Climate Adaptation in Kimberley, BC

Learning, Sharing & Planning in a

Small Mountain Town

A Short Visual Tour of Kimberley

~4000’

~3600’

~3030’

~ 8 km

Elevations:

Profile of KimberleyPopulation:

– ~6,000-ish– ~48% of the under 45 population has been here for 10 years or less– ~20% of population is over 65– Roughly half of the working population has post secondary education of some kind

Economy: – Formerly a mining town – world’s largest lead-zinc mine – 100+ years– Now a resort community– 3 golf courses, a ski resort and 1800 acre Nature Park within municipal boundaries– Recreational property development & second homes significant – 32% non-resident owners in

2005Natural Capital

– Surrounded by mixed and lodgepole pine forests – fire-dependent ecosystems - 40-50% of urban interface fire work is complete

– Two separate water sources – Mark Creek and Matthew Creek– Abundant sunshine – solar potential in SE BC is highest in province

Built Environment– Aging municipal infrastructure – some upgrading, replacement is occurring– Lots of parks, trails, recreational amenities/facilities– Most older housing stock (pre-1970s) is “miner style”– Past flooding of built environment by Mark Creek during spring freshet

Background on ProjectColumbia Basin Trust (CBT) initiated climate change work in

2006 to address emerging concerns about:– higher summer and winter temperatures– declining mountain snowpack & reduced snowfall– longer, drier summers, sudden heavy rains – melting glaciers– lower summer streamflows– more frequent wildfires– mountain pine beetle.

CBT hired Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium to help determine if these changes were a product of climate change, or merely extremes in natural variation in regional climate.

CBT also set up an Advisory Committee of climate change experts and key provincial & regional stakeholders

CBT’s Communities Adapting to Climate

Change• CBT began initiative in 2nd half of 2007• Set up application process for $30K funding of

climate adaptation work at local community level• Seven Basin communities applied• City of Kimberley and District of Elkford selected in

April 2008• General Scope of CBT-funded projects:

– identify local climate change impacts– determine how vulnerable the selected communities may

be to impacts, and– develop plans to adapt to and increase the community's

resilience to expected climate change impacts.

Kimberley’s Project

THREE KEY STAGES

• Learn: about predicted local climate change impacts and the range of adaptation planning/choices for Kimberley

• Share: climate science and learnings with the community and engage their ideas, priorities, observations

• Plan: actions Kimberley needs to be undertaking for climate adaptation and mitigation

The “Cast”• Mayor & Council• City Planner• Local Project Steering Committee• Priority Issue Working Groups• Kimberley & area residents• Local Project Coordinator• CBT’s Communities Adapting to Climate Change

Coordinator• CBT Advisory Committee• Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium• UBC’s Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning (CALP)

Getting Started: Workshop #1 Objectives1. Participants gain an understanding of climate

change adaptation2. Participants understand the project, why it’s

important and how it applies to Kimberley3. Participants are able to identify impact pathways

and brainstorm on community information needs and future steps

4. Participants identify priority impact areas in the community for research, analysis, exploration

5. Create stakeholder support, interest and enthusiasm for the project.

Workshop #1 Outcomes

Priority Issues Identified by 40+ stakeholders attending:1. Water Supply and Demand2. Forests and Ecosystem Impacts3. Economy and Energy4. Tourism5. Forests and Fire6. Municipal Infrastructure7. Food and Food Security8. Health – Direct Impacts9. Health – Indirect Impacts10. Water Quality11. Water – Flood Risk12. Groundwater

PLUS:A long list of questions and data needs

Prioritizing Top Issues

Decision Inputs Considered by Steering Committee:• Workshop #1 outputs • Research and data collection on workshop #1 Q’s• PCIC’s Historical Climate Analysis & Future Projections

for Kimberley & Elkford• Learnings from climate adaptation projects in other

similar communities (e.g. Keene, Aspen) or studies on similar issues (ski resorts, urban trees, etc)

• Direct Mail Community Survey• Workshop #3: Mapping Impact Pathways

Mapping Impact Pathways

Kimberley’s Priority Issues

1. Water Supply, Demand & QualityConcerns: High use, Logging in Watersheds, Wildfire in Watersheds,

Two separate sources of supply

2. Forests, Ecosystems & WildfireConcerns: Mountain Pine Beetle & other pests, Wildfire Risk

3. Municipal InfrastructureConcerns: Aging, Drinking Water System, Flood Risks, Fire Risk,

Trees, Slope Stability, Water Systems

4. TourismConcerns: Ski Resort, viability of Kimberley as “Winter Destination”,

Golf, Festivals, Nature & Trails, Low Summer Stream Flows, Logging & Viewscapes

An Unexpected Partner

UBC Faculty of Forestry’sCollaborative for Advanced Landscape PlanningDigital visualization of climate impacts:

– Pilot process/technology for a BC rural community– Based on future scenarios developed collaboratively:

• “Kimberley Adapts”• “Low Carbon Kimberley”

– Included identification of “scenario wildcards”Outputs:1. Interactive, multi-layered Google Earth tours of

possible “futures” & 2D posters on priority issues2. Guide + visualization training for Selkirk College

Scenarios & Visualization

Scenario planning for Local Climate Adaptation• Technique to explore alternative futures by examining the

nature and possible range of impacts of important driving forces affecting our world.

• Often a group process that encourages knowledge exchange and understanding of key issues important to the future of a defined entity, i.e. Kimberley

• Narrative scenarios capture increasing complexity in poorly-understood systems, handling significant issues driven by values, cultural shifts, and institutions.

Scenarios & Visualization

Each of the two scenarios considered the interactions of the following factors at both a global and local level out to 2100:

– Levels of greenhouse gas emissions– Predicted climate impacts based on greenhouse gas

emissions measures– Population trends, including climate-related migration– Energy use– Economy– Land Use – Transportation– Food Security– Ecosystems and Water– Governance and Policy

“Kimberley Adapts”

Assumptions• High energy use, continued fossil fuel-based economy • BAU – continuation of current development pathways

locally & regionally, including a full build-out of Kimberley’s current and proposed land use development plans.

• Climate change impacts are at the extreme end and considerable adaptation is required, with an emphasis on flood and forest fire protection.

• Landscape-scale fuel management continues within the City’s boundaries, while fuel management beyond the City’s boundaries is also implemented.

“Low Carbon Kimberley”

Assumptions• Sharply reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage.• Move to renewable energy includes solar thermal for hot water, and

local biomass energy that helps to drive the local economy. • Stable local population with the capacity to double if necessary

(depending on the number of “climate refugees” or climate migrants)

• Electric vehicle and rail-based transportation• Planning and development patterns based on rebuild and infill within

the existing walkable nodes in Kimberley.• Alternative green building technologies such as strawbale housing

(fire resistant and thus an adaptation as well) are implemented. • Local food production (regional) is greatly enhanced.• The working group recommendation to pursue local energy planning

fits within this scenario.

Historic Natural Fire Regimes

Historic Fire Map for Kimberley

Conceptual Green Infrastructure Plan for

“Downtown”

Project Challenges and Adjustments

• Climate science is still evolving: it is directional at best, especially for impacts beyond temp and precip

• Climate change remains distant & abstract for many – generally not perceived as a priority

• Some data & science is simply not available yet• Expertise, data for region is slim• Time, budget, limits of volunteering: realities of

small, relatively rural community

Vulnerability Assessment

1. Created multi-stakeholder working groups for each priority issue

2. Developed customized VA process for each working group

3. Each group began with big list of issues from community engagement – winnowed it down using defined screening tools: sensitivity, adaptive capacity or vulnerability

4. Process was more like “screening” than “detailed assessment”

Learnings from VA

1. Vulnerability assessment can be quite technical, confusing, challenging to work with

2. Really important to clearly define terms & do some “trial” runs, then reflect/check.

3. Adapt vulnerability assessment to needs/group – ours was more “screening” than detailed technical assessment

4. Process reinforced the cross-cutting nature of some vulnerabilities between natural, built and socio-economic environment.

Developing Recommendations

1. Recommendations were developed by working groups examining vulnerabilities, adaptive capacity & barriers/challenges to action

2. Priority assigned on the basis of “threat reduction” and “urgency of action” – clearly defined terms (L, L+, M, M+, H)

3. 75 recommendations in total

Categories of Recommendations

Natural Environment Water and Forests

Built Environment Municipal Infrastructure

Socio-Economic Environment Tourism

Municipal Water Supply Urban Trees Ski Tourism Quality of Aquatic Environment Drinking Water System Golf Tourism

Risk of Flooding Risk of Flooding Trail-Based Tourism Forest Health, Mountain Pine

Beetle and Wildfire Risk Flooding associated with

Storm Water System Water-Based Tourism

Wildfire Risk to the Built Environment

Wildfire and Protection of Municipal Infrastructure

Festival and Events Tourism

Risk of Slope Failure Other Local Attractions Future Proofing and Other

Considerations

*Note: some overlap occurred between Water/Forests and MI

Where to from here?

• Implement Actions / Mainstream Learnings (2009/10 - )

• Integration with GHG Reduction Plan• OCP Review - 2010• Continued Local Public Awareness/Education

Activities• Continued participation in CBT’s Climate

Adaptation Learning Network• Monitoring & Reporting – to Council, CBT

Strength of Kimberley’s Approach

1. Partnerships: Project was built around steering committee that included stakeholders from key community organizations to guide project

2. Community Learning & Engagement:Core goal of engaging the community, learning from & building local knowledge

3. Significant involvement of City staff, councilors4. Feed Together, Work Together:

Use the opportunity to build community 5. Visualization and Visioning:

CALP Visualization and scenarios-based work supports important community visioning

What we have learned

1. Current climate science is directional at best, often lacking desired details/certainty on local impacts

2. Use of scenarios can help bridge the gap between science and uncertainty

3. Climate impacts and adaptation is engaging for residents – especially when asked for input

4. Climate adaptation forces a long term, intergenerational approach to planning for the future: simple, but not necessarily “easy”.

THANK YOU

QUESTIONS?

Ingrid Liepakimberleyclimate@shaw.cawww.cityofkimberley.bc.ca