蓝莓视频

A new听report from the University of 蓝莓视频 stresses the importance of community-based projects to reduce increasing flood risk in Canada.听

The report, which highlights 11 projects in Vancouver, Calgary, Mississauga, Montreal and Halifax, details how the restoration and preservation of natural infrastructures 鈥攕uch as ponds, large-scale natural gardens, and restored shorelines鈥� can aid communities in protecting themselves from the impacts of flooding.

鈥淚n recent years we have seen a dramatic rise in insurable losses related to extreme weather events in Canada, and we have seen insurance payouts average $1.8 billion over the past nine years, up from an average of $400 million just a decade prior,鈥� said Blair Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of 蓝莓视频. 鈥淭he increase in costs is due in part to flooding, and this new report identifies some practical mitigation measures municipalities and NGOs can take to limit the impacts of bigger storms that we expect to see in coming years.鈥�

The 11 flood mitigation projects profiled in the report were conducted between 2012 - 2017, with funding from Intact Financial Corporation. The groups supported through this multi-year, multi-dimensional study include (by province): Adaptation to Climate Change Team and Partnership for Water Sustainability (British Columbia); Green Calgary (Alberta); Credit Valley Conservation, Green Communities Canada, and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (Ontario); Nature Action Quebec (Quebec), and Ecology Action Centre听听(Nova Scotia).

The report highlights two actions, that are often overlooked, as recommendations to maximize the utility of community-level flood mitigation projects in the future. These include: (1) the need to engage local stakeholders throughout a project鈥檚 life-cycle, thus building ongoing understanding and support for the project, and (2) the need to ensure vigilance in monitoring a project, thus enabling appropriate and timely changes in course correction.

The lesson of this report rests with its focus on the utility of small-scale, local flood mitigation projects. Attention is often directed to large-scale initiatives that are deemed 鈥榯oo large to fail鈥�, meaning that their collapse would cause catastrophic and irreparable damage.听听However, as illustrated in the report, smaller scale, agile efforts to limit flood risk can collectively contribute to ensuring the resiliency of communities 鈥� accordingly, the perceived simplicity of such projects should not be undervalued.

The report titled 鈥樷�� is available online.