The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) was founded in 1998 as a not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder monitoring organization with a Mission to monitor air quality and air quality related environmental impacts to generate accurate and transparent information which enables stakeholders to make informed decisions. Currently, it has 38 Aboriginal, industry, ENGO, and government members. WBEA operates an extensive forest health monitoring program within the 68,000 km2 Wood Buffalo Region, nested within the Lower Athabasca Land Use Region.
WBEA initiated an Acid Deposition Monitoring Program (ADMP) in 1998 to determine if Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) industrial air emissions were having a long-term adverse effect on the terrestrial environment. The regional network of forest plots measured in 1998 and 2004 was centered on P. banksiana stands having acid sensitive soils. During 2006-2007, a science-review of the ADMP was completed. The forest health concept was adopted; the network enhanced and expanded using the ecological analogue concept. The third cycle of plot measurements was completed in 2011/12. In this presentation, key findings on the state of forest health summarized from a 2015 WBEA report will be presented.
biography
Dr. Kevin Percy is Executive Director of the not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder Wood Buffalo Environmental Monitoring Association (www.wbea.org) located in Fort McMurray. Prior to joining WBEA in 2009, he was Senior Scientist-Global Change with NRCan. Dr. Percy has published numerous articles, books, and reports on air quality, air quality/climate change effects, and retrospective reviews of monitoring programs. His appointments at the science-policy interface have included the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), the CCME, and the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel The Potential for New and Emerging Technologies to Reduce the Environmental Impacts of Oil Sands Development.
