SDG 15: Life on Land
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
By aligning its efforts with the targets of SDG 15, Laurier not only contributes to the preservation of terrestrial ecosystems but also instills a sense of environmental responsibility in our community and serves as a model for sustainable practices in higher education.
See some of the work that Laurier completed in 2022 to advance SDG 15.
Jennifer Baltzer is the Canada Research Chair in Forests and Global Change at Laurier. During the summer of 2022, she and her colleagues were the first-ever research team to collect field data on holdover fires. They helicoptered to more than a dozen remote locations throughout the Northwest Territories to evaluate key differences between holdover and single-season fire sites from 2014, the territory’s worst fire season in history.
In a landscape as expansive and remote as the Northwest Territories, capturing a clear understanding of the local wildlife is an onerous task. Governments throughout the territory have struggled to make data-driven decisions as they strive to protect biodiversity. Through the power of technology and collaboration, that is about to change. A network of academics and federal, territorial and Indigenous government partners have teamed up with Laurier researchers to document the occurrence of NWT wildlife across an unprecedentedly large area of the territory.
Ecologist Jennifer Baltzer was named the Canada Research Chair in Forests and Global Change. An associate professor in Laurier’s Department of Biology, Baltzer’s research as a tier one chairholder will examine how the effects of climate change, including the intensification of wildfires, will impact forest ecosystems in Canada’s North.
Wildlife ecologist Frances Stewart was named the Canada Research Chair in Northern Wildlife Biology. An assistant professor in Laurier’s Department of Biology, Stewart’s research in northern Canada will have important implications for the protection of animal species and natural resources.
Explore the work that Laurier research centres do to protect life on land.
The Cold Regions Research Centre is focused on cold regions research, consulting on topics such as hydrology, climatology, glaciology, resource management, parks planning and biogeochemistry.
Learn more about Laurier initiatives in 2022 that helped advance SDG 15.
Since 2010, Laurier has maintained a unique and productive research partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT). The partnership, which has been expanded and extended to 2030, has brought new research expertise and training opportunities to the Northwest Territories and strong community connections and research opportunities to Laurier scholars. Much of the work through Laurier's partnership with the GNWT addresses the SDGs. Close connections between academic researchers and governments enhance policy development related to the SDGs and improve the capacity of governments to engage in adaptive management.