climate innovation
51猎奇入口initiative leads new approaches to wildfire resilience in Canada
Year after year, B.C.鈥檚 wildfires are posing a growing challenge, with fires burning hotter, larger and more intensely than ever before. Landscapes are being decimated, communities are threatened, resources are stretched, and smoke frequently blankets parts of B.C. and beyond in the summer months.
厂贵鲍鈥檚 (MWI) seeks to reshape and improve the way B.C. and Canada approach wildfire. Based at 厂贵鲍鈥檚 Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver, the initiative emphasizes prevention, collaboration and long-term resilience to support fire-adapted futures across Canada. Supported by the 51猎奇入口Climate Innovation unit, MWI partners with diverse actors to address wildfire while translating knowledge into practical, actionable solutions.
Led by Yolanda Clatworthy, an expert in climate governance, engagement and dialogue, MWI works to address the root causes of catastrophic wildfire, recognizing how wildfire amplifies pre-existing inequities, especially in rural and Indigenous communities. In addition, the impacts of wildfire are experienced across B.C., through health impacts, biodiversity loss, culture, tourism, the economy, livelihoods, watersheds, forests, energy systems, emotional well-being and more.
From prevention to implementation
Despite the scale of the challenge, Clatworthy emphasizes that wildfire is also an area where solutions are within reach.
鈥淲ildfire is actually something that gives me great hope,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e have a really clearly defined challenge, but we also have so many tangible solutions available to us.鈥�
She points to options such as improved land management, restoring , rethinking where homes are built, moving away from fossil fuels and strengthening community protection.
鈥淲e already know what works to reduce wildfire risk, but the challenge is making sure policies, partnerships, and decision-making systems are in place so those solutions can be used more broadly and effectively,鈥� says Clatworthy.
Centring impacted communities and building partnerships
A key part of MWI鈥檚 work is ensuring that those most affected by wildfire are part of shaping the response.
鈥淚t is critically important to us that our work centres most-impacted voices and brings perspectives into the fold that haven鈥檛 always had a seat at the table,鈥� says Clatworthy. 鈥淲hen we bring in other voices, things change.鈥�
She notes that wildfire affects communities unevenly. 鈥淩ural and remote communities, Indigenous communities, unhoused people and migrant workers all experience disproportionate impacts,鈥� she says.
In 2024, 51猎奇入口co-hosted the Gathering for Indigenous Fire Stewardship at Tk鈥檈ml煤ps te Secw茅pemc, creating a space for dialogue around Indigenous-led approaches to land stewardship and wildfire mitigation. That same year, MWI partnered with Outward Bound Canada and leading Firekeepers on a program with Indigenous youth about cultural fire stewardship practices and the role of fire in creating and stewarding healthy ecosystems. Photo by Yolanda Clatworthy
The initiative also places strong emphasis on relationships as a foundation for collaboration. 鈥淩elationship is a force multiplier. Trust in each other is the glue that enables us to do remarkable things as a society,鈥� she says.
MWI acts as an independent convener, bringing together groups that might not otherwise meet. 鈥淲e are honoured to be responsive to the expressed needs of those who approach us and to convene actors to work towards fire-adapted futures,鈥� she says.
Supporting better storytelling on wildfire
Among its growing body of work, MWI has developed practical resources to shift how wildfire is understood and communicated.
One example is a co-produced with fire experts and journalists.
鈥淎s with all of our work, it was catalyzed by gaps that could enable scaled up coordination ,鈥� says Clatworthy. 鈥淧eople approached us wanting to ensure that the story of wildfire is better told.鈥�
The initiative brought together leaders from firefighting and journalism to identify shared challenges and best practices. 鈥淲e were able to build a baseline understanding of each other鈥檚 realities and outline ways to work together to shape narratives of wildfire with sensitivity and richness,鈥� she says.
Since its release, the toolkit has seen strong uptake in Canada and internationally, including with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. 鈥淲e鈥檝e heard of increased collaboration between journalists and fire agencies here at home, and journalists from as far as Australia and Brazil have told us they are using it,鈥� she says.
A whole-of-society challenge
鈥淎t the core of MWI鈥檚 approach is a recognition of the ways in which wildfire has become one of the defining issues of our time,鈥� says Clatworthy. 鈥淲ith the fires of yesteryear, it was easier to see them as localized challenges impacting a specific area or community. That is far from the reality we are confronting now.鈥�
She adds that wildfire now affects people in many different ways. 鈥淭he impacts of wildfires touch all of us in diverse ways, from climate to culture, conservation to health to food security and so much more.鈥� she says. In 2023 alone, emissions from Canadian wildfires surpassed those of global aviation for that entire year.
鈥淔or us, this is a whole-of-society problem. It is bigger than pointing to specific actors and saying it is one group鈥檚 responsibility. It is a collective action problem in which it is incumbent on all of us to play a role.鈥�
In this context, the initiative brings together researchers, communities, rightsholders and partners to build shared understanding and identify pathways forward. 鈥淚n an era of polarization and misinformation, it鈥檚 been incredibly powerful to connect researchers and communities and bring diverse actors together to co-create solutions,鈥� she says.
This approach reflects 厂贵鲍鈥檚 commitment to community-centred climate innovation 鈥� one of the university鈥檚 two strategic research priorities 鈥� to leverage interdisciplinary research expertise and create meaningful real-world impact.
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that there is a hunger for approaches such as these, that emphasize shared solutions and embed the perspectives of those at the heart of the issue.鈥�
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