Alpine Ski System Facing Climate Change (part 2)
Speaker(s)
Description
The results of the project presented in this webinar offer ski resort managers and the ASSQ a general overview of vulnerability as well as a sectoral resilience plan as a starting point for developing their own vulnerability diagnosis at the resort level using a self-diagnosis tool and for developing their own adaptation plan.
Diagnosis of the Quebec ski system’s vulnerability to climate change
Summary
The alpine ski sector faces economic, social, demographic, and environmental challenges that will be amplified by climate change in the future. For several decades, the actors in this system, which includes ski resorts and higher-level organizations such as the Quebec Ski Areas Association (ASSQ), have been working to increase their resilience to climate change. However, few studies have focused on an advanced understanding of the vulnerability of the ski system, that is, the factors of sensitivity and existing adaptive capacities in the face of climate change. On the one hand, sensitivity to climate change represents the intrinsic factors of one or more actors that can increase the impacts of climate change.
On the other hand, adaptive capacities represent the different levers that allow for bouncing back or preventing climate impacts.
The results of the project offer ski resort managers and the ASSQ a general overview of vulnerability as well as a sectoral resilience plan as a starting point for developing their own vulnerability diagnosis at the resort level using a self-diagnosis tool and for developing their own adaptation plan.
Learning objectives
Understand how climate change will affect the alpine ski sector in Quebec
Understand the different factors that characterize the vulnerability of the ski system in Quebec
Speakers
Holder of a master's degree in geography from McGill University, Clara Champalle worked for 10 years as a researcher and consultant on projects related to increasing resilience to climate change for several UN programs and various research institutes before joining Ouranos in 2022. She is part of the adaptation science coordination team, where she contributes to Ouranos' scientific programming, supports members in their adaptation to climate change, and also provides training on climate risk assessment.
Isabelle Falardeau is a geographer specializing in tourism. She is a professor of tourism and social development in the Department of Leisure, Culture, and Tourism Studies at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR). Isabelle is a snowboarder and mountain enthusiast who has also worked as a manager and designer of snow parks in ski resorts on the west coast.
Gabrielle Larose is the director of strategic knowledge and sustainable development at the Quebec Ski Areas Association. She has been working in the ski and tourism industry for about twenty years. Curious and committed, she uses her expertise in sustainable tourism to promote respectful development of mountain communities.
