Abstracts

A Participatory Approach for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: A Case Study on Okanagan Water Resources

Stewart J. Cohen
Environment Canada
scohen@sdri.ubc.ca

A case study on climate change and water resources management in the Okanagan region of British Columbia is using a participatory approach to build a collaborative between researchers and interested parties in the region. The study began with development of climate change scenarios for water supply and demand, complemented by adaptation studies and dialogue with regional interests. The multi-disciplinary research team includes researchers and regional interests concerned about water management, including local governments, water managers, and water user groups.

The scenarios describe a future with reduced water supply and increased demand from both agricultural and residential users. This work has been supplemented by regional climate studies, an inventory of water management instruments, a review of available adaptation responses, and studies of community-based experiences in adapting to anticipated water shortages, all of which suggest that the region has a high capacity to adapt to climate change. This combined set of information has been used to initiate a dialogue with regional interests on opportunities and challenges for implementing climate change adaptation options. The dialogue suggests that prospects for climate change adaptation in the Okanagan will depend on social acceptability of any proposed measures, and the future evolution of water governance in the region, but there now seems to be a willingness to begin the process of incorporating climate change into long term planning. One example is the recent completion of the water management plan for the Trepanier Landscape Unit, west of Kelowna.

Current activities include the development of a systems model for incorporating climate change scenarios and local knowledge of systems operations.

2005-04-05