Lunenburg Part 1 - Introduction and Background August 30.pdf

Introduction
The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, located in Lunenburg County along the ‘South
Shore’ of Nova Scotia, Canada (Figure 1), is one of 13 municipalities in Nova Scotia that
participated in the Atlantic Climate Adaptation Solutions (ACAS) initiative. ACAS comprises
government and non-government partners working collaboratively to help Atlantic Canadian
communities build adaptive capacity to meet the challenges of climate change. Researchers in
the School of Planning, Dalhousie University conducted a series of projects under ACAS to
assist the District of Lunenburg in building its adaptive capacity. This report is a compilation of
these projects.
The researchers examined the vulnerability of the natural and built environment of the District of
Lunenburg coastal zone to future sea level rise and storm surge flooding and identified the
consequences of inundation and flooding for physical infrastructure and valued social assets, the
implications for vulnerable populations, and the capacity of the municipal government to address
the anticipated impacts and plan proactively to avoid the negative consequences of future
impacts. The results of the work are: a substantial data base that demonstrates physical
infrastructure and valued social assets at risk in the years 2025 and 2100; an understanding of
how the public and community decision-makers value assets the same, or differently, with
implications for decisions around adaptation measures and priorities in the future; identification
of the distribution of vulnerable populations in the community and the relationship between this
distribution and that of sea level rise inundation and storm surge flooding; and an assessment of
the existing capacity of the Municipality to adapt to climate change through planning policy and
legislation, planning practice, and intra- and inter-governmental and other linkages.
The information and findings of the studies are immediately useful to the Municipality as it
develops its Municipal Climate Change Action Plan and builds adaptive capacity through land
use and development policies and practices, prioritizes actions to address infrastructure and
assets at risk, or supports populations who are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The
studies also serve as an example for other municipalities of the information needs and methods
to identify hazards, risks and vulnerabilities, particularly as they relate to coastal climate change
impacts. Other adaptation researchers and practitioners may wish to test the methods employed
in these projects. Overall, the findings of the projects contribute to the growing body of
information and knowledge about climate change impacts in coastal communities, including the
significance of the impacts for natural and built environment assets, the potential implications for
vulnerable populations, and the capacity of local government to protect its citizens and valued
assets and manage future land use and development in anticipation of a retreating coastline and
more extensive coastal flooding.
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