VIEWPOINT
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3 1. Protecting the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 2) with Intertidal Reefs Town of Souris, PEI. 2. Beach nourishment project to combat shoreline erosion due to reduction in winter ice and increased severity of storm events, Gaspe QC. 3. Shoreline habitat restoration at New Brighton Park, Vancouver.
The Intact Centre: The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation is an applied research centre with a national focus within the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. The Intact Centre works with homeowners, communities, governments and businesses to identify, and reduce, the impacts of extreme weather and climate change. For additional information, visit: www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca
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Nature-based solutions, in particular, have a vital role to play in
• Build capacity to finance and deliver nature-based solutions
managing coastal flood and erosion risk in Canada. International
by engaging the private sector. Public private partnerships can
experience and guidance demonstrate that these measures not only
potentially assist in financing, delivering, monitoring, and maintain-
provide protection against coastal flooding and erosion, they also
ing nature-based solutions. The insurance industry can also assist
deliver multiple benefits, including improved biodiversity, carbon
in managing construction risks and offering innovative insurance
sequestration and storage, enhanced wellbeing and opportunities
products that provide funds to restore natural features protecting
for recreational activities.
the coastline, should they be damaged during extreme events.
Three courses of action are recommended to scale-up the use of nature-based solutions for coastal protection in Canada: • Develop national standards to support consistent evaluation of
The outcomes of these actions will help governments and other organizations make robust management decisions regarding coastal flooding and erosion along Canada’s coastlines.
the benefits of nature-based solutions when comparing infrastructure options, including for coastal protection. This should include
Perhaps the greatest challenge in Canada, and globally, in prepar-
minimum requirements, regional-specific standards, engagement
ing for climate change and sea-level rise along the coast, is a limited
with Indigenous people and recommended methodologies for
sense of urgency to act. For around the past 6,000 years, global
reflecting the financial value of benefits provided by nature-based
sea-level has remained relatively steady.
solutions. This makes the recent, comparably rapid rise in sea-level caused • Develop national monitoring standards for coastal protection
by human-induced climate change less easy to grasp. Decision mak-
measures, focused on nature-based solutions. This should include
ers in Canada must realize, sooner rather than later, that the sea level
combining Natural and Grey Infrastructure to Protect Canada’s
of the past will not be the sea level of the future, and prepare coastal
coastal communities; consideration of minimum monitoring require-
communities accordingly.
ments, as well as how monitoring should be tailored to document performance against project-specific objectives (funding for longterm monitoring and engagement with Indigenous people could be
JOANNA EYQUEM P.GEO. ENV SP. CWEM. CENV., IS MANAGING DIRECTOR, CLIMATE-RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE INTACT CENTRE ON CLIMATE ADAPTATION, FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF WATERLO. JOANNA.EYQUEM@UWATERLOO.CA
considered as minimum monitoring requirements).
SABMag - WINTER 2022
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