Projects
Since 2010, Network partners have developed a series of research-based projects, pilots and proofs of concept. This work is helping build knowledge and capacity in support of conservation markets. Click on the links to reach each project profile.
Alberta Biodiversity Conservation Chairs
Two biodiversity conservation chairs were established to provide dedicated science capacity to link monitoring outcomes with policy outcomes and strategic planning.
Algar Ecosystem Services Assessment
This proof of concept assessed the potential for conservation offsets to be a driver in land reclamation and restoration, and devised frameworks for assessing ecosystem services and biodiversity benefits from linear restoration of legacy seismic lines.
Bears, Wolves and Ecosystem Health
Ecosystem-scale monitoring of population trends in grizzly bears and wolves in southwestern Alberta. There are two distinct initiatives: the Southwest Alberta Grizzly Bear Monitoring Project and the Wolf Population Monitoring Framework in Southwest Alberta. Watch the Documentary on Sharing the Range.
Bio Resource Information Management System (BRIMS)
BRIMS is a publicly available web-based application that integrates data from multiple sources to map forestry, agriculture and municipal solid waste. Through BRIMS, users are able to access information about natural resources, ecosystem services and land use, and search based on their interests.
Creating and Commercializing Predictive Ecosite Classification Platform for Alberta
Enabling ecosite classfication information to be created in Alberta, through a predictive, consistent ecosite classification platform.
Cultural Ecosystem Services in the Beaver Hills Biosphere
This project investigated how to identify, inventory and assess cultural ecosystem services (both traditional and western knowledge) associated with the management of wetlands within the biosphere landscape.
Developing Priorities for Ecosystem Services Marketplace Infrastructure in Alberta
A series of workshops held to engage ecosystem services stakeholders in discussions regarding the opportunities for developing ecosystem services and biodiversity market infrastructure and commercialization.
Diffusion of Innovation - Engagement and Outreach
Facilitating a system for information sharing, alignment and co-investment among a multi-stakeholder network of experts.
Ecosystem Services Assessment
Assessing the supply of ecosystem services across Alberta, The ABMI is using spatially explicit or location-specific models to calculate the supply and value of each service.
Evaluating Mechanisms for Wetland Restoration and Retention in Alberta
Exploring an innovative, market-based approach to wetland restoration through a living laboratory, allowing for unprecedented restoration efforts in Alberta. Using reverse auctions, in which landowners submit bids for wetland restoration work on their property.
Grasslands Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity Pilot
This ongoing project brings multiple stakeholders together to demonstrate the use of conservation markets to restore and protect the ecosystem serves and biodiversity benefits grasslands provide.
Modelling to Assess Ecosystem Services Benefits of Agricultural Beneficial Management Practices
This project aims to develop an integrated assessment platform to quantify the impact and effectiveness of ecosystem services (ES) associated with agricultural beneficial management practices (BMPs).
Supporting Conservation Offset Markets in Alberta
In this project, a white paper was developed to identify and asses how the impact of investments in wetland restoration and retention could be significantly increased if coordinated with investments from offsets and other conservation programs.
Sector Focused Outreach Sessions
A series of six outreach sessions, each targeting a key sector: Municipalities, forestry industry, agriculture industry, environmental non-government organizations, and the Government of Alberta. Sessions were held to gain valuable feedback from the target sector to support the development of an ecosystem services approach.
Towards Integrated Source Water Management in Alberta
This large multidisciplinary project is focused on understanding and addressing knowledge gaps related to the impacts of forest management (harvesting) on water and comparing these impacts to those associated with wildfires.
Understand Grazing Impacts on Nutrient Cycling and Carbon Sequestration on Alberta Rangelands
This study seeks to understand how grazing alters carbon cycling and provide data to inform economic models for the development of carbon storage incentives for rangelands.
Wetland Conservation and Stewardship in the Beaver Hills Biosphere
This pilot project is a collaboration of multiple partners with a keen interest in wetland markets to identify roles and responsibilities to research, design, test and evaluate a diverse market approach for wetland conservation and stewardship within the Beaver Hills Biosphere.
Incorprating Ecosystem Services into Environmental Impact Assessments - An Alberta Perspective
The goal of this project is to compare and contrast the differences between federal and provincial EIA procedures with an ESA. This will be an important step to address where both assessments naturally fit together and where an ESA will potentially affect scope of an EIA. It will also identify any gaps in the stakeholder engagement commitments outlined in an EIA, and leverage the 7-step process (developed as part of the Algar project) to better include impacted communities into the process. Lastly, it will identify additional ES that were unintentionally overlooked throughout the EIA process of a previously approved application.
Voluntary Market Pilots and Prototype for Exchange
Developing scalable metrics to measure and report on the performance of Alberta private and public sector investments in the environment; a database (the clearinghouse) to facilitate transfer and severance of environmental liabilities and risk between companies; and an exchange platform.