FOCUS AREA:
STRATEGIC RELOCATION
In the coming decades, millions globally face displacement due to climate change. In Canada, many communities are facing recurrent flooding, threatening the long-term viability of neighbourhoods located in flood-prone areas. For some, the difficult decision to relocate from at-risk areas may be the best option to reduce these rising risks. Managed retreat is the purposeful, coordinated movement of people and property out of areas vulnerable to flooding—which is achieved primarily through the public acquisition of exposed structures. Also known as strategic relocation, it can act as a powerful tool for re-envisioning community futures in the face of climate change, and offers numerous co-benefits alongside risk reduction.
Explore applied research on strategic relocation through the following projects:
- Effective Property Buyout Programs for Flood Risk Reduction
- Retreating from Risk: Decision Supports for the Equitable Implementation of Retreat to Build Climate Resilience
Effective Property Buyouts for Flood Risk Reduction
Buying Out the Floodplain
Together with diverse stakeholders from across Canada, P4A led an applied research project on managed retreat from high-risk flood areas through property buyouts that move people out of harm’s way. To implement buyouts effectively, decision-makers require evidence-based policy advice about how to design programs that maximize economic efficiency, political viability and social acceptability. With grant funding from the Max Bell Foundation, this project explores lessons from current and past buyout programs and highlights the trade-offs that governments must consider when designing new programs. Learn more here.
Acheter la Plaine Inondable
En collaboration avec divers intervenants de partout au Canada, P4A a mené un projet de recherche appliquée sur le rachat de propriétés pour mettre les gens à l’abri des zones inondables à haut risque. Pour que ces rachats soient efficaces, les décideurs ont besoin de conseils stratégiques fondés sur des données probantes afin de concevoir des programmes qui optimisent l’efficacité économique, la viabilité politique et l’acceptabilité sociale. Grâce à une subvention de la Fondation Max Bell, ce projet tire des leçons des programmes de rachat actuels et passés et met en lumière les compromis que les gouvernements doivent considérer lors de la conception de nouveaux programmes.
Buying out the Floodplain Webinar
Associate Professor and the project's Principal Investigator, Jason Thistlethwaite, was joined by Graham Watt, Manager of Strategic Initiatives/Flood Recovery at the City of Grand Forks, BC, to discuss main findings of the research and recommendations for future relocation programs.
Additional webinars
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Local Resiliency: When and How to Integrate Private Property Buyouts for Disaster Risk Reduction: This webinar is part of the Local Resiliency series, co-led with Climate Caucus, where we explore the theme of 'Building Resilience to Reduce Climate Risks' and learn about work being done to implement climate resilience and adaptation actions at the community level. As the impacts of climate change intensify, communities will require transformative adaptation strategies that not only mitigate risk but also address vulnerabilities. One such strategy is managed retreat, where people, property, and critical infrastructure are strategically relocated out of areas prone to recurrent climatic hazards. Given the variability in how and when managed retreat can be implemented, it is important to consider the use of buyouts as a broader tool for flood mitigation work that requires 100% buy-in to execute. Hear from a municipal practitioner about on-the-ground challenges and opportunities to break the cycle of increasing climate risks and damages, including why managed retreat has few examples to date in Canada.
- Electeds Call: Managed Retreat: At this Climate Caucus electeds call, we dive into the topic of managed retreat. The executive director of CLIMAtlantic, Sabine Dietz, provides an insightful overview of managed retreat. Shannon Fernandez, Manager of Adaptation at Halifax Regional Municipality, shares Halifax’s experiences and interest in managed retreat. Councillor Anik Des Marais discusses Gatineau's buyout of Pointe Gatineau.
Retreating from Risk: Decision-Supports for the Equitable Implementation of Retreat to Build Climate Resilience
Retreating from Risk (RFR)
Decision-Supports for the Equitable Implementation of Retreat to Build Climate Resilience (2024-2028)
Partners for Action is supporting the New Frontiers Research Fund (NFRF-I) – International: Retreating from Risk (RFR) - Decision- Supports for the Equitable Implementation of Retreat to Build Climate Resilienceproject led by Dr. Brent Doberstein. The $2.45 million, 4-year project led will develop a decision framework and tools and provide capacity-building to support local managed retreat decision-making across Canada, the USA, and Indonesia. This project will investigate how managed retreat can be incorporated as a proactive strategy to reduce flood risks and support community well-being, including socio-ecological resilience, sustainable livelihoods, and climate justice.
We propose a re-envisioning of MR as a proactive adaptation approach that centres the needs of frontline communities in addressing changing flood risks in an era of climate uncertainty. Our goal is to co-create knowledge and action outputs to support the development and uptake of equity-informed, community-engaged managed retreat programs as a viable climate adaptation strategy.