September 2000 Workshop:
A Northern Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change
Executive Summary
The Northern Climate ExChange, with assistance from an interdisciplinary project team, are mid-way through a project to understand the quantity and quality of information that exists on the impacts of climate change in northern Canada. The project is intended for use by communities, researchers and policy-makers to assist them in developing appropriate actions on this issue. The project is also intended to facilitate the development of priorities for research, policy, and data collection in Northern Canada.
To assist us with this project, a workshop was held in September, 2000 entitled A Northern Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change: Defining our Knowledge Base and Research Priorities. The workshop brought together over 60 individuals including federal, territorial and municipal government representatives, community representatives, practitioners and researchers from across the north to assist with assessing the state of knowledge of climate change impacts on various human and natural systems in northern Canada.
The Project will yield a number of products including:
- A Gap Analysis of the state of knowledge (scientific and local) of climate change impacts in the Canadian north, including a set of one-page matrices, with its cells colour coded to denote the state of knowledge for all cross-relationships; and reviews of the state of knowledge for each matrix that provides an overview of the existing level of knowledge
- A searchable database of all identified literature on climate change impacts in northern Canada
- A searchable database of climate change experts (scientists and community experts) in northern Canada
- A detailed report describing patterns in our state of knowledge of climate change, and its impacts on the Canadian north
- An organized set of recommendations for research priorities including, monitoring, technological development, management structures, education, etc.
- A summary document describing the process and the main outcomes
- A web version of the above.
This workshop was designed to help the project team in developing final products that are of most use to the intended users. Workshop participants made a number of recommendations to the project team on how to make the above-mentioned products from this project more relevant and accessible to the users of the information. These recommendations, including those listed below, will be incorporated into the final report and information system. Prior to releasing the final report and database, draft products will be made available for review and comment.
- Formalize a way in which new records and information can be added to the system (i.e. add a form on to the website)
- Provide regular updates to communities when new relevant information is available, and provide some means for non-electronic distribution of information
- Formalize a system where communities can look for non-documented sources of information and discuss new issues/current events
- Record case studies of what communities in the north are doing to respond to impacts of climate change
- Provide checklists of climate-related considerations for communities i.e. decision support tools or a resource guide for communities to aid in long-range planning exercises
- Keep track of information needs, and formalize a system to document and distribute
- Expand current NCE mailing list to a discussion list to assist those who are looking for non-documented sources of information, to solicit feedback on current events and significant issues
- List community observations on website based on NCE summer community tour to assist in matching community questions to researchers and to assist communities with similar issues to get in touch with each other
- Provide an opportunity to keep track of questions people have related to climate change that they have not been able to find information on
- Include recommendations for policy mechanisms within the final report
- Include case studies or pilot projects that describe how northern communities that are developing or implementing adaptation strategies
- Include guidance on "what we should be doing" re adaptation and prevention
- Describe the state of knowledge by sub-regions (traditional territory) as well as by natural and human systems
- Provide a list of codes, standards and regulatory processes in place in the north where climate change should be considered (i.e. the Development Assessment Process)
- Provide a list of where we need to regain monitoring capacity and on what
- Identify collaborative research opportunities
This project provides an opportunity for Northerners to learn more about climate change, and to contribute their knowledge so that a regional response to minimizing vulnerability to climate change impacts can be developed. With community involvement in the project, we hope that the evolving needs of northern communities, industries and governments in response to this issue will begin to be addressed. Through ongoing consultation, we hope this project will assist in deriving 'useful' approaches to addressing community needs in the future. There is tremendous value in prioritizing research and monitoring needs. Partnerships between communities, industry, and governments are essential to ensure that steps are taken to meet information needs.