Presenters: Matt Osler (moderator), Harley Chappell, Tjasa Demsar, Annie Geoffroy, Carla Stewart, Erin Desautels and Guillaume Côté 

It’s time to re-frame climate adaptation financing from a barrier to an opportunity.  This workshop will include an overview of the Government of Canada’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund and explore a case study on structural and nature-based works in City of Surrey, City of Delta and Semiahmoo First Nation that resulted in innovative solutions and partnerships to be forged between all levels of government for works valued at $187 M. As part of the case study, foundational work done by partners that helped to secure federal funding will be examined, including a cost-benefit analysis. Please join us for an interactive workshop that will include table exercises to dive into the challenges and opportunities of adapting to sea level rise and how to overcome barriers to adapt to climate change. 

Moderator: Jim Vanderwal

Sea Level Rise Doesn’t Stop at Municipal Boundaries: Collaborative, Multi-sectoral Adaptation Planning on Vancouver’s North Shore

Presenter: Amir Taleghani

Sea level rise is a significant concern for the North Shore area of BC’s Lower Mainland region, which is home to over 180,000 people, the Port of Vancouver, and vast natural and cultural assets. As a local "first" for sea level rise adaptation, three municipalities, the Port of Vancouver and the Squamish Nation have partnered to develop the North Shore Sea Level Rise Risk Assessment and Adaptive Management Strategy. The project supports the development of a coordinated adaptation strategy informed by assessing sea level rise risk and developing adaptation measures to manage risk across six sectors: building and infrastructure, transportation, economy, environment, social, and culture and heritage.

This presentation, by the project consultant team from Kerr Wood Leidal (KWL), will share out on the approach, results, and lessons learned through the project.

The University of British Columbia’s Living Breakwaters Project: A Multi-layered Approach to Coastal Adaptation

Presenter: Kees Lokman

Coastal erosion is a growing challenge across Canada, which boasts the longest coastline in the world. Natural Resources Canada has provided generous support to the Living Breakwaters project at the University of British Columbia to develop a layered approach to coastal adaptation. The Living Breakwaters project is an umbrella project to advance climate change adaptation knowledge in the Lower Mainland and to develop nature-based solutions for the erosion of the cliffs at the University of British Columbia’s Point Grey campus. Sub-projects include the development of tools and visuals to explore coastal adaptation pathways that incorporate living systems and enhance local and regional ecosystems and spatial quality.

This presentation will showcase outcomes of sub-projects that were undertaken by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers and practitioners, including visualization tools for innovative adaptation options and visual narratives illustrating the implications of flooding on various sectors through cascading effects.

Presenters: Deborah Harford (moderator), DG Blair, Patrick Lilley, Josephine Clark and Roy Brooke

Biodiversity loss is a crisis emerging in parallel with climate change; meanwhile, urban and developed areas are largely considered dead zones for connectivity planning. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) recommends that urban areas deploy nature-based solutions, and green infrastructure is increasingly becoming an important low carbon resilience solution to flood and heat management. How might we deploy these nature-based solutions on larger scales to benefit biodiversity through interdisciplinary collaboration among municipalities, stewardship groups, all levels of government and the disciplines of engineering, accounting, planning, environment and development?

This panel session introduces regional-scale approaches that align with emerging green infrastructure and biodiversity protection measures, such as natural assets, climate connectivity and refugia, and watershed-based stormwater management. Participants will be invited to consider how these approaches might work (or not work) in their contexts and envision pathways to solutions using group-based activities and discussion.

Presenters: Mary Ann Wilson (moderator), Robin Cox, Catherine Leblanc, Susannah Banks, Al Douglas and Jane Welsh

Practitioners play an integral role in addressing risks from climate change, but what does adaptation mean in practice? This session, moderated by Natural Resources Canada, will feature projects supported through the Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise (BRACE) program. Five panelists will share perspectives and experiences on building adaptation capacity amongst the planning, engineering, forestry and architecture professions, as well as explore approaches for working across areas of practice.

They will present the range of adaptation tools and training they are delivering for practitioners and then dive deeper through focused breakout group discussions. This session will explore questions such as:

1. What capacity exists currently when it comes to understanding and applying adaptation in practice?
2. What is needed to move the yardstick further on the practical side of adaptation?
3. What are benefits and challenges of building targeted capacity within a given area of practice versus working across professions?

Presenter: Amanda Broad and Tina Neale

The CleanBC plan commits the BC government to releasing a new Climate Adaptation Strategy in 2020. The strategy will be developed in collaboration with Indigenous peoples and informed by broad engagement and the Preliminary Strategic Climate Risk Assessment for BC. This interactive session will dive into the steps the Province of BC is taking to develop the strategy including:

• How the Province is approaching engagement with Indigenous organizations and communities, local governments, stakeholders and citizens, as well as with provincial and federal agencies.
• What values, priorities and policy ideas are shaping strategy development, and
• Plans leading to strategy release in late 2020.

Bring your ideas and enthusiasm: this is an engagement session! Participants will have an opportunity to provide feedback that will help shape the strategy and its implementation.

Moderator: Kelsey Taylor

Introduction to the Coastal Vulnerability Studies and Climate Adaptation Program

Presenter: Brent Baron

Indigenous Services Canada is working on a Coastal Vulnerability program for the First Nation communities for the West Coast with a step-by-step analysis of each of the 60 communities, assessing the hazards, identifying the communities exposure and working on reducing the communities' vulnerability to coastal events through a climate adaptation process. The level of effort includes community discussions, on-site investigations, LiDAR data collection, modelling, result assessments and annual workshops to create a dialogue, understanding and learning, through an engagement, empowerment and enhancement process.

Coastal Vulnerability Study Community Context – Old Massett

Presenters: Patrika McEvoy

This presentation is a journey into the history and traditional knowledge of Old Massett, leading into the path forward for the community. Learn how Old Massett, as Indigenous Coastal First Nations, have survived the waves of climate change, pre-contact, and how they can embrace this powerful history today to paddle forward. Patrika McEvoy will talk about how Old Massett can use their traditional laws and create a strong working relationship with government and industry in a way that upholds their Indigenous rights, which are basic human rights. Patrika will also speak on how Old Massett can get to where they want to be, so that they can face the realities of climate change together. 

Coastal Vulnerability Study Community Context – Nisga’a Village of Laxgalt’sap

Presenter: Andrew Robinson

The Coastal Vulnerability Study (CVS) is an ongoing project currently entering its fourth year. The project assesses risk to infrastructure in coastal First Nations communities from sea level rise, storm surge and tsunami. The project is divided into three phases: Phase 1 - the assessment phase; Phase 2 – the planning phase; and Phase 3 – the implementation phase. Communities are invited to participate with all assessment costs and community support costs provided by Indigenous Services Canada and First Nations Adapt. Phase 2 is funded by FN Adapt through project funding proposals submitted by the communities. Phase 3 work is funded through whichever body has the appropriate authority for the proposed work. This presentation showcases Phase 1 work during 2019 to 2020 in the Nisga’a Village of Laxgalt’sap. 

Presenters: Kerri Klein (moderator), Kathleen McLean, Tamsin Mills and Magdalena Szpala

Canadians are experiencing more frequent and extreme heat events. Climate change models predict that by 2050, very hot days (above 30°C) may occur across Canada four times as frequently as they do today. Climate impacts like extreme heat and poor air quality from wildfires will exacerbate existing inequities, and those that are most vulnerable will be at greater risk.

This session will highlight the work of several sectors in BC to build resilience for these populations. The session will feature an overview of the health risks of extreme hot weather and air pollution by the BC Centre for Disease Control and presentations by BC Housing and the City of Vancouver on response plans that specifically target the needs of vulnerable populations. With facilitation by Shift Collaborative, this session will encourage sharing climate response and adaptation knowledge, practices and resources in a way that builds resilience for all, including vulnerable populations.

Moderators: Cherry Tam and Veronika Bylicki

Presenters: Harvy Takhar Stephanie Koenig, Patrick Michell and Angela Danyluk

Youth are inheriting and adapting to a world that is changing at an unprecedented rate. Including youth in decision-making and in addressing adaptation is crucial for society to build resilience. This session will amplify the stories of young leaders and their perspectives on resilience, and also help enable practitioners and decision-makers to more meaningfully engage youth in their work.

The session, moderated by CityHive, will feature a panel of three BC youth and one decision-maker who will share their stories. CityHive will also share some of their best practices when it comes to engaging youth holistically to address various social and environmental challenges. The session will build off of the "My Climate Story" Project, an online story map platform of the Fraser Basin Council for youth in BC to share their diverse perspectives on how climate change affects them and their communities.

Moderator: Bob Purdy

Assessing Climate Risks at the Provincial Scale – The BC Example

Presenter: Johanna Wolf

In 2019, the Province of British Columbia released the Preliminary Strategic Climate Risk Assessment for BC and the associated framework. This assessment was a first attempt to quantify climate-related risks that would have major provincial significance. This innovative approach quantifies risk using the likelihood and consequences of specific scenarios occurring in the present and in the 2050s. In this presentation, the results will be discussed both in terms of the ranking of the overall risk scores as well as by nuancing the consequences across different risks. Future work will include scaling this framework for wider use by ministries, public sector organizations and regional governments. This preliminary assessment is intended to be iterative and will help inform the new climate preparedness and adaptation strategy, for release in 2020, a commitment of the 2018 CleanBC plan

The Costs and Benefits of Climate Impacts and Adaptation in Canada: Demonstrating the Business Case for Resilience

Presenter: Richard Boyd

Climate change is already causing impacts with significant economic consequences today and will increasingly do so in the future. Demand is growing for information on the net costs of climate change, as well as the costs and benefits of adaptation strategies, amongst people charged with making decisions governing options to reduce the impacts and risks of climate change.

This presentation will summarize the state of knowledge of climate change impacts and adaptation economics in Canada. It starts out by setting the context for adaptation decision-making, highlighting the supporting role of economic analysis and tools. Next, estimates of the economic consequences of climate change for Canada are assessed from a national, provincial, municipal and sectoral perspective. Economic tools to support adaptation decision-making and their application in Canada are subsequently discussed. It wraps up by providing broad conclusions and key messages for building the business case for investment in climate adaptation.

Moderator: Mike Simpson

Freedom Space for Rivers: An Economical Approach to Sustainable Management in a Changing Climate

Presenter: Joanna Eyquem

Globally, there has been movement towards more sustainable river management, based on the concept of working with natural processes. This includes giving appropriate space to rivers in urban and infrastructure design, so that natural flooding and erosion can occur, and associated ecosystem services can function. This approach, termed the "Freedom Space approach" in Quebec is in contrast to reactive, localized interventions, which have often served to temporarily displace problems rather than providing long-term solutions.

In this presentation, Joanna Eyquem will outline techniques being used to define the function space required by rivers. This includes use of LiDAR and hydrogeomorphological interpretation to identify fluvial risks, as well as consideration of riparian wetlands. Cost-benefit analysis undertaken for three case studies in Quebec will demonstrate the overall benefit to society of adopting this approach, taking into account the benefits of ecosystem services that are likely to increase watershed resilience to climate change impacts.

Adaptation to Flooding in Mi’kma’ki

Presenters: Alex Cadel and Cheyenne MacDonald

First Nations communities are commonly recognized as being among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Many communities already routinely deal with overland flooding, storm surge and erosion, and these impacts will be further exacerbated in a changing climate due to altered precipitation patterns and sea level rise.

This presentation will discuss how the Climate Action team at the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq has worked with eight Mi’kmaw communities to conduct climate vulnerability assessments, create digital elevation models to examine different flooding scenarios, and develop adaptation strategies to address priority issues. This will include an example of how flood hazard information was used to help band leadership make land use planning decisions for a new school, along with planned coastal monitoring and restoration activities. Presenters will also examine how the Mi’kmaw concepts of Netukulimk and Two-Eyed Seeing drive projects.

Dawson Creek Flood Mitigation: The Shift to Informed Decision-Making

Presenter: Chelsea Mottishaw

Each flood event creates unique opportunities as well as impacts and challenges. In the last decade, the City of Dawson Creek has experienced two large floods which resulted in considerable impacts to infrastructure, residents and the environment. With support from grant funding, the City of Dawson Creek has now committed to an integrated flood management approach, shifting from a reactionary response to flooding to informed decision-making.

This oral presentation will provide an overview of the City’s journey to building resiliency to flood risk through structural and non-structural investments. Achieving effective flood risk reduction requires a holistic watershed approach where staff, emergency management and academic research come together to inform policy and investments.

Moderator: Theresa Fresco

Kikawinaw Askiy: Source Water Protection Planning at Okanese First Nation, Treaty 4, Saskatchewan

Presenters: Cade Tuckanow-Starr and Dr. Robert Patrick

Climate change threatens Kikawinaw Askiy (Mother Earth) — our lands, water, fish and plants — all that gives life. Okanese First Nation is located in Treaty 4 Territory, Saskatchewan, approximately 110 km northeast of Regina. Okanese First Nation aspires to achieve reconciliation with Kikawinaw Askiy by restoring our sacred ecology of how to live on the land in a respectful and life-sustaining way. In 2018 Chief Marie-Anne Day Walker-Pelletier and Council gave approval for a source water protection plan with the goal to protect source water for future generations. Groundwater is our only source of drinking water. Climate change and past land use practices threaten our sacred and life-giving water. This planning process has partnered with the University of Saskatchewan in knowledge-sharing and relationship-building.

This presentation describes our source water protection plan and how the planning process engages community members, including youth, women and Elders, to guide future community development, protect public safety and infrastructure, and ensure wise economic investments.

Collaborative Drought Planning in the Semi-arid Okanagan Region

Presenters: Kellie Garcia and Nelson Jatel

Climate change presents a fundamental long-term challenge to water sustainability in the semi-arid Okanagan region. Within the last decade, the Okanagan has experienced high elevation snowmelt occurring earlier than usual (as early as March), record high water flows in spring, record low flows in summer and fall, and extreme and prolonged summer heat events. With many public water systems, a growing population and a chain of valley lakes that connect us all, successful climate change adaptation in the Okanagan depends on collaboration.

The Okanagan Basin Water Board helps communities work together to become more resilient and bring consistent and cooperative responses to climate change. In this session, two speakers will share case studies, including a project to develop environmental flow need values for Okanagan streams, best practices, challenges and opportunities associated with collaborative drought planning. Live polls will be used to gather audience input, facilitate discussion, and broaden learning opportunities.

Moderator: Inger Miller

The First Nations Infrastructure Resilience Toolkit: Integrating Climate Risks into Asset Management

Presenters: Guy Felio and Elmer Lickers

The Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation (OFNTSC), in collaboration with Stantec Consulting and Engineers Canada, developed a First Nations (FN) Infrastructure Resilience Toolkit that guides FN communities in the assessment of risks related to climate change in a life-cycle/asset management context.The Toolkit was developed through pilots in three First Nation communities in Ontario and is now used for capacity development across the Province; it was funded by the governments of Canada and Ontario.

This presentation discusses the development process, principles and key elements of the Toolkit (climate risks assessment and asset management modules). Using case studies in communities across Ontario, the presenter illustrates the steps of using the Toolkit for integrating climate risks into the life-cycle analysis of asset management planning.

Building System-Wide Resilience and Capacity: Lessons Learned from a Flood Resilience Assessment in Ontario

Presenter: Glenn Milner

As the need to move from adaptation planning to implementation continues to increase, it is crucial that decision-makers consider innovative ways to incorporate vulnerable populations and social resilience factors into setting priorities and assessing risk. To meet this need, traditional infrastructure risk assessments are evolving in scope and scale to consider the communities and people that rely upon them. Based on a case study conducted in the Province of Ontario, this presentation will identify an approach and lessons learned from assessing flood resilience in an innovative way across a portfolio of buildings. An emphasis will be placed on how staff capacity to respond helped to inform the level of resilience, and how outputs can be tailor-made to be more valuable in decision-making.

Presenters: David Reid (moderator), Chris Osborne, Don Crockett and Grant Lamont

BC Provincial policy now requires that all Local Governments consider climate-change-related Sea Level Rise (SLR) and related Coastal Flood Hazard Area Land Use Guidelines in their bylaws. This change brings consideration of SLR to the forefront in Official Community Plans, Development Permits, Zoning Bylaws, Subdivision and Engineering Bylaws, as well as Asset Management. SLR consideration will also feature in private sector development applications and related real estate and agriculture planning.

This interactive panel session brings together a team of planners, landscape architects, visualization, community engagement and engineers that are working with communities to integrate SLR adaptation into long-term planning, infrastructure and regulations.  It will explore some of the scientific, political and communications challenges faced by these various professionals.

In a coordinated series, each panelist will provide a 10-15 minute presentation. An interactive audience discussion will focus on how this panel’s experience is reflected in other municipalities or private sector projects.

Moderator: Jim Vanderwal

Climate Change Induced Vulnerability of Lobster Fishing Communities

Presenter: Kiyomi Ferguson

Climate change related effects on fisheries will undoubtedly have socio-economic impacts on coastal communities. However, integrating climate change information in a form that can be used efficiently by adaptation planners/policy makers/fishery managers remains a challenge. This presentation outlines how ocean climate models that provided mid-century projections of temperature were used to predict changes in lobster distribution in Nova Scotia, Canada. Vulnerability indices (socio-economics, infrastructure, environment, and the likely response of lobster to warming), were then integrated at the scale at which fishery decisions are made in this region (fishery management units), to provide assessments of climate change related vulnerabilities to coastal communities. Because adaptation planning is very important for long-term sustainability, the proximate goal is to make outputs available online as a tool to help fishery managers take a geographical perspective to adaptation planning, and to anticipate changes in productivity and abundance across borders of neighbouring communities.

Collaborative Research in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Western Canadian Arctic): Building the Evidence-base for an Inuit Food Security Strategy

Presenters: Jullian MacLean and Sonia Wesche

Climate change, in combination with other social-ecological stressors, challenges the integrity of both country (wild) food and market food components of Inuit food systems in Canada’s Arctic. In the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, research partners from the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, universities and local communities are working to better understand and address food security issues. A community engagement process was conducted, involving 12 focus groups and 19 key informant interviews, in Inuvik, Aklavik, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Tuktoyaktuk and Ulukhaktok. Taking a "food security governance" lens, community assets, gaps, priorities and actions will be discussed, as will the role of retail, food transportation and health service dynamics. A co-developed framework aims to scale up results to enable alignment of local and regional goals. Research outcomes will help decision-makers identify gaps and opportunities for action on food security, align resources across sectors and contribute to emerging policy frameworks at multiple scales.

Moderator: Pete Thimmaiah

Climate Change & Health in Fort William First Nation: Planning for the Future, Today

Presenters: Elizabeth Esquega

The overarching goal of the project entitled "Climate Change & Health in Fort William First Nation: Planning for the Future, Today" is to build capacity for planning and implementing adaptation measures that protect and promote the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health of Fort William First Nation (FWFN) community members.  To this end, we are developing a guiding framework based on the Medicine Wheel, conducting community workshops, gathering stories and Traditional Knowledge from community members in relation to climate change and health, and implementing a photovoice project with youth. The project builds on emerging relationships between FWFN, Lakehead University and community organizations in the Thunder Bay Region. Working together and strengthening these relationships is a critical step towards building capacity for developing and implementing adaptation measures that protect and promote health in the context of changing climate.

This oral presentation will describe and present preliminary findings and learnings from the project.

Resisting Pollinator Decline in Mi'kma'ki

Presenter: Peter Steiner

Native plants and pollinators are in decline due to a range of climate-change related threats. Gardenside pollinator habitat mitigates this decline by restoring biodiversity and function alongside sustainable agricultural production. As part of a coherent management plan at a landscape scale, it can promote connectivity between new and existing habitat patches. This is essential to effectively conserve many types of native pollinators, as flight ranges are often limited to hundreds of metres.

Mi'kmaw communities sit at a crucial intersection of this conservation, being urban communities set in rural contexts — often surrounded by agricultural land. Here, we show some first results from an initiative in which Mi'kmaq participants were invited to work on conserving forage material and corridors for pollinators as land managers. Traditional Algonquian culture-group agriculture involves companion planting of culturally-anchored native plants alongside food-producing plants (e.g, ceremonial tobacco alongside groundcherries), resulting in rich habitat for pollinators.

Presenters: Steve Litke (moderator) and David Roulston

Under climate change, major floods are expected to increase in magnitude and frequency across Canada. Whether it is sea level rise, higher peak flows on rivers, or an increase in rainfall, flood planning and decision-making at all scales must account for changing flood hazards. This session will explore how climate change impacts are being integrated into flood management plans and strategies in British Columbia at three scales: local, regional and provincial. Case examples include a local initiative, the Lower Mainland Flood Management Strategy, and work being done to inform provincial flood strategies across BC.

Presenters will explore the challenges and opportunities with integrating climate change in flood planning, focusing on coastal and riverine flood hazards. What climate change guidance is available? What climate change scenarios should be used? How adaptable are different flood risk reduction measures? What timelines are appropriate for policy changes? Afterwards, participants will exchange insights and experiences in a World Café-style discussion session.

Presenters: Dina Georgious (moderator), Lloyd Lee, Paul Shorthouse, Baia Ouldsliman and Raoul Cyr

In order to integrate climate change considerations into decision-making, stakeholders need reliable and consistent climate-related information. While the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) recommendations were developed for the private sector, increasingly public sector stakeholders are recognizing the applicability of these recommendations for their own organizations.

As part of CPA Canada’s climate change initiative with Natural Resources Canada, guidance was developed to help cities implement the TCFD recommendations, including climate adaptation initiatives underway by cities across Canada and process frameworks for various decision-makers within organizations.

This interactive workshop will provide participants with a deeper understanding of the TCFD recommendations and how adopting the recommendations within their organizations can enhance internal decision-making and external reporting. Participants will hear about the experiences of two leading Canadian cities with implementing the TCFD recommendations and strategies for overcoming barriers. Live polling will be used to enable participants to input questions for the panel. 

Moderator: Jim Vanderwal

Presenters: Dr. Remi Charron, Dr. Lisa Westerhoff, Dan Sandink and Stacey Barter

While building resilience in the event of natural disasters and changing climate has improved over the past decades, a need remains to help develop housing stock that can adapt to — not just survive — ever-changing conditions.

To that end, BC Housing is spearheading a multi-year, multi-stakeholder initiative to develop and promote the adoption of best practices in adaptation and resilience. Mobilizing Building Adaptation and Resilience (MBAR) aims to stabilize communities in a natural disaster and help owners and occupants better protect their investments and adapt to climate change stresses and shocks, such that no one is stressed beyond their ability to cope. Using housing and mixed-use projects in BC as pilots, MBAR helps project principals incorporate best practices into the design process and understand the challenges and opportunities of doing so.

Moderator: Mike Simpson

Climate Change and Urban Greenspace: Forecasting Change, Planning for Adaptation, and Managing Disturbance Risk

Presenters: Amelia Needoba and Edward Nichol

Urban forests in and around cities are vulnerable to changing climate and extreme weather but they are also an important part of the climate change solution. This session will feature a presentation on how to plan for climate adaptation in urban forestry. Using Metro Vancouver’s award winning Urban Forest Climate Adaptation Initiative as the case study, speakers from Diamond Head Consulting and Metro Vancouver will cover the climate data analysis, adaptation actions and implementation steps for growing resilient urban forests that will help adapt communities to climate change. The speakers will also share how this type of work is being applied in other parts of Canada and how it is informing related climate adaptation planning work in the region.

How are natural forests in and around cities supporting climate change adaptation? A social-ecological analysis along an urban-rural gradient in Metro Vancouver, Canada

Presenter: Dr. Tahia Devisscher

Managing urban landscapes is one of the greatest challenges of this century. The state of urban ecosystems and the well-being of city dwellers will greatly depend on the way cities prepare for rapid change in the next decade. Urban forests have an important role to play in this regard, yet little has been done to measure the effects of urbanization on the multiple, essential ecosystem services these forests provide for urban resilience. This presentation will focus on research conducted along an urban-rural gradient in the City of Maple Ridge, Canada, which is facing very rapid densification and expansion into surrounding forests. Results provide insights into synergies and trade-offs between different actual and perceived ecosystem services and risks associated to urban forest fragments. This will generate practical recommendations into ways in which ecosystem services could be enhanced while maintaining features considered of high social value for climate adaptation and human well-being.

Moderators: Anne Blondlot and Jamie Hewitt

Presenters: Emily MacNair, Sarah Delisle and Kyla Milne

Climate change impacts will continue and intensify in the future, creating both opportunities and challenges for the Canadian agricultural sector. In order to achieve innovative and successful adaptation, it is crucial to increase awareness and to engage agricultural stakeholders while taking into account the realities and dynamics of agricultural operations.

During this session, moderated by AAFC and Ouranos, three speakers from British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia, will present how they foster collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., farmers, crop advisors, local, provincial and federal government, private sector) and build their adaptive capacity, and how this leads to concrete actions on adaptation. During a panel discussion that will follow the three presentations, the speakers as well as the audience will be invited to share experiences, insights and lessons learned about engaging various stakeholders in planning and implanting actions on adaptation.

Moderator: Steve Litke

Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Community Climate Change Resiliency Planning – Vulnerability Assessment

Presenters: Robin Hawker and Sarah Dal Santo

Climate change will have profound impacts in BC indigenous communities and many key aspects of community life, including access to food and resources, community health and the ability to share cultural teachings. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation have embarked on a proactive, multi-year Community Climate Change Resilience Planning initiative to prepare the community for climate change. This presentation will share results from the first phase of this initiative, which involved a comprehensive hazard and vulnerability assessment to define priorities for adaptation. The project drew on a combination of traditional knowledge, cultural values and scientific methods to assess the Nation’s vulnerability to 13 climate change hazards. Findings show that many of the Nation’s top priorities for building climate change resilience involve strengthening local ecosystems and cultural practices in addition to protecting built infrastructure.

File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council Climate Adaptation Strategy

Presenters: Chief Matthew Todd Peigan

FHQTC represents 11 First Nation communities and 17,000 citizens in the Treaty Four region of southern Saskatchewan. FHQTC’s mandate is to promote and protect Aboriginal, Inherent and Treaty Rights of all member First Nations while respecting the priorities of First Nations' culture.

In Treaty Four Territory, scientific data suggest that climate change brings shorter winters, water scarcity and drought. These changes threaten the water supply and ecosystems on which subsistence and traditional activities depend. FHQTC completed 12 engagement sessions within FHQTC Nations regarding climate change and adaptation priorities. Four themes emerged from these sessions: 1) impacts of land use and climate change on water quality and availability, 2) impacts of farming practices, 3) changes in the distribution and abundance of animals, and 4) economic opportunities stemming from renewable energy. Chief Matthew Todd Peigan, from Pasqua First Nation, will discuss these themes and present resilience and adaptation strategies to help overcome the challenges of climate change.

Ahead of the Curve: Leading the Way in Indigenous Community Resiliency

Presenters: Chief Patrick Michell and Aaron Coelho

Kanaka Bar membership and our local area residents have observed changes in precipitation patterns, air temperature and ecosystems and it’s becoming disconcerting. In order to prepare for further changes, in 2018 Kanaka Bar completed a climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation strategy. This session will share the story of how one rural BC community is preparing for climate change through implementation of strategies to improve community resilience. This session will feature Chief Patrick Michell from the Kanaka Bar Indian Band and Aaron Coelho, Climate Change and Water Resources Specialist from Urban Systems Ltd. Together, Chief Patrick and Aaron will share Kanaka Bar’s approach to climate change preparedness including the value of combining traditional knowledge with science and empirical data, implementation of self-sufficiency initiatives and the importance of youth engagement. If Kanaka Bar can do it, you can too. Leave inspired to take action in your own community.

Moderator: Dr. Sabine Dietz

Presenters: Jamie Burke, Graham Watt and Chelsea Mottishaw

Small, rural communities (population less than 15,000) face opportunities as well as challenges when faced with climate change impacts. They are often less nimble and less daring, have overall less power in the policy and legislative arena, and face public pressure that can easily swing decisions.

This workshop, moderated by Aster Group Environmental Services Co-op, will explore the various themes and players that surround adaptation decision-making in small communities. With the help of representatives from small communities, the session examines how governance framework shapes how innovative communities can or cannot be; the role of leadership and how it advances or blocks adaptation; the role of education and communication about climate change and adaptation when it comes to local decision-making and who should do it; and how small communities often make decisions by taking the path of least resistance.

Moderator: Bonnie Hostrawser 

Presenters: Dr. Ian Mauro, Laura Cameron, Dr. Erin Fraser and Dr. Jade Savage

Climate change is a key driver of serious zoonotic, food-borne and water-borne infectious diseases. With continued warming across the country, the occurrence of infectious diseases will increase in Canada, potentially posing a risk to all Canadians. While data (e.g., risk assessments) on climate change as a driver for emerging and increased rates is readily available, gaps still exist related to the prevention, diagnosis, burden of illness, health education and awareness regarding the risks and adaptation solutions for climate-driven infectious diseases in Canada for people and the health sector. This session aims to build capacity, raise awareness, share tools and information, and broaden collaboration and engagement among delegates in preparing for and responding to climate-driven infectious diseases.

Nuna Tariuq Silalu Film Project

Presenters: Eriel Lugt and Darryl Tedjuk

Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, is a community on the Arctic coastline that is being impacted by climate change on a number of levels, through erosion, ice, weather and wildlife migration patterns, to name a few. Many adaptation initiatives related to climate change are taking place, such as the need to relocate homes due to an eroding shoreline. These projects are significant changes for a small community and it is important to document this point in history and show others how we are adapting to the changing circumstances.

This two-year project aims to engage the community and us, the youth of Tuktoyaktuk, in the climate change adaptation process by documenting perceptions and solutions from the community and sharing them across the region, the country and beyond, using digital media. This presentation will showcase the documentary "Happening to Us," produced by our group of youth during the film workshop in June 2019 and showcased at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain last December 2019. There will be opportunity for questions after the movie.

Pangnirtung Youth Tackle Climate Change: On-the-land knowledge exchange, monitoring, and filmmaking promoting adaptation and well-being

Moderator: Sonja Dodig

Presenters: Maggie Lucy Kilabuk and Vincent L'Hérault

The coastal community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut has long witnessed and experienced the reality of climate change. Country food is the main resource for Panniqtuumiut all year round and practices related to hunting and fishing are key to family and community well-being. Local organizations and community members contribute to numerous academic studies and endeavours devoted to climate change. However, there is a disconnect between what is currently known, and what the younger generation know as youth don’t always have many opportunities to hear from these knowledgeable people about the scale and implications of these changes.

Through an on-the-land program for youth bringing together elders, knowledgeable hunters, scientists, and filmmakers, this project aims to learn from Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit holistic system of knowledge & beliefs) and scientific monitoring to better understand changes to the environment and wildlife related to climate change, and share the knowledge through short films and visual arts.

Moderator: Neil MacEachern

Metrotown Masterplan: Private Sector Leadership in Climate Resilient Community Development

Presenters: Shane O'Hanlon and Graeme Silvera

The Metrotown Master plan is visionary. The staged renewal and reconstruction of Metrotown Mall over the upcoming decades is an historic opportunity to reimagine a significant part of Burnaby’s downtown using the latest thinking in sustainable buildings,  while increasing resilience to our rapidly changing climate and regenerating local ecosystems. To do this a bespoke Sustainability and Resilience strategy was developed.

This session will be a presentation exploring the three pillars of this strategy (social, environmental and economic) through a lens of resilience, considering future climate projections and their associated impacts, and how they’ve been woven throughout the plan. Some strategies can be applied immediately and others are medium-term or long-term, and a number of the strategies will be examined in detail in the presentation.

A Small Business Disaster Resilience Study with Implications for Adaptation Planning across Geographies and Sectors 

Presenter: Jon Philipsborn

Adaptation planning often focuses on sectors such as power, water and transportation; however, other critical community components require attention due to their importance and role in climate resilience and disaster recovery. A small business (SME) disaster resilience study was completed along six corridors in New Orleans. Over 200 SMEs were surveyed on prior extreme weather experience, risk awareness, preparedness and ability to recover. Results were analyzed and recommendations developed at the business, corridor and city level. Education and engagement were key components: communication with SMEs occurred through in-person surveys, informational material and corridor-specific trainings. 

Data on preparedness to current and future hazards is lacking. This presentation will review the SME resilience study’s methodology, results and recommendations. Discussion will include a call for this approach to be applied to SMEs in different cities, as well as tailored for sector specific analysis across other sectors underrepresented in climate adaptation and disaster resilience.

Moderators: Jacinthe Clavet-Gaumont and Isabelle Charron

Presenters: Frédéric Vigeant, Maureen Daschuk and Kurt Kornelsen

Hydropower companies are critical actors for climate change adaptation. Climate change may pose challenges or create opportunities around production, security and planning of resource use. Many Canadian utilities have been proactive with climate change adaptation research. However, there is still a gap between knowledge on the impact of climate change and the identification of adaptation options and their implementation by the industry.

Important hydropower actors will present shortly their initiatives to address climate change. Afterwards, they will participate to a panel discussion to share experiences and insights about the lessons learned, challenges and benefits regarding the inclusion of climate change on the agenda of executives and the barriers to take concrete actions in their companies.
Ouranos, a research partner of many of these companies and an important contributor to climate change adaptation research in Canada, will be moderating the discussion.

Moderator: Michael Stanyer

Blue-Green Connected Roofs: How much better does a “blue-green connected” roof perform to reduce heating/cooling loads and manage storm water?

Presenter: Harvy Takhar

Enhancing biodiversity in an urbanized area can be achieved by implementing green roofs. A healthy green roof can reduce the energy loads for heating and cooling a building as well as reduce stormwater runoff. However, in many climates green roofs underperform mainly due to drought conditions leading to poor vegetation health during the warmer season. Perhaps including a cavity underneath the green roof’s vegetation and growing medium with a wicking system can keep the vegetation healthier and optimize the performance. This system is called a "connected blue-green roof" for the purposes of this study.

The BCIT research team, in conjunction with the City of Vancouver and research partners, have constructed various instrumented roof assemblies that include a conventional, blue, green and connected blue-green roof. The research aims to provide a quantitative measure for each roof type to measure the heating/cooling load and stormwater management, and to observe the health of the vegetation.

Adaptation through Amphibiation

Presenter: Dr. Elizabeth English

Amphibious housing presents intriguing possibilities in the quest for sustainable responses to the impending global climate change crisis. Suitable new housing types are needed for populated regions where sea level rise and heightened storm activity are expected to intensify flooding. Amphibious foundation systems allow a house to remain close to the ground with the appearance of an ordinary house, but to rise with rising floodwater and float on the surface until the flood recedes, at which time it returns to its original position. 

This strategy has great potential to benefit vulnerable populations that currently face the difficult choice between leaving their traditional homelands or living with the devastation that severe flooding can cause in their communities.  Amphibious architecture works in synchrony with nature, allowing water to flow where it will rather than attempting to control it. Thus, amphibious retrofitting is a particularly appropriate, low-cost strategy for indigenous cultures with strong connections to place and respect for natural systems. 

Presenters: Sean Capstick (moderator), Rachel Wyles, Charles Dumaresq and Marc Butler

Mining companies and operators are acting on climate change in response to: regulators requiring information as part of the impact assessment and permitting process; stakeholders demanding environmental, social and governance disclosure; and the impacts that are already affecting operating costs. In response to these issues, the Mining Association of Canada is developing guidance that will provide: a framework on how to characterize the risks to mines from a changing climate; decision-making processes around adaptation measures and allow the implementation of best practices to reduce and manage this risk. This work builds on the International Council on Mining and Metals' recently updated guidance.

This panel presentation will provide an overview of the drivers on mining companies, the available guidance documents, practical actions that operators can take now and case studies from mines that have completed risk assessments and successfully completed the permitting process.

Moderator: Mike Simpson

Working Together Across Boundaries for a Resilient Cascadia: A bi-national biodiversity climate adaptation strategy and a novel tool to support collaborative conservation in a rapidly changing landscape

Presenters: Gregory Kehm

Climate change will have profound impacts on both the human and natural communities of Cascadia, from declining snowpack and increasing wildfire to shifting habitat availability for native species. The scale and pace of these changes will require a historic effort by public and private partners across broad geographic areas to identify and implement actions that will help human and natural communities adapt. Identifying and implementing a shared regional biodiversity climate adaptation strategy for directing independent and collaborative efforts will be critical to ensuring a sustainable and biodiverse Cascadia region into the future.

This talk will provide an introduction to the initiative, a summary of progress including results of four stakeholder workshops and demonstration of a novel web-based spatial tool supporting dynamic collaborative conservation.

BC and US State Transboundary Collaboration

Presenter: Dennis Paradine

Dennis Paradine will present on British Columbia’s participation in the Pacific Coast Collaborative (PCC), an agreement signed in June 2008 between the Premier of British Columbia and the Governors of Washington, California, and Oregon. The priorities of the PCC include building a sustainable regional economy, clean energy, innovation, emergency management, and regional transportation. The collaborative approach of the PCC was exemplified by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between British Columbia, Washington and California in December 2018 on Pacific Coast Temperate Forests. There is a pledge to share information and work jointly to improve forest resilience and better understand how forests are responding to climate change. Additionally, Dennis will highlight transboundary collaboration initiatives on climate adaptation, the development of climate change tools and data, and the sharing of climate change information, including transboundary science needs.

Moderator: Jim Vanderwal

Inuit Adaptation: A Legacy of Engaging with Climate Change

Presenter: Kukik Baker

This session will outline the approach being taken in Arviat, NU by a small community research/action group to address issues of climate impacts on food security, well-being, cultural sustainability, engagement and youth resilience. The focus is on 3 foundational principles around climate issues: the foundation of cultural beliefs; youth engagement; community accountability; a comprehensive overview of the approach; and climate change inequities experienced by Inuit communities and how one community is using cultural strengths and protective practices to address these impacts within a supportive environment of collaboration and community action.

The presentation describes the essential role of cultural beliefs and practices in dynamic and innovation adaptation while detailing the Ujjiqsuiniq Program recognized as an important engagement program that leads to strength-based practice, resilience and stewardship of climate adaptations.

This will be a 20-minute oral presentation with 10 minutes for questions.

NUNAMIN ILLIHAKVIA: An Inuit-Led Climate Change Adaptation Initiative

Presenters: Gilbert Olifie and April Olifie

Climate change is already being experienced by Inuit living in the Canadian Arctic, with implications for travel safety and hunting success. An important factor in the ability to cope with and adapt to climatic changes affecting hunting is the sharing of traditional knowledge, including skills and values, which afford Inuit dynamic and flexible use of the environment even under changing conditions. The Inuit-led and administered Nunamin Illihavia project in Ulukhaktok, NT focuses on this important adaptation entry point by supporting the intergenerational transmission of traditional knowledge important for subsistence. The project has three core foci: 1) subsistence hunting, 2) fur preparation and sewing, and 3) Inuinnaqtun language. The oral presentation, video and discussion will focus on how Nunamin Illihakvia differs from other climate change adaptation initiatives in that it is Inuit-led and indirectly addresses climate change impacts through capacity building.

Presenters: Deborah Harford (moderator), Dr. Kristie Ebi, Dr. Peter Berry and Angie Woo

The health system is particularly central to the success or failure of climate resilience-building, as it is a nexus of response to the impacts of climate change, yet may itself be severely impacted by climate-related damages and stresses in the short, medium and long term. The health system’s overall resilience will depend on the contributions of a wide variety of disciplines and professions.

This oral presentation will introduce the concept of systems-level climate resilience as a means of illustrating ways to consider this challenge on a systemic level. Presenters will introduce stress-testing tools, provide an overview of how stress-testing has been used elsewhere in Canada, and lead participants through an interactive table-top scenario. The audience will increase their knowledge of climate change impacts on health systems, stress-testing tools and related data and resources, and the operationalization of interdisciplinarity in this context.

Presenters: Dr. Ian Picketts (moderator) and students TBC

In this session, select students from Quest University in the fourth year course “Human Responses to Climate Change” will present on aspects of their major class project that focus on climate change adaptation. Presentations will link together in a narrative arc, and will be delivered in creative and varied formats. Significant efforts will go into making these presentations interactive and engaging for the audience. Topics of particularly student interest (and likely focus) include: food security, transportation, sea level rise, inequity, community planning and Indigenous knowledge.

Presenters: Roy Brooke (moderator), Rohan Lilauwala and Natalia Moudrak

Moderator: Dr. Sabine Dietz

Presenters: James Bornemann, Jamie Burke, Adam Cheeseman, Erin Taylor and Dr. Danika van Proosdij

Nature-based adaptation approaches work with ecosystems to increase our resilience to climate change. This adaptation approach is gaining momentum in the Maritime region, as many groups have developed natural/nature-based infrastructure projects (e.g. stormwater ponds, salt marsh restoration) to help address local level impacts (e.g. flooding, erosion, sea level rise).

The goal of this session is to explore successes and opportunities for natural/nature-based adaptation in Maritime Canada, while encouraging a reflection on existing gaps that may be impeding the broad-scale implementation of this approach. Panelists represent various sectors and geographic regions to offer diverse perspectives on this important, yet under-utilized, adaptation approach.

Presenters: Dr. Elizabeth Nelson and Dr. Diana Stralberg (co-moderators), Dr. Carlos Carroll, Jennifer Grant, Dr. Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis and Dr. Gregor Schuurman

This session will bring together conservation practitioners and researchers to discuss the implications of climate change for protected areas management and conservation priorities. Given the magnitude of change expected over the next century, conservation area managers are already identifying adaptation strategies for species and ecosystems under their protection. The identification of areas of likely ecological persistence (refugia) can inform efficient allocation of conservation resources. However, it is also important to understand when and where resistance is futile, and to begin developing strategies for accommodating, facilitating, and even expediting change.

Session co-organizers Dr. Elizabeth Nelson (Parks Canada) and Dr. Diana Stralberg (University of Alberta) have invited four panelists to provide brief presentations, followed by a series of small group discussions, with the aim of working together to answer the overarching question: “When should we resist, accept, or even facilitate change, and how can we combine these strategies effectively?”

Presenters: Lo Cheng (moderator), Isabelle Charron and Trevor Murdock

Climate change poses many risks to the health and well-being of Canadians and their communities. Cities, organizations and businesses need to understand how the climate is changing in order to increase their resilience to the effects of climate change and plan adaptation strategies. This requires access to reliable, timely and relevant climate data and associated information.

The session will provide an overview on how the Canadian Centre for Climate Services (CCCS) is supporting Canadians with information and online tools to consider climate change in their decisions. It will focus on ClimateData.ca, a user-friendly climate data portal that has brought together the expertise of national and regional climate service providers. The three session speakers include representatives from the CCCS and regional partners, Ouranos and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium. Participants will have the opportunity to try out ClimateData.ca to identify how this tool can aid their decision-making and to provide feedback.

Moderator: Jo-Ellen Parry

Presenters: Dinah Tambalo and others TBA

Communities and businesses throughout the Prairie Provinces are increasingly managing and preparing for more frequent and intense extreme events such as flooding, droughts and wildfires. This session will provide an opportunity for practitioners engaged in these efforts to share their experiences and learn from one another as they work to ensure that their communities and businesses are better prepared.

An opening presentation will describe how collaboration between the Prairie region’s provincial governments is building interactive networks and successfully engaging target audiences in adaptation. Adaptation practitioners will then discuss key climate adaptation issues within sectors of critical importance to the Prairie region in world café-style table discussions. These discussions will have a strong focus on knowledge sharing, identifying commonly experienced barriers, informing adaptation needs and priorities in the region, and generating solutions to these challenges. The session will be convened by the Prairies Regional Adaptation Collaborative (PRAC).

Moderator: Inger Miller

Canada’s Research Contributions to Climate Adaptation in the Global South

Presenter: Marie-Eve Landry and Jorgelina Hardoy

Over more than a decade, Canada has been at the forefront of efforts to cope with the effects of climate change across the developing world. This session will reflect and share concrete examples of the research contributions and learning in the Global South on topics, including climate resilient and inclusive urban and rural development, and on gender and social equity. Understanding that gender and social differences can be a source of resilience rather than simply indicators of vulnerability, the session will provide evidence that integrating social equity in climate research can lead to positive development impacts. These contributions suggest lessons for Canada and adaptation beyond 2020, which include moving beyond assessing bio-physical risk to addressing the root causes of social vulnerability, enabling collaborative research to fill existing knowledge gaps, and working across scales to connect the voices of local practitioners to national and global policy dialogues.

Climate Change Adaptation for Fisheries: Transferable lessons from capacity-limited fishing communities in the Caribbean

Presenters:  Jimena Eyzaguirre and Natascia Tamburello

In many coastal communities around the world, marine biodiversity, ecosystems, and fisheries provide sustenance and livelihood opportunities critical to human well-being. However, an increasing number of pressures including coastal development, pollution, overfishing, and now climate change are threatening the continued availability of these opportunities. The increasing availability of government or donor funds for supporting coastal adaptation presents an opportunity to develop systematic approaches to monitoring climate change impacts and implementing adaptation measures in coastal communities.

This presentation outlines key lessons from work on a climate-smart fisheries monitoring and management framework developed for the Caribbean region, including essential indicators for tracking climate change impacts on fisheries across different levels of capacity, decision-making frameworks for selecting and implementing adaptation strategies, and policy recommendations for mainstreaming adaptation in the fisheries sector. Drawing on these lessons, we highlight strategies transferable to climate change adaptation in capacity-limited fishing communities along Canada’s coastlines.

Moderator: Theresa Fresco

Adapting to a Warming Climate: Gardening Opportunities and Strategies in Subarctic Ontario, Canada

Presenters: Dr. Meaghan Wilton and Jassen Metatawabin

The warming climate of subarctic Ontario, Canada has created challenges to practising the Cree traditional way of life, such as the shifting of migratory game bird routes.  However, the warming climate has also presented the Cree with an opportunity − to grow vegetables and fruit under ambient conditions using agroforestry practices.

This two-speaker session will share agroforestry gardening strategies (e.g., willow (Salix sp.) wind-breaks and bush gardens) implemented by Fort Albany First Nation. The use of willow wind-breaks revealed benefits when employed in a community garden setting. The willow trees protected crops from wind, significantly improved phosphorus content of crops, and created a favourable microclimate for crop production. In Fort Albany, planting and harvesting times for crops coincide with times when people are at their camps for hunting activities. Thus, some community members have constructed bush gardens at their camps to have access to fresh vegetables while enjoying traditional activities.

Tłı̨chǫ Dǫtaàts’eedı (Tłı̨chǫ Sharing Food Amongst the People)

Presenters: Paul Cressman

Climate change is being felt acutely in Canada’s north. For the Tłı̨chǫ people in the Northwest Territories, adapting to climate change means addressing food security as well as creating opportunities to build cultural identity: as with the decline in Caribou populations, both are now under threat. Tłı̨chǫ Dǫtaàts’eedı is a simple program on paper with many complex real-life benefits. This presentation will describe how this community-driven climate change adaptation program addresses food security, builds cultural resilience, promotes intergenerational relationships and community support networks, prioritizes traditional knowledge, promotes cultural practices, and creates a culturally appropriate model for community justice.  

Presenters: Lilia Yumagulova (moderator), Devin Naveau, Casey Gabriel, and Amber MacLean-Hawes

Indigenous communities are faced with disproportionate risk of disasters and climate change and are at the forefront of adaptation. Organized by the Preparing Our Home program, this session includes three inspiring stories of building community resilience:

• The Xet̓ólacw Community School, Lil’wat Nation, developed Canada’s first Preparing Our Home community resilience curriculum. Drawing on Traditional Knowledge, this program combines youth-led hazard mapping, firefighting and lifesaving skills.
  
  
• Mattagami First Nation has been working hard to fight back against the changing conditions. With a great team, youth leadership and hard work, Mattagami has been able to implement a community-wide “Master Emergency Response Plan.”
  
  
• The Emergency Preparedness in Mi’kmaw Communities in Nova Scotia project focuses on using a holistic approach in determining community strengths, weakness and gaps for emergency preparedness, climate change adaptation and health. Youth action can increase community preparedness and lead the way in hopes of establishing lasting community impacts.

Moderator: Devin Causley

Presenters: Sara Jane O'Neill and Mike Kennedy

Communities across the country are experiencing the impacts from climate change and extreme weather. The bill continues to grow while the funds available to respond are finite. How do we evaluate the rising costs and share the burden in responding across government, industry and the public?

This session will start by sharing the results of recent research conducted by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Insurance Bureau of Canada on the estimated costs for adapting infrastructure to existing impacts. The session will open with a short set of panel presenters to set the context, followed by a fireside chat with two communities from Canada’s north and east coast where the associated costs of climate change are expected to be highest.

Moderator: Brett Huson

Presenters: Dr. Ian Mauro, Danny Blair, Laura Cameron and Duane Nicol

The Climate Atlas of Canada (www.climateatlas.ca) – the flagship project of the University of Winnipeg’s Prairie Climate Centre (PCC) – is increasingly a “go to” tool for Canadians seeking climate resources for public education and applied decision-making. In this interactive session, join the PCC and their partners to learn about the design of this tool and how it weaves together climate science and storytelling with community-based research, filmmaking and adaptation planning. A series of lightening talks will kick off the session, giving participants a high-level overview of the main themes, which will be followed by facilitated breakout sessions that will allow participants to engage more intimately with the PCC team to discuss the specifics of the initiative. Participants will have an opportunity to provide feedback on how the platform – as part of a larger continuum of tools – can be improved to support climate change adaptation locally, regionally and nationally.

Moderator: Bob Purdy

Invasion Risk from Vessel Traffic in Marine Protected Areas under Current and Future Climate Conditions

Presenters: Dr. Josephine Iacarella

Non-indigenous species pose a significant threat to the main objective of marine conservation, protecting biodiversity. To-date, there has been limited research quantifying invasion risk to marine protected areas (MPAs) despite the potential consequences of invasions. Dr. Iacarella from Fisheries and Oceans Canada will present research on how invasions in MPAs can be predicted by evaluating suitable environmental conditions under current and future climates and vessel traffic movements as a pathway of spread. This research highlights a major conservation concern often overlooked in MPA spatial planning and management, and applies well-established tools in a novel approach to assess invasion risk.

Best Practices for Managing Invasive Species in the Metro Vancouver Region – Tools for Prevention, Management & Education

Presenters: Tasha Murray and Laurie Bates-Frymel

Invasive species are non-native flora or fauna that can be highly destructive, costly, competitive and difficult to control. Climate change will likely support conditions that allow existing invasive species to flourish and new ones to establish. Prevention and control of invasive species will help to maintain healthy and resilient ecosystems. To support region-wide invasive species management efforts, Metro Vancouver, the Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver, Diamond Head Consulting and the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia have created locally-appropriate best management practices (BMPs) for several high-priority species found in the Metro Vancouver region. These guides provide a compendium of technical guidance that has been tested by many researchers and operations experts. This presentation will review the content (and planned future additions) of the BMPs, and discuss how they are contributing to region-wide efforts to increase awareness about invasive species.

Moderator: Kari Tyler

Presenters: Trevor Murdock, Robert LePage, Angie Woo and Ralph Wells

When professionals decide to adapt to a new climate, a common desire is for future projections in precisely the same variables and data formats currently used. Adapting to climate change will require more fundamental changes in habits and practice than this.
 
First, adapting to climate change involves climate conditions that continue to change with time throughout the lifespan of most infrastructure. This represents an unprecedented design challenge. Second, while trying to provide future information in the same form as used before is a good first step, the next step is to consider the use of information and heuristics in different ways than in the past. Following a brief slide presentation, several concrete examples in the energy efficiency and health care buildings sectors will highlight these next two layers of the adaptation onion.

Calling on the Collective Skills of Aboriginal Peoples

Moderator: Neil MacEachern

Presenters: Dany Johnny Chilton and Samuel Castonguay

The dangers of climate change are rapidly increasing on the Atikamekw’s lands, as the community transitions from a nomadic way of life to a predominantly sedentary lifestyle.

The Atikamekw Nation Council has decided to develop a traditional approach to resolve both of these current problems. The project involves establishing a holistic approach in describing how the community functions  to collectively teach its members to rapidly adapt to the changes which affect it. We want to develop a collective ability to read and interpret the signs of the sociosphere, similar to the approach put in place for Notcimik. The aim is to enable community members to detect the dangers and opportunities they encounter. The first intended result is to create a collective ability to identify and understand issues of the highest priority related to the community’s functioning and development, as well as to identify workable, potential solutions.

Fire with Fire: Braiding Indigenous and Scientific Knowledges of Fire Management using Participatory Video Method to Enhance Climate Change Resilience

Presenters: Laura Lynes (moderator), Alvin First Rider, Kyra Northwest and Marley Kozak

Fire with Fire — an initiative supported by Natural Resources Canada’s Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise (BRACE) Program — is engaging multiple partners in a novel approach to adaptation by developing the capacity of Indigenous communities to share, exchange and validate their knowledge and perspectives on wildfire through participatory video — a proven tool to document and share Indigenous knowledge that can inform local, regional and international adaptation efforts and policy.

This session will feature a short video from a participating Indigenous community, an overview of lessons learned to date, and information on how Fire with Fire is developing capacity, processes, methodologies and tools to enable the best available Indigenous and scientific knowledge for climate change adaptation decisions at local, regional and provincial scales. Disasters, such as wildfires, can also be a hook for a larger conversation about climate change adaptation, which is being demonstrated through the initiative.

Moderator: Cameron Hunter

Presenters: Amber Fletcher, Maureen Reed and Angie Dazé

The impacts of climate change will affect people in different ways, depending on their location and how they sustain their livelihoods, as well as a range of other factors including gender, class and ethnicity. If these issues are not considered in planning and decision-making, there is a risk that adaptation investments will be ineffective, particularly in reaching the most vulnerable communities and groups.

This session will draw on empirical research and practical experience in Canada and Sub-Saharan Africa to explore how gender and other social factors influence experiences of climate change and capacity to adapt. Three panelists will share insights from ongoing research on gender and climate change adaptation, including the intersectionality of gender with other sociocultural characteristics. The presentations will be followed by an interactive dialogue, where participants will discuss common themes and what can be learned from these examples to inform gender-responsive approaches to adaptation going forward.

Presenters: Kerri Klein (moderator), Rebekka Schnitter, Dr. Chris Buse, Dr. Paivi Abernathy and Denni Clement

Climate change will affect all of us, but some communities and populations are at greater risk of experiencing health impacts from a changing climate. We know that our social and physical environments matter in determining our exposure to risk, but also our ability to respond and build resilience. Factors such as housing, income, social support networks and community capacity all affect our ability to respond and adapt to climate change.

This interactive workshop will explore what health equity means in the face of climate change and consider approaches that can inform adaptation actions which can reduce negative health impacts and increase local resilience.

Presenters: Jessica Shoubridge (moderator), Graham Watt, Paul Kovacs and Ujala Qadir

In a world that is changing at an unprecedented rate, how are new financial arrangements being made and new funding mechanisms being deployed to meet the demands of the rapid transition to a low-carbon, resilient world? This interactive session will explore the resilience funding and finance landscape from the local to the global, featuring contributors from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Get inspired by those who are innovating in this space and be a part of the growing momentum in green and sustainable finance!

This session will utilize interactive polling, Ignite-style talks and other interactive methods to ensure that the audience is included as active participants. The input from the session will also inform the next iteration of the Understanding Risk (UR+) Symposium to be held in the spring (2020) in Vancouver. The session is moderated by Jessica Shoubridge, a planner with 10 years’ experience working to build resilience in Southwestern BC.

Moderator: Jim Vanderwal

TOONIKTOYOK: Inuit-led Research on Climate Change Risks and Hunting Costs

Presenters: Angus Naylor, David Fawcett and Adam Kuptana

The goal of the TOONIKTOYOK project is to develop a dynamic understanding of how changing climatic conditions are affecting subsistence hunting and adaptation options among Inuit in Ulukhaktok, NT. Using a novel participatory-GIS methodology, the project equips 10 active Inuit hunters with GPS units, which are carried throughout the course of the year to record real-time land use data. This data is supplemented through the cohort’s participation in bi-weekly semi-structured group interviews, convened by a local Inuit project-coordinator, and with questions informed by project objectives, which capture additional information on stressors affecting subsistence practices and challenges to adaptive capacity. This oral presentation will highlight the importance of community-led monitoring initiatives to combat and better understand the effects of climate change, discuss the application of participatory-GIS methods for climate change adaptation, and describe the ways through which Inuit are affected by and respond to climate change.

Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk – the Acceleration of Coastal Change

Presenters: Thomas James and Shawn Stuckey

Over the last few decades, the rate of coastal change in some parts of the Arctic — in particular the Beaufort Sea — has accelerated due to declining sea ice, warming temperatures, increased wave action and storm surges. No other community is more vulnerable to the acceleration of climate-driven change than the community of Tuktoyakuk (pop. 950). The residents of the coastal community of Tuktoyaktuk, located within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, are all too aware of this rapid erosion, coastal flooding and land subsidence from permafrost thaw.  Erosion rates have increased by 27% in the past two decades, and it is clear that current shore protection measures are not working and able to withstand the increased climate-forcing events that continue to plague the community during the open water season. The rapidly increasing burden of coastal erosion facing this community necessitates urgent mitigation.

Moderator: Bob Purdy

Co-producing Solutions to the Impacts of Climate Change on Canada’s Undersea Forests

Presenter: Danielle Denley

Climate change is threatening food security for coastal communities world-wide. On the central coast of BC, First Nations communities rely heavily on kelp forests for commercial, food, social and ceremonial purposes. This talk highlights how co-production of research can facilitate relevant solutions that are directly available for local decision-makers to integrate into regional management plans, first by summarizing previous results revealing strong temperature effects on kelp recovery post-harvest on the Central Coast, and second by introducing recent research co-produced with the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance to determine whether adaptive management of traditional community-based kelp harvest can minimize the negative impact of temperature-induced bryozoan outbreaks on kelp.

Both examples use co-developed methodologies based on traditional kelp harvest and related fisheries, increasing the likelihood that First Nations communities will continue to adaptively manage kelp forests to increase the resilience of both kelp forest ecosystems and coastal communities to climate change.

SmartICE: Supporting Sustainable Winter Fisheries for Nunavut Communities under Changing Climate

Presenters: Trevor Bell

Across Nunavut, community-based fisheries are improving food security, providing employment and increasing the socio-economic well-being of Nunavummiut. The Government of Nunavut has a long-term goal to establish a self-supporting, inshore fishery, and to this end, several industry groups have invested in the development of a winter fishing industry in Baffin Island communities.

Climate change and its impacts on sea-ice conditions, however, represent increasing risk to fisher safety, industry investment in the winter fishery and the realization of the Government of Nunavut’s economic development goals. Our partnership between the hamlets of Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq, SmartICE (smartice.org) and Nunavut Fisheries Association is supporting a climate-adapted fishery by providing important information on landfast sea-ice thickness and travel hazards in near real-time. We are working closely with fishers to identify and address their specific ice information needs and develop technology solutions to complement their Inuit knowledge.

Moderator: Patrick Breuer 

Climate Risk Assessments for Transportation Assets: Lessons Learned and Recommended Practices

Presenter: Donavan Jacobsen

Transport Canada’s five-year Transportation Assets Risk Assessment (TARA) initiative funds the assessment of climate risk for federal transportation assets. Since launch of the initiative in 2017, $6M in project funding has been approved for climate risk assessment and instrumentation projects for airports, highways, bridges and ferry terminals, as well as research projects that seek to identify and address gaps and barriers to assessing climate risk.

Through TARA initiative implementation, Transport Canada has delivered and advised on numerous climate risk assessment contracts, climate data and impact analyses, and climate risk assessment workshops, resulting in an early list of lessons learned relating to climate risk assessments for transportation assets. These lessons focus on how to select the appropriate tool for the assessment, what decisions need to be made at the outset of a project, and how to structure your work to get a product that can be used for decision-making.

Integrating Climate Risk Knowledge into Practice at the Maryland Department of Transportation

Presenter: Susan Asam and Cassandra Bhat

This presentation will focus on a suite of practical strategies that the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is taking to ensure that individuals across the organization are taking account of potential climate change risks in their decision-making. For example, MDOT SHA is developing and distributing a centralized online viewer to share asset risk data; conducting trainings with internal and external partners on how to access, interpret and use the data; integrating future flood frequencies into pavement performance modelling; screening for climate risks in project planning and design processes; and more. The presentation will focus on lessons learned and best practices emerging from this experience, such as how to structure and present risk assessment results to facilitate uptake, engaging a wide variety of staff, and achieving organizational change.

Moderator: Michael Stanyer

Engagement and Games: Serious Gaming for Climate Adaptation

Presenters: Heather Murdock and Dr. Evalyna Bogdan

Flood adaptation is a significant challenge in Canada and around the world. Local communities aiming to build greater resilience to flooding often grapple with balancing competing interests and deciding which trade-offs are tolerable. It has been shown that “serious games” can be an effective tool to facilitate learning and collective decision-making. These tools involve gamification methods applied to serious topics. A growing body of research shows that the gamification of complex socio-environmental problems can create safe spaces for stakeholders to explore diverse views and interests in a low-pressure environment.

This presentation will showcase how a flood adaptation practitioner and a researcher teamed up to develop a serious game for flood governance in Canada – the Flood Resilience Challenge. An evaluation of the pilot test and the implication of these findings will be presented for the application of the Flood Resilience Challenge in communities across Canada.

Enhancing Public Awareness through the Arts in Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Adaptation

Presenter: Sylvia Borda

In considering the conditions required for a resilient and sustainable future we need to repurpose, reinvent, remake and rethink how our human-impacted planet can better work with the environment and function synergistically with it.
 
In this talk on what's next in civic and rural development, artist Sylvia Grace Borda illustrates how the arts sector can help align us more closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While Canada was one of 193 nations that pledged to adopt the SDGs in 2015, it has been slow in developing a strategy for implementing the goals nationally. This interactive presentation highlights how we can champion SDG targets by demonstrating ways in which the arts can support tackling climate change.   In particular the talk provides actionable insights of how our civic spaces can become examples of climate adaptive and eco-cultural spaces for public awareness and custodianship.

Sylvia's presentation is relevant to those whose daily work impacts Nature, including architects, engineers, landscape architects, planners and policy makers, by demonstrating how the arts can help us build and achieve a more sustainable world.

Communicating about Climate Change in the Canadian Provincial North: Insights into Promoting Community Engagement

Presenter: Maya Gislason

Communities in the Canadian Provincial North (CPN) are particularly vulnerable to climate change. However, limited research addresses the unique challenges, impacts and possibilities around effectively communicating climate change in these regions. Further, climate change communication research focuses primarily on urban realities, and when applied to the CPN, these best practices may alienate, isolate or even polarize local climate change research and community engagement efforts led by local champions. In this presentation, we share findings from in-depth interviews with local changemakers across Northern British Columbia and Ontario, and a survey of two urban communities in the CPN. With a focus on place, local vulnerabilities and the role of industry as a major economic driver, this presentation considers the nature of rural and remote communities, and how living at the epicenter of struggles between environmental and economic sustainability contours the challenges of communicating about climate change in these regions.

Presenters: Ericha Moores (moderator), Kyla Milne, Sara Holzman and Rebekka Schnitter

Climate change has disproportionate and differential impact on the most vulnerable. Understanding the social contexts and roots causes of vulnerability are integral components of designing and implementing adaptation solutions that are effective, culturally sensitive and sustainable. Vulnerability and social equity are closely related concepts and, whilst there is theoretical understanding of this relationship, there is limited knowledge on how to integrate this into adaptation practice.

This session, composed of a panel with representatives from Natural Resources Canada, Health Canada, Government of Nunavut and Government of Nova Scotia, will provide practical examples of how different organizations are considering social equity in adaptation planning and implementation and the need for empowered approaches. Following the panel, there will be a workshop component that will further explore the integration of social equity and climate adaptation.

Presenters: Erica Crawford, Olive Dempsey, Kari Tyler, Stephen Tyler, Trevor Murdock and Amanda Broad

Adaptation professionals who understand the wicked problem of climate change are trained to focus on the needs of communities and the supports that enable them to adapt and respond to climate change. At the same time that we need to develop skills to support the mental and emotional well-being of those for whom we work (e.g., www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/climate-mental-health), this work can also take an emotional and psychological toll on practitioners themselves.

This session will provide a framework and resources to make sense of the emotional landscape of adapting to climate change, engaging participants through experiential learning processes. Presentations will be in the form of role play and demonstration, and will be followed by small group work. This session will offer professionals the space to practise and reflect on skills for their own personal resilience, and leave them with practices and resources that can be applied to their work and collaborations with others.

Moderator: Cherry Tam

Presenters: Marina Melanidis and Caroline Merner

Youth may be the group that has contributed the least to the climate crisis, yet they are among the greatest impacted. It is critical that young people are meaningfully engaged in climate action, including adaptation. This workshop will expand on youth engagement methods, share best practices, and provide an opportunity to experience a youth engagement model. In the first half of the workshop, Climate Guides will share stories and best practices of working with young people and show how mentorship can be a meaningful engagement tool. The second half of the workshop will be a “Speed Mentoring” session, where several climate leaders (mentors) will lead their own roundtables that participants (mentees) can visit. The intended audience includes youth and older professionals alike, aiming to both build skills among professionals in engaging youth and allow youth an opportunity to connect with professionals and build their network.

Moderator: Neil MacEachern

Presenters: Jimena Eyzaguirre, Natalie Moudrak, Fiona Warren and Marie-Caroline Badjeck

To prepare for changing climate conditions and related risks, firms and countries around the world will have to enhance their climate resilience through adaptation. Countries that invest in building climate resilience and enabling growth in adaptation markets domestically could be at an advantage as a global supplier of adaptation and climate resilience goods and services (ACRGS).

The session will open with a short set of panel presenters to share insights on the rising and projected costs of extreme weather events and climate change impacts, in Canada and globally, and on the costs and benefits of investing in adaptation. As finance is often a barrier to action, the panel will also touch on innovative financial instruments to pay for adaptation. A final presenter will examine the opportunities for Canadian firms to supply ACRGS to international markets, based on scoping research focused on forestry and forest products, coastal infrastructure, ocean technologies and water and wastewater. To conclude, an interactive panel discussion will explore challenges and opportunities in the emerging adaptation economy.

Moderator: Pamela Kertland

Presenters: Graham Watt, Dr. Kate Sherren, Frank Frigo and John Sommerville

Climate change adaptation has traditionally focused on “holding the line” approaches and the use of structural protective measures to protect communities from the impacts of flooding or coastal erosion. Managed retreat, which refers to any strategic decision to withdraw, relocate or abandon private or public property can be a cost-effective, viable long-term solution, but comes with a unique set of legal, economic, social and psychological challenges.

A panel of three speakers, moderated by Natural Resources Canada, will share their perspectives and experiences on retreat, followed by a discussion with all session participants about enablers, barriers and pathways to an equitable approach to retreat. The goal of the session will be to draw out which practices work and elements to consider when trying to address this challenging question.

Presenters: Benjamin Filewod (moderator), Christian Messier and Dave Andison

Climate change impacts a Canadian forest products sector that is changing endogenously due to accumulation and depletion of specific forms of capital and technological progress. Resulting impacts on Canadian competitiveness are relative to the state of other players in global forest products markets, whose situations – notably supply-side exposure to projected warming- are very different. In turn, the economic consequences of Canada’s competitive position will shape the selection and success of sectoral adaptation strategies.

This talk will describe the trajectory and current status of Canada’s evolving forest products sector, including new research on total-value-chain measures of competitiveness in the global economy and the role of forest quality (age/size, location) in competitiveness, and summarize the supply-side vulnerability of Canada and her competitors in global forest products markets. This economic analysis will be linked to strategic options for forest sector adaptation, setting the stage for a detailed exposition of emerging forest management models by Prof. Messier and Dr. Andison.

Presenters: Robin Cox (moderator), Kyla Milne, David Lapp and Mary-Ann Wilson

Adaptation professionals act as change agents, guiding adaptation initiatives that are transdisciplinary and collaborative; that advance Canada’s social, economic and environmental goals and reconciliation agenda; and that enhance the climate resilience of our communities.

This workshop provides one opportunity to contribute to that agenda through the development of a shared understanding of what competencies are required to lead in this field. Following a brief introduction to the idea of competencies, competency frameworks, and the competency curve, participants will engage in a range of immersive, structured group activities designed to catalyze critical, reflexive and creative conversations about the knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgements required by professionals. This interactive workshop will contribute to a nationally informed, openly available climate change adaptation framework that can inform future adaptation training and education, guide hiring and recruitment of adaptation professionals and enhance the effectiveness of those already working in this field.

Presenters: Kari Tyler (moderator), Trevor Murdock, Erica Crawford, Denni Clement, Megan Lohmann and Maya Chorobik

Some of the most common challenges for organizations moving adaptation from an assessment to action are: getting buy-in from diverse subject matter experts, building up a network of supportive peers and winning over the much hoped-for champions in leadership roles. Overcoming these institutional barriers to change and successfully engaging people are essential skills for adaptation practitioners. Data and information rarely change people’s perspectives but authentic connections, supported by good information and resources, can have a big impact.

To engage meaningfully with others, adaptation professionals have to meet them where they are at and work to understand their perspectives and concerns.  This session will build those skills through a series of participatory exercises and small group work. The workshop will include story-telling and activities to demonstrate and experience the practical communications tools that will give professionals the skills to engage in change-making conversations.

Presenter: George Benson (moderator) and Nicole Bates-Eamer

According to recent studies, as many as 340 million people globally may be threatened with displacement due to climate change before 2050. Many of these people displaced will be among Canada's and the world’s most vulnerable populations, and because of Canada’s wealth and relative safety from the most dangerous impacts, we may be called upon to help many of them.

This interactive workshop is focused on building Canadian capacity to help those who are being or will be displaced. It will cover three key topic areas and intended outputs: 1) providing an overview of the current state of climate displacement research and data, 2) taking stock of the current state of displacement work amongst Canadian adaptation professionals, and 3) identifying ways for people interested in or working on climate displacement to connect together and build our shared capacity.

Moderator: Halina Rachelson

Ka pimthatek pakthehnamoowin / A Journey of Hope in St. Theresa Point First Nation

Presenters: Lewis Archer and Tyrone Munroe

Climate change is directly impacting St. Theresa Point First Nation and other communities across the north, which are experiencing more frequent and extreme events that pose a risk to the communities’ safety and security. St. Theresa Point is most concerned with the compounding damage to mental health that can result from an extreme climate event and its consequential aftermath. In 2017 St. Theresa Point  was evacuated to Winnipeg following severe wildfires. Research has demonstrated a link between acute natural disasters and extreme psychological reactions such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using a disaster-tested, evidence-based program, St. Theresa Point is helping children, teenagers and their caregivers strengthen their coping skills and reestablish a sense of security and trust in response to climate extremes and disasters. In other disaster settings, the program has been shown to help minimize feelings of fear, anger and sadness and to reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Navigating Mental Health Care in a Changing Climate

Presenter: Katie Hayes

In 2013, High River, Alberta experienced a super flood that displaced the entire community. The mental health implications of this event reverberate  five years later. This presentation explores the availability and accessibility of mental health care (both public sector and community-based) before, during and after the flood. It explores how High Riverites, particularly those most marginalized, navigated mental health care before, during, and after the flood until the present day.

Original research findings from an empirical study of the psychosocial consequences of climate change and community-based mental health responses in High River will be presented by the lead researcher of this study. Participants will learn key takeaways, such as the role that mental health and climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessments can play in supporting mental health following climate change-related extreme weather.

Moderator: Kelsey Taylor

Presenter: Abhayjeet Singh Sachal

This session will discuss the importance of environmental empathy from a youth perspective. Abhayjeet Singh Sachal will speak about travelling to the Canadian Arctic and founding Break The Divide Foundation at the age of 14. The focus of the presentation will be on youth engagement in environmental issues, the importance of nuance in discussions on climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the necessity to unite to take climate action. Abhayjeet will discuss Break The Divide’s emphasis on dialogue among youth around the world and the necessity of real conversations in a time of polarization and apathy.

This presentation will provide attendees with tangible resources and understandings to engage in dialogue about the climate crisis with youth and create a sense of commonality to address associated environmental issues. This presentation will include group activities, discussion and a Q & A period.