OUR WORK

A Canadian future of shared health and prosperity depends on our ability to manage ecosystems and all the services they provide for human well-being now and in the future.  

​In working landscapes – land actively used for production of resources such as food, fish, energy, and forest products – the focus has typically been on the cheap, reliable, and efficient production of individual ecosystem services such as food, energy, or timber. However, these efforts often overlook the fact that landscapes simultaneously produce multiple ecosystem services that interact in complex, dynamic ways. Consequences are increases in a few services (e.g., food, timber, energy) at the cost of declines in many other services (e.g., flood control, recreation, carbon storage).   

​Evidence-based management strategies and a scalable natural resource science that embraces the complexity of social-ecological systems are needed to reach consensus on these trade-offs to provide for present and future human ecosystem services needs equitably, while safeguarding sustainable ecosystems for future generations.  

Photo by Egan/Dufour

NSERC-ResNet

Funded by NSERC’s Strategic Initiatives, ResNet is a network for monitoring, modelling, and managing Canadian ecosystem services for sustainability and resilience.  
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We bring together a broad community of scholars and resource managers from across academic, government, NGO, and industry sectors to identify paths for sustainable landscape management that ensure biologically diverse, resilient, and adaptive social-ecological systems amid the complexity of competing values, stakeholders, and political jurisdictions. 
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​OUR PRINCIPLES 

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• We work with empathy, understanding, and transparent communication. 
• ​We develop a culture of lifting each other up, rather than one of competition. 
• We work with respect for the many disciplines and knowledge that are critical to answering the questions that compel us. 
• We intentionally integrate different kinds of knowledge in a manner that represents the diversity of Canada’s landscapes. 
• We commit to ensuring that our activities do not erode ecosystem services, and to using low carbon options where possible. 

Photo by Landscape 1: An investigation of wild bee communities in salt marsh and dyke habitats of Nova Scotia’s agricultural region. Learn more

Nature's Contributions to People: A Multi-Scale Perspective​
Visualization designed and produced by ResNet students and postdoctoral fellows.

Explore the Visualisation