C-Change Working Paper: Mobilizing Local Knowledge to ...

1 C-Change Secretariat (Canada) C-Change Secretariat (Caribbean) Telfer School of Management, c/o Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of University of Ottawa Social & Economic Studies (SALISES) 55 Laurier Avenue East University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Ottawa ON K1N 6N5 Canada Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies Tel: (613) 562-5800 Post 2933 Telephone: (868) 662-6965 Email: E-mail : C-Change Working Paper: Mobilizing Local Knowledge to Bridge Information Gaps in Climate Change Adaptation Planning by Titus Tienaah MScE candidate, Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada email.

2 Susan Elizabeth Nichols Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB, Canada email: Donald L. Forbes Senior Research Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada e-mail: and Michael Sutherland Lecturer, Department of Geomatics Engineering and Land Management University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago email: C-Change Working Paper 2011 Published by the C-Change Secretariat (Canada) Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa C-Change ICURA Working Paper Series No.

3 35 This document is prepared as a public discussion document among C-Change communities as part of the C-Change ICURA Project 2009-2015 ( ) and with the permission of the C-Change Secretariat (Canada). This paper has not been subjected to peer review or other review processes and does not necessarily represent the position of individual C-Change Community Partners or researchers. This work is presented to encourage debate and enhance awareness of environmental change among coastal communities in Canada and the Caribbean. C-Change Correspondence on this paper should be directed to the C-Change Secretariat, c/o C-Change Administrator, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, 55 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Ontario CANADA K1N 6N5 email: Telephone: +1 (613) 562-5800 x2933 C-Change Working Paper #35 Abstract Over the last 10 years, Canada has helped to lead the way in terms of modeling sea level rise and storm surge threats for coastal communities.

4 coastal climate adaptation projects in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have benefitted from the use of high precision LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data to develop digital elevation models (DEMs) of the coast. Used with sea level data, ocean modeling, and coastal geomorphology, these DEMs provide a strong scientific base for visualizing the spatial extent of threats under various sea-level rise scenarios. The challenge for many communities is that they do not have a strong information base and may not be able to afford new data collection and processing technologies.

5 Therefore part of the C-Change ICURA project is to design approaches for threat identification that can be applied in data-rich and data-poor settings. This paper addresses the need for flexible approaches for some Canadian and Caribbean communities and illustrates what can be accomplished using Local Knowledge to supplement science. A coastal Collaborative GIS (CCGIS) has been developed, using best available data, open-source software and web imagery (Google/Bing) as base layers. CCGIS then allows participants to add spatial and non-spatial notations, as well as various multi-media, to track storm events and to identify threatened areas based on Local Knowledge .

6 Keywords 2011 Page | 2 C-Change Working Paper #35 C-Change Working Paper: Mobilizing Local Knowledge to Bridge Information Gaps in Climate Change Adaptation Planning 1. Introduction With climate change and its potential impacts in many coastal communities, the Atlantic region of Canada has been implementing projects to aid coastal adaptation. In 2002, a project was designed to determine the physical and socio-economic impacts of climate change and accelerated sea-level rise on the coast of Prince Edward Island (PEI) with possible adaptation plans [McCulloch et al.]

7 , 2002]. Environment Canada [2006] undertook a three year study of the effect of sea-level rise and adaptation case studies along the north eastern coast of New Brunswick. In addition, LiDAR1 flood risk mapping was carried out for parts of Nova Scotia [Webster and Forbes, 2005; Webster, 2010]. These examples depended on precise data using LiDAR to provide a scientific extent of coastal phenomena such as erosion, flooding, habitat at risk, water pollution etc. C-Change is an International Community-University Research Alliance (ICURA) project in a collaborative process of developing adaptation strategies with four Canadian (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Gibsons, British Columbia; Isle Madame, Nova Scotia; and Iqaluit, Nunavut) and four Caribbean (Georgetown, Guyana; Grand Riviere, Trinidad and Tobago; Belize Barrier Reef, Belize; and Island of Bequia, Grenadines) communities.

8 The challenge for most Local communities is the lack of high precision (vertical elevation) data for threat identification (such as LiDAR). This paper focuses on how Local Knowledge can help to meet the needs of vulnerable communities with varied data resources. 2. Local Knowledge Model The participation of Local people in projects with geographic context usually involves the use of maps, physical models, forums, and interviews to exchange implicit or explicit spatial Knowledge . In many sea level rise adaptation projects, relatively precise ( 30cm in vertical uncertainty) scientific maps and scenarios have been used to identify and predict threats for public engagement in discussion forums.

9 The use of scientific data such as LiDAR is to define a coastal topographic surface at which different water levels will intersect this surface. By delineating the intersection of water levels and the coastal topography, it is possible to extract these regions as flood zones. To precisely identify flood zones, it is important to utilise vertical spatial information that have uncertainties better than change in water level, if not, flood zones generated may under or over capture vulnerable zones leading to unrealistic scenarios.

10 An unrealistic coastal vulnerability extent will eventually lead to poor design and development of adaption to coastal threats. This crucial spatial requirement is not usually met in many coastal communities: developing and developed countries [Titus, 2001]. It is therefore important to use the Local Knowledge of coastal stakeholders observing these threats in their own communities to supplement spatial data with 2011 Page | 3 1 An optical remote sensing technology that detects and locates objects using light from a laser.