Friday, October 13, 2017
As
the
world
today
recognizes
International
Day
for
Disaster
Reduction,
Waterloo
architecture
professor
Dr.
Elizabeth
English’s
work
with
amphibious
housing
as
a
means
to
provide
innovative,
sustainable
and
low-cost
flood
mitigation
strategies
is
being
honoured
as
a
Best
Climate
Practice
by
the
Initiative
on
Climate
Change
Policy
and
Governance
(ICCG). Three
winning
projects
out
of
a
field
of
more
than
200
entries
will
be
celebrated
at
a
special
awards
ceremony
to
be
held
on
November
8,
2017,
at
COP23
in
Bonn,
Germany.
COP23
is
the
informal
name
for
the
23rd
Conference
of
the
Parties
to
the
United
Nations
Framework
Convention
on
Climate
Change
(UNFCCC).
The
project
ranked
first
place
in
the
assessment
of
the
international
jury
convened
to
judge
the
entries.
Jury
members
agreed
it
deserved
recognition
for
the
“innovative
application
of
technological
strategies
to
enhance
resilience
in
flood-prone
areas”.
The
2017
edition
of
this
competition
showcases
and
promotes
“actionable
ideas
and
concrete
projects
to
support
communities
in
preparing
and
responding
to
climate
disasters”.
“It
highlights
the
projects
that
we
are
currently
working
on
here
in
Canada
and
around
the
world,”
says
English.
“This
work
combines
my
expertise
in
both
architecture
and
engineering.
My
goal
is
to
develop
this
technology
so
that
it
is
available
to
the
poorest
of
the
poor
in
the
most
vulnerable,
under
served
parts
of
the
world.”
English
is
currently
working
with
the
National
Research
Council
Canada
on
a
project
to
reduce
flood
vulnerability
in
First
Nations
communities
in
anticipation
of
increased
flood
risk
due
to
climate
change,
as
well
as
with
the
international
Global
Resilience
Partnership
on
a
similar
concept
to
increase
the
flood
resilience
of
rice
farmers
in
Vietnam’s
Mekong
Delta.
To
learn
more
about
Dr.
English’s
work
we
welcome
you
to
visit www.buoyantfoundation.org.