Natural Elements, NRCan's Monthly Newsletter

Report Helps Canadians Adapt to a Changing Climate

Construction of buildings on pylons is an example of adaptation that reduces vulnerability to storm surges, Grand-Barachois, Northumberland Strait, New Brunswick.

Photo credit: Armand Robichaud.

Spring 2009 marks the first anniversary of the release of From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007, a ground-breaking report that examines the question: What does climate change mean for Canada?

The importance of this question is self-evident, and From Impacts to Adaptation seeks to answer it with a systematic discussion of the different risks, impacts and adaptive responses to be found across Canada’s diverse regions and environments.

About the Report

From Impacts to Adaptation offers an optimistic view of Canada’s adaptive capacity, and it provides clear directions on assessing various challenges and opportunities and on sharing information about regional adaptation initiatives.

At its core, the report provides a critical analysis of scientific and technical knowledge on impacts and adaptation, drawing upon a wide variety of specialized information from different fields and regions that has been produced over the last 10 years. 

The result is a uniquely valuable overview from a fresh perspective. “Combined with a focus on the tools and lessons learned from prior adaption efforts, the report is helping to develop a coherent and current picture of Canada’s risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities that will guide future adaptation measures,” says Don Lemmen, a research manager with Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan’s) Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Division (CCIAD) and the lead editor of the report.

Impact

Flooding in St. Lawrence, NL, due to storm surge from Placentia Bay, February 2004, triggered by southwesterly wind (from Southern Gazette, Marystown, NL)

By offering professionals, academics and the public an accessible, comprehensive source of up-to-date, detailed, regional information, From Impacts to Adaptation is proving to be a useful resource for various communities — including business, non-governmental organizations and regional municipalities — across Canadian society and sectors.

The information it collects and examines is especially important for mitigating risks and adapting to challenges, and also for recognizing the opportunities presented by a changing climate.

Stakeholders are already using this information to adapt to the changes that are currently taking place as well as those that appear on the horizon.

Informing Responses

Officials with government agencies and non-governmental organizations place special value on detailed regional information, since it helps them better understand and mitigate risks on a regional level. Example applications include the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission’s preparation of recommendations in response to proposed developments and their impacts on the environment; the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s integration of climate change considerations in risk assessments for food safety, animal health and plant protection; and Ecology North’s development of research and education support tools for adapting to changing climate conditions in the Northwest Territories.

Teaching the Next Generation

From Impacts to Adaptation is also becoming a useful teaching tool and is part of the curricula of many Canadian universities, including the University of Waterloo, the University of Manitoba, the University of British Columbia and Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

Find Out More

Hard copies of From Impacts to Adaptation can be ordered free of charge from the CCIAD Web site, which also offers downloadable versions of the 448-page report in full and a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of its findings.

For further information on impact and adaptation programs and related NRCan initiatives, visit the links on the home page for Climate Change.