Development of a Tool for the Consideration of Climate Change in Agricultural Land Planning in Rural Québec Regional County Municipalities
The project will provide rural Québec MRCs with greater autonomy in their actions to create knowledge and combat climate change.
Project details
Principal(s) investigator(s)
Context
Over the coming decades, Quebec’s regional county municipalities (RCMs) will face climate impacts that will influence the development of agriculture, a sector that is important for the economic and social development of many communities. However, the land use planning carried out so far, and in particular the agricultural zone development plans, do not explicitly take these issues into account.
In addition, discussions with certain RCMs have led to the conclusion that the integration of climate considerations into land use planning practices requires prior awareness-raising work. These findings point to a significant need to strengthen RCMs’ capacity to better manage climate issues.
Objective(s)
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To provide Quebec’s rural RCMs with a guide to facilitate the integration of climate issues and adaptation to climate change into the planning and development of agricultural areas;
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To allow RCMs to self-assess their overall vulnerability and identify priority areas of vulnerability;
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To carry out a pilot project to apply the vulnerability identification guide and method in a Quebec RCM (Nicolet-Yamaska);
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To strengthen the capacities of RCMs through the transmission of knowledge on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change;
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To disseminate the results of the study to those involved in agricultural planning in Quebec.
Methodology
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Review of existing methods to integrate climate considerations into the planning and development of agricultural areas;
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Development of a methodological guide for the integration of climate considerations into development plans for agricultural zones;
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Review of existing methods to assess the potential effects of climate change on agricultural land
Identification of the effects of climate change on agricultural land in Quebec; -
Design of a method to analyze the potential effects of climate change on the agricultural areas of Quebec’s RCMs;
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A pilot project to apply the guide and the assessment method in the RCM of Nicolet-Yamaska
Results
Further to this project, two aids were produced to help Quebec’s RCMs integrate climate change issues into agricultural zone development plans. Available in the Scientific publications section below.
One of them is a guide for Quebec RCMs on the integration of opportunities and threats arising from climate change into the development or update of an agricultural zone development plan. This methodological guide contains three main sections:
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A knowledge base on climate change, its impacts on agriculture, key concepts related to climate change adaptation and the benefits of anticipatory management of these impacts;
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An approach to integrating climate issues into agricultural zone development plans that includes five steps, which are aligned with the process of developing an agricultural zone development plan (Figure 1);
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Resources and bibliographic references that users can consult to further their efforts to integrate climate issues into an agricultural zone development plan.
Figure 1. Method for integrating opportunities and threats arising from climate change into an agricultural zone development plan and correspondence with the stages of development of the plan.
The other aid is a method for analyzing the area and its agricultural activities in the context of climate change, allowing RCMs to identify the threats and opportunities that climate change could generate for their land and their agricultural activities. It also provides a way to assess the strengths and weaknesses in dealing with it.
Following this analysis, a balance sheet is developed in the form of a table presenting the opportunities and threats as well as the strengths and weaknesses that were considered important or moderate. The results can then become inputs in the diagnosis of the area and the agricultural activities carried out, as part of the agricultural zone development plan (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Example of a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis.
The methods were tested by a working group made up of people who participated in the development of the Nicolet-Yamaska agricultural zone development plan. They deemed them to be useful and relevant. Activities to disseminate the methods to organizations involved in the planning and development of Quebec's agricultural land and to promote them and facilitate their adoption are planned.
These measures should help guide their practices and thus support adaptation to climate change.
Benefits for adaptation
Benefits for adaptation
Integrating reflection on adaptation to climate change into the development of agricultural zone development plans.
Raising awareness among leaders through a collective approach that promotes the exchange of views on climate change and ways to adapt to it
Making assessment methods available to RCMs so that they can achieve greater autonomy in knowledge creation and adaptation to climate change
Scientific publications
Pour des questions de sécurité, le fichier "Outils d'analyse du territoire et des activités dans un contexte de changements climatiques" n'a pas pu être téléchargé sur cette page avec les macros nécessaires. La version disponible n'est donc pas la version optimale.
Si vous souhaitez obtenir ce document, nous vous invitons à communiquer avec info@ouranos.ca.
Funding
Other participants
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Coop Carbone
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Acclimatise
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MRC Nicolet-Yamaska
Related projects
550023
