Last day to highlight public health and the environment
MONTREAL, April 7, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Public health and the environment will feature prominently on the third and final day of Adaptation Canada 2016, the national symposium on climate change to be held from April 12 to 14 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa. A number of other important topics will likewise be on the agenda of this day, as will be a closing plenary of distinguished guests.
The main panels on health are:
- Zoonotic Risks from a Changing Climate: Impacts and Adaptation Strategies to Protect the Health of Canadians (April 14, from 8:30 am)
- Local, Regional and National Adaptation to the Health Impacts of Climate Change in Canada (April 14, from 11 am)
- Land use planning to protect health from climate change: What's the recipe for success? (April 14, from 1:30 pm)
The topics to be discussed are: (i) the increased risk of zoonoses, that is to say, the transmission of diseases from animals to humans (Lyme disease, the chikungunya and Zika viruses, rabies, etc.) and prevention strategies, (ii) the improvement of strategies and measures to minimize the impact of global warming on health, and (iii) the most promising solutions to create a synergy between the authorities and other sectors to better protect the health of the population from the consequences of climate change.
Two noteworthy panels on the environment are:
- Biodiversity and People in a Changing Climate: Adaptation Imperatives for Enhancing Resilience (April 14, from 8:30 am). The inability to adapt to climate change and biodiversity loss are among the top 10 global risks identified by the World Economic Forum in 2015. The participants of this panel will discuss the threats to biodiversity in Canada and examine how the natural environment might be utilized to protect ecosystems, public health and the economy.
- Information and tools to support the Adaptation of Sustainable Forest Management in Canada (April 14, from 10:30 am). With the forest sector particularly affected by climate change, and possibly even more so in the years to come, this panel examines the best ways to ensure the sustainability of forest resources. Among these are the use of scientific data as well as a comprehensive multisectoral management based on operational, strategic and political interventions.
Closing: a look to the future
The closing plenary, to start at 3 pm, will address the challenges and future prospects in the face of climate change through the eyes of leading experts. Among these are: Roger B. Street, Technical Director of Adaptation Science at UKCIP, a British organization dedicated to climate change adaptation and researcher at the University of Oxford; Ian Burton, Scientist Emeritus at Environment Canada and Emeritus Professor at the University of Toronto; Dominique Charron, Acting Director of the Agriculture and Environment program at IDRC and previously manager of research programs at the Public Health Agency of Canada; and Alain Bourque, Executive Director of the Ouranos consortium on regional climatology and adaptation to climate change and co-organizer of the symposium.
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
Media representatives wishing to attend Adaptation Canada 2016 to do a live coverage or to prepare commentaries to be released on a later date must complete the accreditation form available at adaptationcanada2016.ca/media/. This document is required for entry into the premises of the symposium.
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Source: Ouranos and OCCIAR
SOURCE Ouranos
For interviews and more information: Hémisphère relations publiques, Marie-José Bégin, 514-994-0802
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