built environment, industry, and regional air issues. The chapter also reviews Ontario's adaptation capacity with respect to these sectors. The final chapter summarizes knowledge gaps and research priorities for Ontario in the areas of climate variability and change, impacts and adaptation.

Reviews literature concerning the effects of global climate change on forest plants and communities, and provides opinions on the potential impacts that climate change may have on Ontario forests. Sections of the review discuss the following: the climate of Ontario in the 21st century as predicted by climate models; forest hydrology in relation to climate change; insects and climate change; impacts on fungi in the forest ecosystem; impacts on forest fires and their management; plant physiological responses; genetic implications of climate change; forest vegetation dynamics; the use of models in global climate change studies; and forest management responses to climate change.

This report updates a review of literature about the effects of global climate change on forest plants and communities published in 1998. The focus is on changes in Ontario predicted for forest fires, insect outbreaks, disease, forest growth, species composition, harvest rates, wood supply, genetics and regeneration, and carbon-based forest management.--Includes text from document.

"In the past, most research related to climate change has either been focused on the identification of potential impacts of climate change or the development of mitigation measures to lessen the scale of predicted climate change (through measures to decrease greenhouse gas production and release). It has not been until recently, that research focused on adaptation has become more important in the scientific and social scientific communities. Despite considerable examination of impacts and adaptations of climate change on a global and a Canadian regional scale, relatively little attention has been paid to identifying the impacts of climate change on the physical, social, cultural, and environmental aspects of First Nations, and adaptation and mitigation options for First Nations. By way of example, the Natural Resources Canada report, "Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: A Canadian Perspective", mentions the terms "First Nation" or "Aboriginals" ten times in total. The Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change similarly makes little reference to First Nations in the southern parts of Canada when discussing adaptation or vulnerabilities associated with climate change. Much consideration was given to Inuit and Northern Aboriginal communities in the Arctic; however, more consideration needs to be given to First Nation communities in the south as well."