What is climate change adaptation planning?

The changing climate is impacting people in many different aspects of their lives: more severe and frequent rainstorms have resulted in summer flooding in Ontario, severely disrupting travel and damaging infrastructure; warmer and shorter winters in the north of the province have led to fewer weeks of winter roads for transporting fuel, construction materials and other heavy loads; more numerous wildfires in the Boreal forest, started by lightning strikes and fuelled by forest floor litter dried by summer drought, threaten northern communities in the summer; changes in the migration patterns of geese and caribou are threatening food security.

Adapting to climate change involves finding ways to reduce the risks to people and communities. Adaptation can also promote well-being through actions that support health, food security, traditional harvesting, and continued connection to the land.  

What does adaptation planning involve? 

Adaptation planning should be guided by the needs, concerns, and observations of communities. This means it is important to learn how climate change is being experienced by people in the community and what impacts it is having on their lives. Ask questions like:

  • What was the weather/climate like in the past? Has it changed? What is the weather/climate predicted to be in the future?

  • How is climate change impacting the land, plants, and animals? What will future climate mean for the land, plants, and animals?

  • How is climate change impacting infrastructure (roads, homes, buildings) and services (electricity, water, sewer). Will future climate make these issues worse?

  • How are people’s health and well-being being affected?

Once climate change issues in the community are identified, conversations can begin about what adaptations could be used to address them. There isn’t one “right way” to address a climate change impact. It’s up to the community to decide which adaptation option or options would be best for their unique situation.

Explore the resources below for tools that can support gathering knowledge about climate change impacts and beginning conversations about adaptation options in northern communities.

Begin your adaptation plan with these resources

Adaptation Framework

Adaptation Framework Roadmap

The Framework aims to help professionals in First Nation communities or Tribal Councils move towards climate change adaptation projects. Steps include learning about climate change and adaptations, gathering knowledge from the community, discussing adaptation options, implementing projects, and evaluating success.

The Adaptation Roadmap highlights key points from the Adaptation Framework and is intended to be used as a quick reference during the adaptation processes.

 

Adaptation Options Worksheet

Assess Prioritize Prepare

The Adaptation Options Worksheet (offered as part of the Adaptation Framework) is designed to help you compare adaptation options for the impact you would like to address using a simple ‘pro and con’ style. Use the worksheet as is or adapt the idea to suit your needs.

The Access, Prioritize, Prepare (APP) document is a ‘rapid risk assessment’ tool for gathering climate change observations, risks, and impacts. It includes questions to stimulate discussion and a planning table to help link climate change observations to adaptation actions. This APP can fit well into the Adaptation Framework.

 

Climate Change Adaptation Quick Guide

Climate Change and Adaptation Quick Guides

The Climate Change Adaptation Quick Guide is a series of illustrations that present climate change impacts and possible adaptation options relevant to northern Ontario First Nation communities. Use them as posters, handouts, or slides in a presentation to help start conversations about climate change adaptation!

This package combines the illustrated Climate Change Quick Guides, which describe the science of climate change, with the Climate Change Adaptation Quick Guides presenting climate change impacts and possible adaptation options.

 

Fill-It-In Climate Change Impacts Worksheet

Use this Fill-It-In worksheet to allow students or community members to record how climate change is impacting the land, their communities, and their everyday lives. Take the next step and record which adaptation actions are being used, or could be used, to address these impacts.

Questionnaire for interviewing Elders and community members

The questionnaire is a set of interview questions for learning about climate change impacts and observations in northern communities. Use as is or as inspiration to create your own; the word document is available by request. The result of the interviews can feed into your Adaptation Framework.