The province released its new Climate Resilience Framework on Thursday
By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Saskatchewan recognizes the roles farmers play in climate change mitigation and reducing the province’s environmental footprint, the province’s new strategy shows.
The framework, a Climate Resilience Measurement Framework, is the first of its kind in Canada, a Government of Saskatchewan release said on Thursday.
One commitment in Sask.’s framework is to include Fertilizer Canada’s 4R Nutrient Stewardship practice. This field management protocol uses the Right Source @ Right Rate, Right Time, Right Place®, a Fertilizer Canada release said on Friday.
Indeed, the Sask. government aims for 25 per cent of the province’s cropland be under the 4R designation by 2025.
This component is part of the broader strategy, which will measure and enhance climate change resilience in the province using 25 parameters. The plan is a part of Prairie Resilience and aims to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 12 million tonnes by 2030, the Sask. government release said.
“Our government has made significant progress in the development of Prairie Resilience since it was announced nearly one year ago,” Dustin Duncan, Sask.’s environmental minister, said in the release.
“This new resilience framework covers a broad and balanced set of measures that will help ensure we are working to protect Saskatchewan people and communities from a changing climate.
“This (strategy) is an important part of our comprehensive plan that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve better results than a singular carbon tax policy.”
Some specific measures that the framework include are:
- percentage of ag land area with a 4R Nutrient Stewardship plan
- provincial forest harvest designs
- floodplain mapping for at-risk communities
Ontario and Manitoba government officials also included the 4R Nutrient Stewardship practice in their respective climate change strategies, Fertilizer Canada’s release said.
More information on Sask.’s Climate Resilience Measurement Framework can be found here.
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