This is a story ….about a country-cow Ecological Services Initiative (ESI) “ESI is a producer-led initiative … focused on demonstrating, analysing, and communicating the concept of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) in order to potentially establish a long term PES program in Canada.” © Zehnder Ranch

Moore, J, M Kissinger, and W E Rees. “An Urban Metabolism and Ecological Footprint Assessment of Metro Vancouver.” Journal of Environmental Management (2013). doi: /j.jenvman This is also a story ….about a city-cow 12% of total = Beef In collaboration with Vancouver’s City Studio Research Question: A Lighter Footprint through Local Beef?

Finding Connections Ecosystem Services to lower Ecological Footprint through local beef ? VancouverESI “It is the long history of mankind (and animal kind too,) those who learn to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed” – Charles Darwin

Triple Loop Learning Pahl-Wostl, C. (2009). A conceptual framework for analyzing adaptive capacity and multi-level learning processes in resource governance regimes. Global Environmental Change, 19(3), 354–365. doi: /j.gloenvcha Can local beef lower footprint? Can PES protect and support rangelands? Can payments for ecosystem services to local beef producers lower footprint?

Native Grassland Conservation Riparian Buffers $$ Question 1: Does Green=Green? Lower footprint Water/Nutrient regulation Biodiversity Conservation Kitzes J, Galli A, Bagliani M, Barrett J, Dige G, Ede S, et al. (2009). A research agenda for improving national Ecological Footprint accounts. Ecological Economics.;68(7):1991–2007.

Question 2: Local beef = Smaller footprint? Adapted from (Moore 2013)Based on personal communication (Moore 2013) Moore, J, M Kissinger, and W E Rees. (2013). An Urban Metabolism and Ecological Footprint Assessment of Metro Vancouver. Journal of Environmental Management. doi: /j.jenvman

Roadblock

Transforming What other avenues and actors should we include in further research in sustainable beef? Pahl-Wostl, C. (2009). A conceptual framework for analyzing adaptive capacity and multi-level learning processes in resource governance regimes. Global Environmental Change, 19(3), 354–365. doi: /j.gloenvcha

Outcome Better to find out sooner than later Local beef ≠  33% footprint Ecosystem services on rangelands not easily addressed through Greenest City Action Plan

Take Home In the real world, reframing the sustainability questions and recognizing the limitations of how we choose to measure sustainability may be more important than generating data that will ultimately address the wrong questions.