Building resilience to climate change impacts along Canada’s Atlantic coast.

Coastal communities in Atlantic Canada are at risk from the impacts of climate change, notably sea level rise, tidal and storm surge flooding, and coastal erosion. These hazards have significant consequences for people’s homes, livelihoods, and our economy.

Making Room for Movement is a collaborative research initiative of Saint Mary's University and Dalhousie University. It aims to build resilience to climate change impacts along Canada’s Atlantic coast by developing a framework for implementing nature-based coastal adaptation strategies. This framework will guide coastal adaptation practitioners in working with community residents, landowners, coastal resource users, and governments to implement innovative, nature-based alternatives to hard infrastructure.

To situate our findings within the Nova Scotian context, we have partnered with CBWES Inc., CBCL Limited, Ecology Action Centre, and Narrative Research. The Making Room for Movement framework was also informed by six case studies of nature-based coastal adaptation initiatives in Nova Scotia.

Making Room for Movement is funded by Natural Resources Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Program.

For more information on this project, please contact us.