Northern Climate ExChange

Dawson Adaptation Project

Project updates

Updates will be e-mailed to keep the community informed about what has happened so far and to give notice of upcoming events.

About the project

Dawson City has been identified as the first community in the Yukon to access Northern Strategy funding to develop a Climate Change Adaptation Plan.

An Adaptation Plan will identify Dawson-specific initiatives for building resilience to a changing climate. These initiatives will be identified in the short-term, mid-term and long-term (5-20 yrs, 20-50 yrs and 50-100 yrs).

This project will assist Dawson City in integrating the issue of climate change into the decision-making process and day-to-day operations, otherwise known as "mainstreaming" climate change.

Even though our understanding of climate change impacts involves uncertainty, it is easier and cost-effective to plan for climate change now rather than wait for severe impacts to our health, community, ecosystems and traditional lifestyles.

Adaptation planning stages

  1. Establish a Local Project Advisory Team, including a local coordinator, local governments and businesses
  2. Vulnerability Assessment Workshops and Expert Interviews
  3. Historical research – identify historical climate stresses on the region and coping mechanisms
  4. Build regional climate models for future scenarios
  5. Create an Adaptation Plan
  6. Work with Local Project Advisory Team to implement Adaptation Initiatives

Project schedule

The Adaptation Times

The Adaptation Times is the quarterly newsletter of the Dawson City Branch of the Northern Climate ExChange. Its purpose is to keep Dawsonites informed of the Dawson Adaptation Project that will be occurring from 2008 to 2009.

Project posters

These posters provide a synopsis of what the Dawson Adaptation Project will entail. They explain what adaptation is, what the possible impacts of climate change could be, and provides details on the CAVIAR (Community Adaptation and Vulnerability in the Arctic Regions) research being done by Ryerson University. The CAVIAR research will be incorporated into the NCE Adaptation Project.

Dawson City temperature and precipitation maps

Historic data (1961-1990)

Projected trends (2041-2070)