Climate Change Adaptation Planning – Experience in the

Columbia Basin

Stewart CohenEnvironment Canada and

University of British Columbia

Acknowledgements

• Information/slides from Columbia Basin Trust

– Ingrid Liepa– Jeff Zukiwsky

Contact Information:– CBT Phone: 1 800 505 8998– Email: adaptation@cbt.org

•For more information:•www.adaptationresourcekit.squarespace.com

•www.cbt.org/climatechange

Communities Adapting to Climate Change Initiative (CACCI)

CACCI Team:•Coordinator

•Community liaison

•Communications/ outreach • Communicating climate science

• Climate adaptation planning support

Advisory Committee:

•Strategic advice and direction

Technical Support Team:

•Technical support to CACCI team and communities

Science Partner:Pacific Climate Impacts

Consortium (PCIC) – Climate trends and

projections

Canadian Basin Stats

Basin Communities: ~30

Size of CACCI communities: 1000 to 8000

Geographical area: ~100,000 km2 or 39,000 square miles

Basin population: 161,000

Columbia Basin Trust -- Communities Adapting to Climate Change Initiative (CACCI)

CBT Advisory Committee and community teams, Castlegar, 2008 (upper), Kimberley planning workshop, 2008 (lower).

Evolution of CACCI

Key Success Factors: A.Adaptive design B.A supportive environment for innovation and growthC.Learning through prototyping

Phase 1 (2008/09):•Kimberley and Elkford engaged in year-long planning processesPhase 2 (2009/10):•Rossland, Castlegar and Kaslo/Rural engaged in year-long planning processesPhase 3 (2011/13):•New communities engaged in one-day workshop and supported to implement a climate adaptation project

CACCI Approach

Successful Projects

Completed Projects (Phase 1 & 2)

• City of Kimberley – 3D visualization of climate adaptation risks and adaptation measures (with UBC CALP)

• City of Castlegar –Engineering vulnerability assessment of stormwater infrastructure with focus on extreme weather (with Engineers Canada)

• District of Elkford – First community in Canada to integrate adaptation into Official Community Plan (OCP)

Page from website for CACCI: www.cbt.org/climatechange

Right: announcement of Elkford’s climate change planning included in UNFCCC guidebook on adaptation

Successful Projects

Implementation Support for Phase 1 & 2 Communities

Water Supply & Demand in Kaslo/RuralInterdisciplinary team spotlights potential future water shortages

Model Climate Resilient Subdivision and Development Servicing (SDS) BylawPartnering to address common need for new engineering design standards

Successful Projects

New Projects

• Regional District of East Kootenay- Determining future floods risks and changes to floodplain (200-year)

• City of Revelstoke – Integrating climate science into watershed risk assessment

• District of Sparwood – Using corporate communications strategy to build community support for climate adaptation

CBT releases ‘From Dialogue to Action’ report

Science “Roots” of D2AT

I M

E

2005-2007

2008-2012

Available Soon

Community “Roots” of D2AT

I M

E

Phase 1KimberleyElkford2008-2009

Phase 2RosslandCastlegarRDCK Area D& Kaslo2009-2010

Phase 3RevelstokeRDEKSparwood*Salmo, RDCKNelson2011-2013

Workshopfor LocalGovernmentNov 2007

Highlights of ‘From Dialogue to Action’ report• Quantitative description of climate trends

and future scenarios

• Qualitative (mostly) implications for hydrology, wildfire risk, geophysical risk (landslides, avalanches), infrastructure, forest health (pests)

• Begin next phase: identify adaptation options and frameworks for decision-making

– Scenario planning?

– Risk management framework?

– Vulnerability assessment?

Future DirectionsWhat’s Next in 2013 and Beyond?