The unique landscape, species and ecosystems in the Northwest Territories (NWT) provide incredible opportunities for researchers and universities to study and learn from the NWT environment. The speed and magnitude at which climate change is impacting the NWT makes it an important locale to study climate change.

Researchers from around Canada and the world are working with the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) to help develop the understanding of Canada’s Arctic, the Boreal forest ecosystem, the impacts of climate change on the Arctic and many other topics of research. This includes a long-term research partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University, which has recently been extended to 2030.

Research partnerships will also be necessary to implement the GNWT Knowledge Agenda, which defines the GNWT’s current research priorities. The GNWT Knowledge Agenda: Action Plan 2019-2024 is the mechanism through which the Knowledge Agenda will be implemented and climate change has been highlighted as a cross-cutting theme to be addressed.

Landscape Carbon in the NWT Workshop 2025

Landscape Carbon in the NWT Workshop 2025

In February 2025, the GNWT and its partners hosted a workshop in Yellowknife focused on landscape carbon in the Northwest Territories. The workshop brought together Indigenous governments and organizations, community governments, researchers, and other partners to discuss how carbon is stored and released across northern landscapes, how these carbon systems are changing, and what it could mean for the Northwest Territories.

Landscape Carbon Workshop Materials

Explore materials from the Landscape Carbon Workshop, including the workshop report, presentations, videos, visual summaries and maps. Together, these resources highlight key discussions, findings and next steps, while providing a visual overview of landscape carbon across the Northwest Territories.

The Landscape Carbon Workshop Synthesis Report provides a summary of the workshop and includes links to available presentations and videos. The report’s appendices also bring together the workshop’s visual materials and landscape carbon maps, including a visual summary created live by illustrator Alison McCreesh that captures key themes and ideas shared by participants.

The workshop featured presentations from a wide range of organizations and sectors, including academia, universities and research institutes; federal, territorial, municipal and international governments and agencies; Indigenous organizations; non-profit and charitable organizations; and the private sector, including consulting and professional services.

For easy reference, the presentation slides from across the workshop have been combined into a single PDF document, providing a convenient way to explore the information and perspectives shared by the different presenters and for a quick overview of the workshop and its key findings, you can also download the Landscape Carbon Workshop Factsheet.

Stay Informed

The Landscape Carbon Workshop is an important step in building a better understanding of carbon in northern landscapes, how these carbon systems are changing, and what this could mean for the Northwest Territories. Updates and new resources will be added as this work continues.

For questions about the workshop or the materials on this page, contact: landscapecarbon@gov.nt.ca

Partners

The Landscape Carbon Workshop was hosted by the Government of the Northwest Territories in partnership with Polar Knowledge Canada.

The workshop was supported by:

• Government of the Northwest Territories
• Polar Knowledge Canada
• Environment and Climate Change Canada
• C-CORE