Funds Target Climate Change Risks: Drought, Floods

Funding for a series of projects to advance regional adaptation to climate change decision making was announced last week by the governments of Canada, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, together with the University of Regina.

Ending in March 2012, the Prairies Regional Adaptation Collaborative (Prairies RAC) initiative is aimed at helping decision-makers in the Prairie provinces target local climate change issues. Natural Resources Canada will provide $3.3 million of the $6.6-million funding for the Prairies RAC to help integrate adaptation considerations into decision making in policy, planning and operations including drought and flood protection.

Regionally led by the University of Regina, the projects will tackle climate change impacts by involving partners across the Prairies in local initiatives. These partners include federal, provincial and municipal governments, First Nations and non-governmental organizations, industry and academia.

Deliverables will include best practices development, policy recommendations, capacity building and risk assessments. The solutions developed through these projects will be shared across the Prairies and nationally.