Dawson Climate Change Adaptation Project (DCAP)

The DCAP was divided into three parts: a vulnerability assessment, an adaptation plan, and an implementation plan. The planning process proceeded in four steps:

1. Climate Change Projections
2. Identify Sensitivities and Opportunities
3. Risk Evaluation
4. Final Recommendations.

The fourth step was the development of adaptation actions. The risk evaluation distilled community issues into a list of 78 “community consequences.” A risk assessment framework then identified the priority level for addressing each consequence (e.g. low, medium and high). Suggested adaptation actions were formulated for all consequences, and one or more partner organizations (e.g. Yukon government and City of Dawson council) were identified to provide leadership on each action.

The final plan included a list of 43 high priority actions, 21 for immediate implementation and 22 for consideration by 2020. Many of the proposed actions included in the adaptation plan responded to more than one community consequence. Proposed actions ranged from “investigate flood proofing of the proposed sewage facility” to “implement preparedness education to respond to potential climate change related emergencies.” In the Dawson Climate Change Adaptation Plan, community-based vulnerabilities are identified and then adaptation strategies are outlined and prioritized.

For each of the 78 community consequences identified, risk evaluation tables were completed jointly by the project team and Local Advisory Committee, and then vetted by the Technical Advisory Committee. Each community consequence included information on the level of impact, likelihood, adaptive capacity, overall priority level, suggested adaptation action, and lead partner(s). As an example, the community consequence “Permafrost decline forces re-engineering of the town site”, has an estimated impact level of ‘high’, and suggests a ‘detailed permafrost assessment’ as the adaptation action. The Yukon Government, Government of Canada, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, and the City of Dawson are listed as potential lead partners. The Northern Climate ExChange allocated $120,000 to help implement the plan: $30,000 was used to hire a local project coordinator, and the remaining money was awarded to four local adaptation projects chosen through a competitive process. All four funded projects were completed in an eight-month period ending June 2010. In addition, 15 recommendations from the final plan were implemented by various government and non-government organizations. The projects include an emergency response plan by the Dawson fire department, an assessment of food security along the Dawson River (Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in), a compilation by the Yukon government of a publicly accessible inventory of permafrost conditions and an assessment of the vulnerability of Yukon government buildings to permafrost degradation. The projects focused on food and energy security as well as climate change education. The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in government, for example, obtained funding to construct a community greenhouse to increase local food security by extending the growing season and producing more locally produced food.

One important objective of the plan was to integrate adaptation decision making into standard government planning and operational practices in the Dawson region. For the purposes of mainstreaming climate change, the adaptation plan included recommendations organized by the following standard operational practices: land use, emergency response, fire management and infrastructure planning. Although the planning process helped raise awareness, there remains considerable work to be done before climate change considerations are fully integrated into day-to-day decision making in the community

In 2018, a particularly severe wildfire season demonstrated the community’s continued vulnerability to climate change and prompted questions around preparedness and resilience to climate change in general and wildfire specifically. In response, researchers from the University of Alberta conducted research which involved discussions with local decision-makers (e.g. elected officials, city planners and engineers, emergency management) about their views on wildfire risk, lessons learned from the recent wildfire seasons, and how this knowledge will be incorporated into strategic adaptation policy and planning for the 2019 wildfire season. Interviews with local decision-makers revealed a number of adaptation actions that are currently underway in Dawson. For example, Dawson City participates in the Yukon Government’s FireSmart® program; the town works with the territory to educate the community on how to reduce the risk of wildfire; and the town regularly conducts emergency scenario planning activities involving variety of different stakeholders.

The Dawson Climate Change Adaptation plan provides a comprehensive analysis of climate change related impacts to Dawson, community vulnerabilities, adaptation strategies, and community opportunities. The project success was due to the large number of volunteers, a high level of community participation, strong support from the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in council and the work of the local project coordinator. Many of the best practices and lessons learned are being applied to adaptation planning initiatives in other Yukon communities, including Whitehorse and Mayo. However, there were many challenges when creating the climate change adaptation plan including climatic variability, lack of communication amongst existing climate related networks, socio-political constraints, lack of capacity, desire to mitigate rather than adapt, lack of measurable goals and desired outcomes, and a general lack of high-resolution, good quality, downscaled climate change science. Some facilitating factors of the project include the high adaptability of historically resource dependent communities, local climate knowledge, community concern about climate change, strong community engagement, and an increasing body of knowledge to draw from.

Results of research conducted in 2019 by the University of Alberta, Dawson City has a council that is environmentally aware, and accepting of the need for climate change adaptation. Results of interviews with local decision-makers indicate that while climate change thinking is moving in the right direction, interviewees believe that greater priority is necessary. With respect to wildfire specifically, the more immediate needs associated with permafrost thaw are taking priority. The town is also working to improve local food security. Self-sufficiency is a necessity in such an isolated community. Under a component of the Dawson Adaptation Project with funding provided by the Northern Strategy Trust, a selection of adaptations will be implemented.

Link to Full Case Study

Additional Resources:

• Dawson Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2010)
• Yukon University, Community Climate Change Adaptation Project
• Factors Influencing Climate Change Adaptation Research Uptake by Yukon Communities (2016)
• Climate Change Risk and Planning Response in Dawson City, Yukon – A Look into How Wildfire Features in Local Decision-Making (2019)