February 2022 – Joanne's Blog: Leadership in a Decisive Decade

Climate Risk Management Process Critique

February 13, 2022

In 2016 the Town of Canmore released their Climate Change Adaptation Background Report and Resilience Plan in support of the vision statement: “The Town of Canmore is resilient to the threats of projected climate change, and prepared to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise”. Tuhiwai, Smith (2012) affirms that in climate risk assessment and adaptation planning, process is more important than the outcomes (p. 218). Process critique of climate risk management practices therefore offers important learning opportunities for the emerging profession of climate risk management. Drawing on research literature and climate risks managements reports in other jurisdictions, this process critique of the Canmore plan highlights a few central observations and recommendations for future updates.

Risk Assessment Summary

Process Critique

The top-down Canmore process with its narrow stakeholder mix and strong representation from town staff provided an easy to manage engagement process and the benefit of expertise on the physical assets of the Town. The use of the ISO 31000 framework also provided a recognized approach that is replicable in the future. This top-down process; however, lacked the incites that can be gained from a bottom-up participatory process. The absence of the expertise of local health system professionals, business professionals, residents, and other local knowledge holders, raises questions on what community risks and vulnerabilities were missed in the top-down assessment. Participatory processes also build community adaptation capacity by helping to integrate diverse community knowledges and empowering communities towards collective action (Raihan et al., 2010, p. 63). This community capacity is itself a foundation to building a resilient community. This raises the question: can a narrow stakeholder group create a plan that will meet the vision of a town that is resilient to the impacts of climate change?

Located in Kananaskis, Canmore is surrounded by mountains known as Sacred Places (Chief John Snow, 2005). This landscape is part of the spiritual and culture traditions of the Indigenous nationals that have resided in this region for more than 10,000 years (Canmore Museum, n.d.). Climate change is threatening Indigenous cultural heritage, including “traditional knowledge, practices and skills” (BC Assembly of First Nations, 2020, p. 3). Climate risk planning therefore needs to include an assessment of the risks to the “cultural rights and traditional knowledge” (p. 8) of Indigenous peoples. No indigenous community members or knowledge holders were identified in the Canmore risk management process. This raises questions on the omission of risks to Indigenous peoples who bear disproportion impacts from climate change impacts (p. 2), and if the identified adaptation strategies may inadvertently place Indigenous people at higher vulnerability and risk. To fulfill Canmore’s 2017 commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee Calls to Action (Alberta Municipalities, n.d.) will necessitate a different approach in the future renewal of the plan.

Future Process Recommendations

To address the limitations above, future updates would benefit from a mixed-method approach. For example, combining the top-down ISO risk management framework with a bottom-up process that engages diverse community members. ICLEI’s BARC framework offers a five-milestone approach to support a multi-stakeholder participatory process. This framework also includes a vulnerability assessment which is absent in the 2016 Canmore plan. Vulnerability assessments consider three factors: sensitivity to climate change stimuli, exposure, and the adaptive capacity of systems (people, physical assets, ecological systems) (CCME, 2021, p. 5). As climate change hazards often occurs as a series of compounding events rather than discrete singular events (BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, 2019, p. 99), future updates would benefit from a review of adaptation literature for guidance on assessment of compound events. Finally, future updates should be co-developed with regional Indigenous peoples. Indigenous knowledge systems offer valuable qualitative information on how climate change is affecting people and natural systems, further it is “broad, holistic, place based, relational, [and] intergenerational” (BC cleanBC, 2021, p. 22). This knowledge is pivotal in reducing risks to both Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. In advance of the plan renewal, it will be necessary for the Town of Canmore to build good relations with regional Indigenous nations to lay the foundation for a future collaboration to develop a more holistic risk and vulnerability assessment, and subsequent adaptation plan.

References

Alberta Municipalities. (n.d.). Town of Canmore’s Commitment to Reconciliation. https://www.abmunis.ca/news/town-canmores-commitment-reconciliation.

BC Assembly of First Nations. (2020). Cultural rights of First Nations and climate change. https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/CulturalRights/Call_ClimateChange/BCAFN.pdf.

BC cleanBC. (2021). Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy: Draft Strategy and Phase 1 Actions for 2021-2022. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/climate-change/adaptation/cpas_2021.pdf.

BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. (2019). Preliminary Climate Risk Assessment for BC. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/climate-change/adaptation/risk-assessment.

CCME. (2021). Guidance on good practices in climate change risk assessment. https://ccme.ca/en/res/riskassessmentguidancesecured.pdf

Canmore Museum. (n.d.). Vision and Mission. https://canmoremuseum.com/pages/our-mission/

Chief John Snow. (2005). These mountains are our Sacred Place: The Story of the Stoney People. Fitzhenry and Whiteside.

Raihan, M.S., Huq, M.J., Alsted, N., & Andreasen, M. (2010). Understanding climate change from below, addressing barriers from above: Practical experience and learning from a community-based adaptation project in Bangladesh. ActionAid Bangladesh. http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/understandingccfrombelow.pdf

Town of Canmore. (2016). Climate Change Adaptation Background Report and Resilience Plan. https://canmore.ca/residents/stewardship-of-the-environment/climate-change-adaptation-plan/climate-change-and-adaptation-plan.

Tuhiwai Smith, L. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies – Research and Indigenous Peoples (2nd Ed.). Zed Books. Retrieved from the Ebook Central e-book database*.

Best Laid Plans

Leave a Comment / CALS 501 / Joanne

February 12, 2022

“Vintage mouse illustration” by Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel is licensed under CC by 4.0.

Robert Burns observation that “the best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men / Gang aft agley” (go often awry) has relevance in climate change risk assessment and adaptation planning. The social-ecological complexities of climate change together with the human dynamics of adaptation work elevate the risk of best laid plans going awry and the potential for ‘maladaptation’. Barnett and O’Neill (2010) define maladaptation as “action taken ostensibly to avoid or reduce vulnerability to climate change that impacts adversely on, or increases the vulnerability of other systems, sectors or social groups” (p. 211). My observation is that the process itself of adaptation planning either amplifies or mitigates the risk of maladaptation. In the CALS501 design challenge we are developing a workshop prototype to help Albertans explore what climate change means to their community, identify adaptation approaches, and empower action. The following are reflections on maladaptation and risk reduction of relevance to this work.

The human impacts of climate change are “place and culture specific” (Reed & Kendrick, 2018, p. 6) and are differentially experienced by Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples (p. 6). When assessing climate change risks and formulating adaptative strategies, how does the exclusion of Indigenous voices lead to maladaptation?

Western models of climate risk assessments pose blind spots rooted in a cultural-economic system that neglects the interdependence of people and nature, elevates people over nature, and favours short-term thinking (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012, pp. 100-109). While adaptation planning solely derived from Western knowledge systems may provide near-term benefits for some parts of Western systems, Reed and Kendrick (2018) highlight that they may also promote maladaptation through failing to consider how these approaches may increase vulnerability and risks to Indigenous peoples (p. 13). They assert that these risks can be mitigated by early engagement with Indigenous knowledge holders to shape the risk assessment and adaptation planning process, and further by including Indigenous voices in the deployment of these processes (p. 8-11). While our class project did not allow for co-development with Indigenous knowledge keepers, we requested input on our prototype from an Indigenous advisor. One learning outcome was the potential to transform mindsets and enhance agency through the integration of Indigenous storytelling in the workshop process. Another was the importance of integrating guidance in our prototype on the protection of Indigenous knowledge from misappropriation.

Participatory community engagement processes comprise individuals with diverse values, worldviews and identities. Moser (2016) emphasises that such attributes colour an individual’s perception and interpretation of climate science, and subsequently the acceptability of potential adaptation approaches (p.350). Moser underscores that efforts to “bring into consciousness the momentousness of what is actually occurring” (p. 347) can give rise to both acceptance and resistance. Leaders of participatory adaptation processes may be faced with strong responses such as denial, disbelief, grief, and anxiety, which can pose risks to the participants and to workshop outcomes. How then do we mitigate these risks?

Climate communications research literature offers guidance on participatory climate action approaches that is of relevance to our prototype. For example, Moser (2016) recommends a set of strategies when communicating about climate change to lower the psychological defenses that may arise as individuals seek to avoid the discomfort associated with this information (p. 354-356). Framing is also highlighted as effective in climate communications (Armstrong, 2018). Framing refers to the “features of a message to evoke ideas and ways of thinking” (p. 59); for example, climate change health framing. Our prototype employs local framing which can help dimmish the sense that climate change is far away in time and place by “localizing the consequences and… giving personal, local meanings to global issues” (Altinay, 2017, p. 295). To mitigate the risk of being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the climate challenge, our prototype offers a participatory process that encourages dialogue to foster shared understanding, motivate self-efficacy and collective agency, and inspire hope (Armstrong, 2018, p. 60). Finally, to address the risk that participants may experience anxiety and grief, our prototype will include resources on eco-anxiety.

In climate adaptation planning, the process employed either amplifies or mitigates the risk of maladaptation. Including Indigenous voices in community adaptation planning initiatives promotes holistic thinking about climate impacts and adaptation approaches as well as outcomes that reduce risks to Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. Climate change communications research literature offers insights to reduce risks within participatory community engagement processes. These include strategies to reduce psychological defenses, framing approaches to give local meaning to global climate change, and participatory dialogue to foster shared understanding, collective action, and hope. The complexity of this work necessitates pre-emptive planning to mitigate best laid plans from going awry.

References

Altinay, Z. (2017). Visual communication of climate change: Local framing and place attachment. Coastal Management 45(4), 293-309. doi: 10.1080/08920753.2017.1327344. (17 pages) https://go.openathens.net/redirector/royalroads.ca?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1080%2F08920753.2017.1327344

Armstrong, A. K., Schuldt, J. P., & Krasny, M. E. (2018). Establishing trust. Communicating climate change: A guide for educators. Cornell University Press. Ebook. (1 page) https://cornellopen.org/9781501730795/communicating-climate-change/

Barnett, J. and O’Neill, S. (2010) Maladaptation. Global Environmental Change 20, 211–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2009.11.004

Burns, R. (1785). To a Mouse. Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43816/to-a-mouse-56d222ab36e33

Moser, S.C. (2016). Reflections on climate change communication research and practice in the second decade of the 21st century: What more is there to say? WIREs Climate Change May/June, 345-369. (24 pages). WIREs Climate Change 2016, 7:345–369. doi: 10.1002/wcc.403 https://go.openathens.net/redirector/royalroads.ca?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com%2Fdoi%2Ffull%2F10.1002%2Fwcc.403%3Fsid%3Dworldcat.org

Reed, G., & Kendrick, A. (2018). Including Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Canada’s climate assessment. Including Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Canada’s climate assessment (02 -25-2018v).

Tuhiwai Smith, L. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies – Research and Indigenous Peoples (2nd Ed.). Zed Books. Retrieved from the Ebook Central e-book database*.

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