In October 2014, IC3 and the Region of Waterloo’s Sustainability Office co-hosted a forum of local municipal stakeholders to advance dialogue and planning on climate adaptation and extreme weather resilience in Waterloo Region.
The objectives of the forum were to:
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Raise awareness amongst municipal staff regarding changes in regional climate conditions and the associated local impacts on municipal infrastructure/programs/services as well as overall community health and safety.
- Provide examples of approaches used to manage the corresponding risks posed by these dynamic conditions in terms of climate adaptation actions and planning occurring within Ontario municipalities, including best practices, existing tools and assessment protocols.
- Discuss the current state of climate adaptation actions and planning in Waterloo Region by identifying areas of strength, current and predicted future vulnerabilities, and information and capacity gaps.
- Identify priority areas for action and possible next steps, including exploring the potential for research projects, risk assessment studies and partnerships.
Participants
Participants attended from a variety of departments within the City of Cambridge, City of Kitchener, City of Waterloo, Region of Waterloo, the Grand River Conservation Authority, and the University of Waterloo.
Agenda
The agenda included a mix of information sharing through presentations as well as time for roundtable discussion.
Presentation slides can be viewed at the following links (note that some are large PDF files):
Adapting to Changing Climate Conditions in Waterloo Region: Setting the Regional/Municipal Context - D. Roewade, Region of Waterloo
Global Climate Change: What could we face locally? - D. Scott, University of Waterloo
Preparing for a changing climate in Ontario municipalities - M. Seasons & S. Brown, University of Waterloo
From risk to opportunity: Climate adaptation and infrastructure disruption - J. Thistlethwaite , University of Waterloo
Vulnerability and Risk Assessment of Public Infrastructure - D. Lapp, Engineers Canada