Climate is Changing in the Cocagne Watershed
In New Brunswick, climate change has many consequences, particularly for coastal communities. The impacts are evident in natural environments, among built infrastructure, and within services to the population (for example, health and emergency measures).
The PCSDG has collaborated for several years with citizens and university researchers on climate change adaptation in the Cocagne Watershed .
Bibliographie des études entreprises sur l’adaptation aux changements climatiques, Fauré, A. 2018 (French Only)
Results of these studies show that many citizens recognize the impacts and the risks related to climate change (French only).
“There is a certain respect for the Earth, and people have been observing [changes] over the years; people who’ve been living on the land their entire life. I think they noticed it’s been changing…”
Studies show that citizens recognize that providing concrete solutions to climate change requires adaptation measures and mitigation measures.
Mélanie Madore completed her master's thesis in environmental studies entitled The Role of Representations and Capital in Adaptating to Climate Change: The Case of Acadian Coastal and Forest Communities in New Brunswick (French only), which focuses on the role of organizations and citizens.
Why Create a Plan for Adapting to Climate Change?
It’s generally the residents of coastal communities who are concerned by the increased incidence of storms, the rise of sea level, and the submersion of roads and lands.
“We’re really on the water’s edge here. You can really see the erosion when you follow the coastline; you see broken-up roads, trees that fell during the ice storm…”
It is in the interest of the communities in the Cocagne watershed to have a climate change adaptation plan.
The goals of an adaptation plan are twofold. First, it serves as a tool to examine the problem of climate change, to prioritize risks, and to identify steps to implement adaptation measures [Ouranos, 2010]. Second, the adaptation plan is a tool that helps increase resilience in communities by developing concrete and realistic measures for the short, medium, and long-term.
How do we create a Plan?
The PCSDG launched a two-year project [2018–2020] to draw a climate change adaptation plan for the coastal communities of the Cocagne watershed. This graphic illustrates the five main steps in setting up an adaptation plan.
Source : Changing Climate, Changing Communities: Guide and Workbook for Municipal Climate Adaptation [ICLEI, 2019]
The PCSDG led meetings with its partners as well as citizens of Cocagne and Grande-Digue to discuss the impacts of climate change, to identify vulnerable areas and people, and to look into adaptation actions.
- Rural community of Cocagne
- Local service district [LSD] of Grande-Digue
- Kent Regional Service Commission
- Cocagne Emergency Measures Planning Committee
- Université de Moncton
- NB Climate Change Secretariat
- Climate Change Adaptation Collaborative
- Shediac Bay Watershed Association
Advisory meetings held on December 4, 2018 in Grande-Digue and on June 11, 2019 in Cocagne brought together people from different sectors of both communities.
The Guide to Climate Change Adaptation Planning for NB served as a guiding document in developing a presentation to facilitate these meetings (French only).
Participants identified strategic locations susceptible to climate change using maps illustrating predictions of sea level rise. Furthermore, they prioritized possible adaptation actions based on the people and places most vulnerable to climatic variations. The results of these meetings can be found in the report (French only).
Climate change adaptation planning is an iterative, integrated, and continuous approach. The plan is meant to evolve and is the result of a collaboration with partners. Ultimately, the plan should properly represent the needs and values of citizens of the Cocagne watershed.
