Overview of urban forest governance in the face of pulse disturbances per city.
| Case study | Discourses with focus on pulse disturbances | Leading actors and alliances | Rules of the game | Resources | Governance arrangements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, AB | Building up an urban forestry program for a developing city; impact of major wildfire | RMWB (parks division); private landowners; First Nations | Urban Forest Management Plan under development (in 2019); important role of FireSmart strategy | Program under development, dedicated staff (and growing team), suite of plans and guidelines under development | Governance with government, primarily through some public engagement processes |
| Oakville, ON | Maintaining a healthy canopy cover in the light of, e.g., EAB, urbanisation; also, past impact of ice storm | Town of Oakville (parks and green); Oakville Green as key ally; politicians as champions | Urban Forest Management Plan (2009); strategies for biodiversity, invasive control, etc. | Substantial information technology and decision-support systems; i-Tree assessment; dedicated urban forestry staff | Governance with government/co-governance approach, with strong role of local NGO |
| Prince George, BC | Dealing with pests and diseases and MPB in particular | Municipality (parks and recreation); private companies during pest outbreak | Former urban forest management plan and new under development; integrated pest management strategy; FireSmart strategy | Dedicated staff, but decrease after initial focus on urban forest after pest outbreak; guidelines for, e.g., pest and fire control; strong capacities in private forestry companies | Mostly governance by government, but governance with government, e.g., during the MPB outbreak, collaboration with private sector when needed |
| Surrey, BC | Maintaining the urban forest under rapid urban growth and densification; also, smaller-scale disturbances such as windstorms | Municipality (parks, recreation, and cultural; advisory boards; other departments); some role for local NGOs | No comprehensive urban forest strategy yet, but suite of other policies and plans (for shade trees, biodiversity, etc.); advisory boards | Suite of policies, plans, guidelines, bylaws; dedicated staff | Governance with government, with strong municipal lead but involvement of range of other actors (including NGOs), role of advisory boards, etc. |