INFFER in Canada

Getting on board with INFFER in Alberta - Anna Roberts looks to the future with Tom Goddard (Alberta government) and Brian Ilnicki (Land Stewardship Centre)

INFFER – the Investment Framework for Environmental Resources – has generated considerable interest in Canada. INFFER team members have now travelled to Canada four times for briefings and training. Most recently, Future Farm Industries CRC researchers Anna Roberts and David Pannell travelled to Alberta and Manitoba to train provincial governments and stakeholders in using INFFER. This follows on from initial training provided by Geoff Park in both provinces.

INFFER is a decision tool for improving outcomesfrom environmental programs. It aims to achieve the most valuable outcomes with available resources.

Anna said that a group called Land Stewardship, which is a major non-government organisation in Alberta, together with the Alberta government, was keen to pursue using INFFER and at least one of Manitoba’s catchment management authority (CMA) equivalents was using INFEER to help make decisions about water-related projects.

“The Manitoba and Federal (Canadian) governments have also expressed interest in commissioning a major study on achieving water quality outcomes on Lake Winnipeg. This study would be based on our previous integrated analysis of water quality in the Gippsland Lakes,” Anna said.

Elsewhere in Canada, interest is also strong. The Albertan, Manitoba and Saskatchewan provincial governments put a joint proposal to the Federal government in 2010 to trial INFFER. Progress on this was slowed by a recent change in government, but all governments remain committed.

In British Columbia a collaborative project involving the University of Alberta’s Institute for Land Use Innovation, a farmer group and the British Columbia government appears likely. Ontario has expressed initial interest in INFFER and a couple of Ontario government and University of Guelph pilots are being investigated.

“Canadian interest in INFFER is strong,” Anna said. “The similarities between Australia and Canada – both are large countries with low population densities, significant environmental challenges and similar institutional arrangements – provide fertile ground to learn together.

“In Canada, as in Australia, INFFER can improve the cost-effectiveness of public investment and help assess resource and environmental trade-offs.

“There is strong potential for mutually beneficial collaboration.”

While in Canada, David and Anna attended three workshops/conferences. They co-delivered a presentation ‘Lessons from environmental policy innovations in Australia’ to a workshop hosted by the University of Alberta’s Linking Environment and Agricultural Research Network, and David gave a presentation ‘Accounting for landholder behaviour when designing and implementing environmental policy’ at the International Water Resources Economics Conference. Both attended the Canadian Agricultural and Resource Economics Conference where they made many useful contacts and developed networks further.

Contact: Anna Roberts, Victorian Department of Primary Industries, Tel: 02 60304581