Retreating from Risk (RFR) is a multi-disciplinary and international research partnership with partners in Canada, the United States, and Indonesia. Our team explores how managed retreat can be used as a proactive strategy for building climate change resilience and for advancing equitable outcomes for those exposed to floods and other recurrent hazards. This project aims to develop capacity-building resources and decision-support tools to support local adaptation planning and decision-making.
PROJECT NEWS
Transformative adaptation: Managed retreat as a proactive climate resilience strategy receives $2.5M in funding
"Managed retreat is an essential yet highly complex strategy for building climate change resilience. By providing decision-supports for municipalities and communities in Canada, the USA, and Indonesia, RFR will help shape policies and actions that will safeguard lives, enhance climate resilience, and provide equitable outcomes for vulnerable members of communities exposed to flood hazards."
MLA student, Thomas Davis-Moore’s research experience to Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories
"Master of Landscape Architecture student, Thomas Davis-Moore, recently returned from a trip to Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, where he supported the ongoing climate change adaptation research with Dr. Kearney Coupland, Assistant Professor in Landscape Architecture."
RFR graduate student reflects on how International Experience Award supported field research in Indonesia
"When Farah El-Shayeb, a Master of Environmental Studies student in Geography and Environmental Management, travelled to Java, Indonesia, her research sought to address the urgent realities of climate change in one of the world’s most flood-vulnerable nations."
Research will establish best ‘managed retreat’ practices for communities faced with climate change disaster
"Some communities in peril of flooding may resolve, or be urged, to relocate to a safer location — something known as “managed retreat.” In the United States, flood-prone communities in coastal states like Louisiana and Alaska already have commenced managed retreat inland."
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Retreating from Risk is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the U.S. National Science Foundation. This funding was awarded through the 2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation competition.
In-kind project management support has been provided by Partners for Action, a research initiative within the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. Proposal development would not have been possible without the crucial financial support from the Waterloo Climate Institute and the Water Institute
Contact Us
Elena Christy
echristy@uwaterloo.ca
Office: EV1 302
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1