ADAPTATION
(Canada in a
Changing Climate)
Some adaptation is
occurring in Canada,
both in response to, and in anticipation of, climate change impacts.
The regional chapters of this assessment note that some adaptation is
already taking place in Canada.
Adaptation initiatives have been undertaken at scales ranging from individuals
and community groups to industry and governments (see Table SR-5
for examples). Much of this adaptation has been achieved through informal
actions or strategies in response to specific events or circumstances, and
where the capacity to take action existed. There are also some examples of
policy initiatives that provide a more structured approach to adaptation, such
as the New Brunswick Coastal Areas Protection Policy and British Columbia
Future Forests Ecosystem Initiative.
Several adaptation initiatives address current risks and take into account
the likely impacts of future climate change. These include most major new
infrastructure development in northern Canada, such as mine sites,
pipelines and large buildings, where adaptive solutions include the use of
thermosyphons to induce artificial cooling of permafrost under warming
conditions. Other examples are the Toronto Hot Weather Response Plan and
similar heat-health alert initiatives in other urban areas of Ontario
and Quebec.
The Toronto plan was first developed in response
to increasingly hot summers during the 1990s, and the devastating health
impacts of heat waves elsewhere in North America.
Since its introduction in 1999, the Toronto plan has been continually
monitored, evaluated and refined, demonstrating that effective adaptation is a
continuing process, which will often involve more than a single action.
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Actor
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Example
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Individuals
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- northerners are more
frequently using insect repellents, bug nets and window screens to deal
with the increased proliferation of insects.
- hunters in the
arctic have increased use of global positioning systems to assist
navigation in unpredictable or challenging weather.
- homes and cottages
are being built farther back from the coast.
- residents of remote
coastal communities are better prepared for shortages (i.e., power, food,
transportation) due to recent experience with inclement weather
conditions.
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Community
groups and
organizations
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the community of Arctic Bay, NU, has shifted a portion of
its narwhal quota from spring to summer hunts to reduce risks associated
with ice break-up conditions, and to increase chances of hunting
success. residents of Pointe-du-Chêne, NB organized an emergency shelter in
response to increasing flooding risk, and lobbied elected officials for
less vulnerable road access. a community group in
Annapolis Royal NS undertook mapping of potential
storm surges that has resulted in revision of emergency measures.
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Industry
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- thermosyphons have
been used in the construction of several major infrastructure projects
in the North to induce artificial cooling of permafrost under warming
conditions.
- agricultural
producers purchase crop insurance to offset losses caused by inclement
weather.
- Hydro Québec has
modified its forecasts of electricity demands based on new climate
scenarios.
- some forestry
companies have started using high-flotation tires on their vehicles to
help navigate wet or washed-out conditions, allowing them to work in a
wider range of weather conditions.
- the forest industry
in Central BC is seeking to extract as
much merchantable timber from forests affected by the Mountain Pine
Beetle epidemic as possible. Industry is also attempting to
develop alternative markets for beetle killed wood .
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Governments
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- the municipality of Sept-Iles has regulated new
residential construction along the shoreline to prevent damages due to
shoreline erosion.
- Westbank, BC,
has included climate change in the Trepanier Landscape Unit Water
Management Plan.
- the town of Vanderhoof , BC is
engaged in a vulnerability assessment pilot project with the Canadian
Forest Service with a specific goal of being able to plan adaptation to
climate change.
- Water meters have
been installed in the Southeast Kelowna Irrigation District and several
Canadian cities (e.g. Kelowna, BC; Sudbury, ON; and Moncton,
NB) to reduce water
consumption.
- Regina, SK
has increased urban water conservation efforts.
- Smog and heat-health
warning systems have been implemented in Toronto,
ON, and Montréal, QC.
- Greater Vancouver
Regional District is considering the impact of smaller snowpack on city
water supplies in planning storage capacity management and upgrades.
- Newfoundland is undertaking a
thorough review of emergency management practices and response
mechanisms.
- New Brunswick's Coastal Areas
Protection Policy establishes set-backs for permanent structures and
could facilitate planned retreat
- Alberta's Water for Life Strategy
addresses climate change impacts in areas that are currently
water-stressed.
- British Columbia's Future Forests
Ecosystem Initiative incorporates climate change adaptation into forest
management
- research and
networking supported through a range of federal, provincial and
territorial programs
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Integrating climate change into existing planning processes is an
effective approach to adaptation.
Rather than dealing with adaptation in isolation from other factors,
integrating (mainstreaming) climate change into ongoing planning and policy
decision-making can provide efficiencies in the use of both financial and human
resources (Adger et al., 2007; Klein et al., 2007). In such cases, climate
change represents one of many factors to be considered in decision-making.
Examples of opportunities for mainstreaming, some of which are taking place at
a very limited scale, include using recent climate trends and future projections
to update building codes and standards to reduce infrastructure vulnerability,
factoring sea-level rise into coastal development planning, considering the
hydrological impacts of climate change on water supply and demand in water and
energy conservation initiatives and considering climate change impacts in the
environmental assessment process for major development projects. There are also
a large number of programs and policies in the development or review phases
dealing with natural resource management, land-use planning, and other
climate-sensitive issues that provide ideal opportunities for mainstreaming of
climate change adaptation.
Risk management approaches help decision-makers deal with the
uncertainties associated with climate change.
Making decisions regarding adaptation requires dealing with uncertainty.
There are uncertainties inherent in projections of future climate, the impacts
of these changes and future socioeconomic conditions (which strongly affect
adaptive capacity). Risk management provides a means for dealing with these
uncertainties in a manner routinely used for non-climatic factors. It offers a
practical and credible approach (Figure SR-5) that is well understood by
decision-makers for defining measures to achieve acceptable levels of societal
risk, and is currently used in many professional fields. Examples of existing
risk-based tools to support climate change adaptation include a screening tool
for engineered facilities in permafrost terrain that has been used in many
northern infrastructure projects since the late 1990s, and a risk-based guide
for supporting adaptation decision-making, which has recently been developed
for Ontario
municipalities.
Figure SR-5: Steps in the risk
management process (Bruce et al., 2006).
