Climate change adaption : Ontario's resilient greenbelt

DISCLAIMERS The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors only and do not necessarily represent the views of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, their Officers or Directors. [...] While there is a great deal of uncertainty about the exact nature and extent of future climate change, there appears to be a consensus in terms of the direction in which the climate is changing in Southern Ontario: longer summers with more major storms and droughts and warmer, shorter winters with greater levels of snowfall. [...] Policies are required to guide the implementation of adaptation measures that seek to minimize threats to the viability of natural and human systems in the Greenbelt due to climate change, but also to make the most of any positive impacts that may occur. [...] In the Greenbelt, the risk of flooding is lower than in the heavily urbanized portions of the GGH as there are fewer impermeable surfaces and more opportunities for natural retention and absorption of stormwater. [...] Conversely, increase in the number of predators could adversely impact the numbers of the prey, while a decrease in the number of predators could benefit the prey species.