CLIMATE CHANGE WORKSHOPS IN AFRICAN NOVA SCOTIA COMMUNITIES - MARCH 2021
Sponsored by: African Nova Scotia Affairs and Dalhousie University
There are 48 African Communities located across Nova Scotia and little is known regarding the precise nature and extent of climate change impacts, specific climate threats and future challenges that they will face moving forward
If left unchecked, climate change impacts will become more significant, widespread and continue to threaten the socio / economic fabric, social well-being, public health and safety of residents living in black communities.
In November 2020 ClimAction Services Inc. met with Dr. Ingrid Waldron, Dalhousie University, to explore organizing workshops on climate change that would be of interest to black communities.
A proposal to organize a series of workshops was developed. It would provide information to help these communities:
· Understand the nature and significance of climate threats described in terms of their socio-economic, public health, cultural and environmental significance.
· Identify adaptation approaches to address climate change challenges.
· Build the capacity of the community and its residents to act and reduce impacts through adaptive management.
Dr. Waldron submitted this proposal to African Nova Scotia Affairs for financial support and it was approved in November. It was decided that two 2-hour workshops would be held in Shelburne, East Preston/North Preston/Cherry Brook and Truro.
To ensure that community needs and priorities were met coordinators for each location were identified. These coordinators dedicated significant time and effort in helping to organize the workshops and we wish to thank them for their efforts.
The presentation included four main components:
· An overview of climate change which identified the role of burning fossil fuels in contributing to the problem of climate change and some of the more significant impacts due to heat waves, flooding and extreme weather events including hurricanes.
· Impacts on each community which discussed the climate change threats and their impacts (e.g., temperature increases, drought, extreme weather) in terms of socio-economic, health, heritage, cultural impacts.
· Responding to the challenge - This section covered the two-pronged approach to tackling climate change.
o The first approach is aimed at reducing Greenhouse Gases to slow the occurrence of global warming and climate change through a combination of reducing energy demands, carpooling and using energy efficient products.
o The second approach is to develop adaptation strategies by, for example, adopting water conservation measures to ease water shortages during droughts.
· Opportunities for your community - The participants were asked to identify actions that they could take to help address climate change challenges.
It also included some examples of threats, impacts, and opportunities in order to focus discussions with participants.
About half of the participants completed an evaluation of the workshop itself. All participants who answered would recommend this workshop to others. Most participants who answered (63%) said the workshop met their expectations and 31% of those answering felt it exceeded their expectations.
Overall participants who answered felt they had increased their knowledge of climate change (58%) and of adaptive management (63%).
The full report (2021) can be requested from climaction@outlook.com
Integrating Climate Change into Asset Management
With support from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Federation of Nova Scotia Municipalities, ClimAction Services and WSP developed a workshop to assist municipalities in integrating climate change into their asset management process. The workshop was presented in Halifax and Middleton, Nova Scotia. The workshops provided a forum to discuss the role of climate change as an integral component of asset management. This type of workshop information dissemination and participant discussion ensured that climate change risks could be assessed, impacts determined and adaptation approaches identified so that municipal infrastructure is resilient in the face of existing and/or expected climate changes. It also provided an opportunity to discuss the cost of inaction of integrating climate resilience into asset management.
ClimAction Services Inc. also developed a paper entitled “Integrating Asset Management and Climate Change – A Path Forward”. This paper discusses some of the impacts from climate change on infrastructure (land transportation, building infrastructure, stormwater and wastewater management and water treatment) and poses some questions that can help municipalities design and operate resilient infrastructure and meet sustainable community objectives. It the infrastructure lifecycle and what the climate change considerations would be at each stage in the cycle and then moves on to present a process that would ensure that climate change is incorporated into an asset management framework. This process is shown in the form of a Flowchart which clearly shows how climate change considerations can be addressed as part of the development of an asset management framework.
This paper can be found on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities website. (2018)
CAPE BRETON REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY – NATIONAL DISASTER MITIGATION PROGRAM(NDMP) FLOOD RISK ASSESSMENT
ClimAction Services Inc. was subcontracted by WSP Canada Inc. to provide expertise in the area of climate change and extreme weather events for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality to complete a detailed risk assessment on a community scale, determine if flood risks exist, prepare preliminary recommendations for mitigation measures, and to develop approximate ‘order of magnitude’ cost estimates of the recommended remedial works. This work was done with financial support from the National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP) and fills a critical gap in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s ability to effectively mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from, flood-related events by building a body of knowledge of flood risks in the region, and investing in foundational flood mitigation activities, such as risk assessments and flood mapping.
The Municipality has identified areas of interest that could pose flood risks during heavy rainfall events. The risk assessments that are the subject of this proposal are intended to be conducted at a neighborhood or community level using the Government of Canada’s Risk Assessment Template. This exercise is not intended to identify individual properties that are subject to frequent flooding, but rather to study the broader community scale impacts. The work will also provide an approximate order of magnitude cost estimates to carry out remedial work that will inform a long term funding program and flood mitigation strategy.
This work will help to quantify the impacts from flooding of the identified systems in an effort to prioritize decisions and ultimately use the information to form the basis for future funding strategies in order to continue to follow the NDMP flood mitigation framework. (2018)
HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY – NATIONAL DISASTER MITIGATION PROGRAM (NDMP) FLOOD RISK ASSESSMENTS
ClimAction Services Inc. was subcontracted by WSP Canada Inc. to provide expertise in the area of climate change and extreme weather events for the Halifax Regional Municipality to complete the risk assessment phase of the National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP). This Program was established by the Canadian Federal Government to focus on targeted investments to build safer and more resilient communities by addressing increased flood risks and the planning for the implementation of future mitigation measures. The NDMP fills a critical gap in the Halifax Regional Municipality’s ability to effectively mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from, flood-related events. As part of the program, the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) retained WSP Canada Inc. project team to carry out risk assessment and develop mitigation strategies for key areas of the Municipality.
The overall goal of this project was to complete flood risk assessments for key areas of the Municipality that are susceptible to surface flooding, focusing on the impacts at the community level. The intent of the work was to investigate and define the localized and community-wide effects, impacts and risks associated with the flooding of these areas to inform future decisions of HRM Staff and HRM Council. The results of the investigation is intended to support future funding strategies for the design and construction of flood mitigation infrastructure and measures within the Municipality. (2017)
Risk and vulnerabilities associated with extreme natural hazards and severe weather
Undertook a comprehensive study for the Mi’kmaq Conservation Group, to address climate change impacts to three communities (Pictou Landing, Indian Brook and Glooscap) in terms of their economics, public health and safety, environmental and ecosystem health and cultural areas and heritage. The study (Climate Change and Water/Wastewater Facilities – Impacts, Hazard Assessment and Adaptation for First Nation Communities) was to determine the vulnerability of First Nation water/wastewater facilities and storm water management systems. A particular concern in one community was placed on assessing the significance of sea level rise and storm surge on coastal flooding and recommending adaptation strategies. (2016)
Adaptive management
Provided advice to the Nova Scotia Departments of Agriculture and Environment on the need for a comprehensive program to address climate change impacts on the agricultural sector. Recommendations were made to pursue funding under the federal/provincial Agri-Risk Initiatives Program. The proposed submission was aimed at establishing a private/public partnership arrangement to develop a web-based decision-support tool that is capable of evaluating the effects of various climatic hazardous types (e.g., heavy precipitation, extreme weather). The need for and type of adaptation measures to reduce future impacts were included. (2016)
Asset Management
Placed a priority on working with members of the Nova Scotia Department of the Environment and Transportation & Infrastructure Renewal to adopt “climate ready” approaches to address infrastructure and asset management requirements. A presentation was drafted which outlined the impacts of climate change on infrastructure, key engineering challenges, future projections to identify climate risks and tools that can be used to support the design and development of resilient infrastructure. (2016)
Provide advice to the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, Land Protection Section, on the development of an asset management approach to address impacts associated with flooding, identify appropriate mitigation planning measures and recommend adaptation strategies to protect dykes and associated infrastructure.
Capacity building on climate changE
January 27, 2017 AAROM Symposium
Developed a climate change strategy for the Nova Scotia Department of Environment, Land Protection Section, which outline the issues, priorities and directions to address existing and emerging climate change challenges related to day-to-day decision making and program operations. Initial emphasis will be placed on developing a climate change lens for its various programs and services to assess threats, risks and vulnerabilities.
Worked with the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and other provincial departments to identify options for building capacity to address extreme natural hazards (e.g., flooding) through a workshop. ClimAction Services was instrumental in developing the agenda and recommending the structure, design and organization of the workshop. (2015)
Made a presentation to members of the Nova Scotia Department of the Environment, Protected Spaces Division. This presentation outlined the impacts of climate change on protected spaces, key challenges and future projections to identify climate risks and tools that can be used to support the effective management of these spaces for future generations. (2016)
Integrated water management
Nova Scotia Department of Environment requested a review of monitoring benchmarks incorporating climate change considerations into downstream maintenance flow values in the Cheticamp River system and Indian Brook. These benchmarks contributed to identifying terms/conditions for future water withdrawal approval for the Nova Scotia Power Incorporated Wreck Cove Hydro system. They also contributed to how to manage down stream flows under a changing climate regime. (2016)
Developed regional and national sustainable water management programs to address national source water protection and water availability issues, water management opportunities on federal lands and for First Nations. In addition, worked with a variety of departments, agencies and communities to address First Nation water management issues in Cape Breton. (2015)
Strategic and Operational Planning
Developed a framework for the Nova Scotia Department of Environment on the Flood Assessment Fund to undertake a comprehensive evaluation to measure the overall success of the Fund using a series of performance measures and outcomes. (2014)
Provided advice to the Nova Scotia Department of Environment on the objectives, funding criteria, guidelines and application forms for the Nova Scotia Flood Assessment Fund through the provision of strategic advice. (2014)
Developed a long-term strategic plan for the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, Land Protection Section, which identified key climate change challenges and opportunities that the Section should address. The focus of the plan was placed on evaluating coastal and inland flooding from sea level rise and storm surge, identifying assets at risk from inundation and recommending adaptation as a means of protecting coastal resources. (2015)
OUR CLIENTS
Halifax Regional Municipality (in partnership with WSP International)
Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture
Nova Scotia Department of Environment
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources
Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities
First Nations
Pita’paq Partnership: Eskasoni, Membertou, Chapel Island, Wagmatcook, Waycobah, Malagawatch
Mi’kmaq Confederacy
Mi’kmaq Conservation Group
Insurance Industry of Canada