Stability and connection: Climate‐informed Modernized Land Use Planning on the south coast of British Columbia

Abstract In an era of environmental instability, climate‐informed land‐use planning allows preparation for a more resilient future. By identifying places with high climate‐change refugia potential and climate connectivity, management and stewardship plans can be adapted over time to achieve biodiversity goals. The objective of the Climate‐informed Conservation Planning project is to provide an efficient pathway for collaborative planning between Indigenous and provincial governments to develop a long‐term management approach to maintain environmental and cultural values while reducing the risks from climate change. Working directly with the shíshálh‐BC Modernized Land Use Planning table on the South Coast of British Columbia to support climate‐resilient planning, this process identified areas projected to have refugia potential, to maximize habitat connectivity, to monitor ecosystem resilience variables, and to realize planning objectives within dynamic adaptive planning cycles. Key activities include: (a) introducing the climate‐change refugia concept and other knowledge translation activities, (b) identifying and evaluating spatial priorities for conservation management with higher potential for climate‐change refugia and connectivity, (c) customizing priority scenarios with additional data and local knowledge to highlight where the best conservation investments might contribute to local and provincial biodiversity goals, and (d) suggestions for implementing the plan dynamically and proactively to mitigate current and emerging environmental risks with monitoring, reporting, and proactive adaptation planning cycles.