City of Vancouver-Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
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In addition to Mitigation strategies discussed in the Greenest City 2020 Action Plan, appropriate Adaptation strategies must also be implemented to complement its mitigation efforts in order to protect the City from changes that are already happening.
In 2011 The City of Vancouver developed a comprehensive Climate Change Adaptation Strategy to complement their Greenest City 2020 Plan to ensure that Vancouver remains liveable and resilient as the problem of climate change continues to threaten the City.
The Climate Change Adaptation Strategy outlines 9 Priority Actions and over 50 Supporting Actions that the City of Vancouver will undertake and incorporate climate change adaptation measures into the City’s future infrastructure and planning decisions (City of Vancouver 2014).
The 9 Priority Actions sets the guidelines for the way The City builds and maintains its various infrastructure such as streets, sewers, buildings, parks and greenspaces to ensure they are resilient to climate change.
The 9 Priority Actions are:
The first two Priority Actions above are already underway, they include specific strategies developed to address the growing issue of sea level rise along with a number of Supporting Actions.
The following section will describe and evaluate the Adaptation Strategies Vancouver specifically developed in response to the issue of rising sea levels.
While the Adaptation strategy address a range of climate change issues, it is evident that there is a particular focus on addressing the impacts and damages due to rising sea levels. For the purpose of this Case Study, only the strategies related to rising sea levels will be examined
In 2011 The City of Vancouver developed a comprehensive Climate Change Adaptation Strategy to complement their Greenest City 2020 Plan to ensure that Vancouver remains liveable and resilient as the problem of climate change continues to threaten the City.
The Climate Change Adaptation Strategy outlines 9 Priority Actions and over 50 Supporting Actions that the City of Vancouver will undertake and incorporate climate change adaptation measures into the City’s future infrastructure and planning decisions (City of Vancouver 2014).
The 9 Priority Actions sets the guidelines for the way The City builds and maintains its various infrastructure such as streets, sewers, buildings, parks and greenspaces to ensure they are resilient to climate change.
The 9 Priority Actions are:
The first two Priority Actions above are already underway, they include specific strategies developed to address the growing issue of sea level rise along with a number of Supporting Actions.
The following section will describe and evaluate the Adaptation Strategies Vancouver specifically developed in response to the issue of rising sea levels.
While the Adaptation strategy address a range of climate change issues, it is evident that there is a particular focus on addressing the impacts and damages due to rising sea levels. For the purpose of this Case Study, only the strategies related to rising sea levels will be examined
Adaptation Strategies and Results
Types of Adaptation Strategies include:
• Protect: Protect the coastline through structural mechanisms such as dikes and seawalls.
• Accommodate: Increase flood construction levels, add covenants for liability reduction and retrofit existing buildings.
• Planned Retreat: withdraw, relocate or abandon private or public assets due to coastal hazard.
• Avoid: identify future ‘no build’ zones or use land acquisition or restriction tools such as land trusts.
(City of Vancouver 2012)
A major component of the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy includes specific strategies developed to address the growing issue of sea level rise.
The following section will describe and evaluate the Adaptation Strategies specifically developed in response to the issue of rising sea levels.
• Protect: Protect the coastline through structural mechanisms such as dikes and seawalls.
• Accommodate: Increase flood construction levels, add covenants for liability reduction and retrofit existing buildings.
• Planned Retreat: withdraw, relocate or abandon private or public assets due to coastal hazard.
• Avoid: identify future ‘no build’ zones or use land acquisition or restriction tools such as land trusts.
(City of Vancouver 2012)
A major component of the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy includes specific strategies developed to address the growing issue of sea level rise.
The following section will describe and evaluate the Adaptation Strategies specifically developed in response to the issue of rising sea levels.
Vancouver’s Sea Level Rise Strategy is divided into 4 action areas:
1.City wide coastal flood response actions refers to amending the relevant legislations and increasing the Flood Construction Levels (FCL) for new buildings to ensure that new buildings across the City are protected from flood risk over the expected life span of the buildings (based the projection of 1 m over this coming century).
Since January 2012, the FCL has been raised from 3.5m to 4.5m in response to the projected sea level rise over the next century, while experts have recommended that the FCL to be raised further to at least 4.6m judging from results of sophisticated modelling of coastal floodings patterns. By raising FCLs, immediate level of protection can be provided for high risk areas that are prone to flooding while location-based responses are developed. |
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2. Location-based responses first identifies the high risk areas that will become prone to flooding over the next century using modelling and develop location based protection options for those areas.
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3. Leverage large site redevelopment refers to leveraging large scale developments and infrastructure projects to provide long term flood protection beyond 2100. For example increased FCL and viaducts removal may create opportunities to build elevated road surfaces to act as berms
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4. Immediate actions refer to undertaking infrastructure investments and developing emergency response plans in areas that are already seeing the impacts of rising sea levels.
This may include -The raising of Flood Construction Levels in flood prone areas which provides immediate protection -Building of protective Grey Infrastructure such as sea walls and dykes in high risk areas -Develop and distribute a detailed evacuation plan in those areas. |
Other Supporting Actions include:
• Work closely with other regional municipalities and other levels of government to ensure a regional approach to coastal flood management.
• Leverage opportunities to evaluate strategic near-shore open space planning for inundation and containment areas and saltwater resilient plantings.
• Initiate a flood-proofing awareness campaign among builders and developers.
• Monitor low-lying storm sewer capacity and functionality and continue to add back-up power and storage tanks to existing stormwater pumps.
• Monitor groundwater for increasing levels. Consider associated impacts in coastal development design.
• Work closely with other regional municipalities and other levels of government to ensure a regional approach to coastal flood management.
• Leverage opportunities to evaluate strategic near-shore open space planning for inundation and containment areas and saltwater resilient plantings.
• Initiate a flood-proofing awareness campaign among builders and developers.
• Monitor low-lying storm sewer capacity and functionality and continue to add back-up power and storage tanks to existing stormwater pumps.
• Monitor groundwater for increasing levels. Consider associated impacts in coastal development design.
Results
While the exact impact of sea level rise and the exact effectiveness of the adaptation strategies won’t be known until the sea level reaches the level. Modern technology and best sciences can be used to make appropriate predictions.
In 2013 City of Vancouver conducted and completed a comprehensive Coastal Flood Risk Assessment, this was the first time in Canada that this type of assessment being conducted at a local council level.
The Assessment used computer models of storms and floods and identified the risks to residents and property from rising sea levels by year 2100.
Using the result, the City is now working closely with other local governments to develop a regional plan against impacts of rising sea level.
The next step is now underway and it will focus on developing ways to improve the City’s resilience by increasing its ability to quickly recover and bounce back to normal in the event of a flood.
Resilience planning strategies can be physical, such as building dikes or protective beach barriers. The strategy can also be social, such as through educating the community on how to prepare for climate change (City of Sydney 2014)
In 2013 City of Vancouver conducted and completed a comprehensive Coastal Flood Risk Assessment, this was the first time in Canada that this type of assessment being conducted at a local council level.
The Assessment used computer models of storms and floods and identified the risks to residents and property from rising sea levels by year 2100.
Using the result, the City is now working closely with other local governments to develop a regional plan against impacts of rising sea level.
The next step is now underway and it will focus on developing ways to improve the City’s resilience by increasing its ability to quickly recover and bounce back to normal in the event of a flood.
Resilience planning strategies can be physical, such as building dikes or protective beach barriers. The strategy can also be social, such as through educating the community on how to prepare for climate change (City of Sydney 2014)
Barriers & Challenges
The City acknowledges that in order to prepare for the future, actions must be taken today. The City must be proactive in planning and implementing the necessary changes. On the other hand, humanity’s knowledge and understanding about the future– particularly local impacts of global climate change trends is limited.
Many policies and decisions must be made today under uncertainty, these include the City’s sea level rise adaptation decisions. The various source of uncertainty in the information that the City relies on to plan for climate change include:
Uncertainly
-Use of computer models to attempt to predict nature
-External future socio-economic changes, examples may include global financial crises, population growth or decline etc. will influence the City’s ability to adapt effectively
-The interrelationship between various external factors and their influence on each other.
Data availability and reliability
-data inputs traditionally used for planning at the local level may not be available
- gaps in knowledge at the scale of precise local impacts
- models work best with long-term trends over large areas.
Policy Choices
Policies makers must choose between a large number of potential adaptation strategies each with their own costs and benefits. While the benefits will not been seen for quite a while, the costs of implementation can be hard to justify.
Many policies and decisions must be made today under uncertainty, these include the City’s sea level rise adaptation decisions. The various source of uncertainty in the information that the City relies on to plan for climate change include:
Uncertainly
-Use of computer models to attempt to predict nature
-External future socio-economic changes, examples may include global financial crises, population growth or decline etc. will influence the City’s ability to adapt effectively
-The interrelationship between various external factors and their influence on each other.
Data availability and reliability
-data inputs traditionally used for planning at the local level may not be available
- gaps in knowledge at the scale of precise local impacts
- models work best with long-term trends over large areas.
Policy Choices
Policies makers must choose between a large number of potential adaptation strategies each with their own costs and benefits. While the benefits will not been seen for quite a while, the costs of implementation can be hard to justify.
The next page will discuss the Lessons Learned by the City of Vancouver from its mitigation and adaptation strategies:
Reference List
City of Vancouver 2012, Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, viewed 21 August 2015 < http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Vancouver-Climate-Change-Adaptation-Strategy-2012-11-07.pdf>
City of Vancouver 2014, Climate Change Adaptation Presentation, viewed 21 August 2015 <http://former.vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20140709/documents/cfsc2-presentation.pdf>
City of Vancouver 2014, Climate Change Adaptation Presentation, viewed 21 August 2015 <http://former.vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20140709/documents/cfsc2-presentation.pdf>