About the Library
This library was made possible with the support of Natural Resources Canada through the Adaptation Platform.
The Adaptation Library is a publicly accessible and searchable collection of community, forestry, and energy related adaptation products. The goal of the Library is to connect community and industry users with relevant information related to climate change adaptation in Canada and abroad.
Adaptation Library Project – 2013
The first iteration of the Adaptation Library included only community-based adaptation resources developed through the Natural Resources Canada Regional Adaptation Collaborative (RACs) and Tools for Adaptation Programs.
The RACs Program was a three-year, $30 million, cost-shared initiative to support coordinated action towards advancing regional climate change adaptation decision-making. It funded the development of resources and tools to help local practitioners and decision-makers reduce the risks and maximize opportunities arising from a changing climate. Under this Program, the Government of Canada invested in six regional adaptation collaboratives:
- The British Columbia Regional Adaptation Collaborative.
- The Prairie Regional Adaptation Collaborative
- The Northern Regional Adaptation Collaborative
- The Ontario Regional Adaptation
- The Québec Regional Adaptation Collaborative
- The Atlantic Canada Regional Adaptation Collaborative
The Tools for Adaptation products were meant to provide a practical, step-wise approach to assess risks and opportunities from a changing climate, and provide guidance for planning and implementing adaptations.
Adaptation Library Expansion Project – 2015
The second iteration of the Adaptation Library saw the expansion of the website to include 100 additional adaptation-based resources and increased user interaction features. In addition to 60 new community based adaptation resources, the library now includes 40 energy and forestry-sector products in an effort to present the issue of climate change adaptation from different focus areas.
The scope of the project was also expanded to include resources from outside of Canada, as well as resources that were not necessarily funded under Natural Resources Canada RAC and Tools division. These included materials from:
- Newly published RAC and NRCan tools not previously included in the Library
- Canadian organizations and universities (e.g. Clean Air Partnership, OURANOS, OCCIAR, University of Waterloo, etc.)
- Provincial governments
- International resources (e.g. US EPA, NOAA, UKCIP, GIZ, World Bank, United Nations, etc.
Additional functionality features were also included in the Library expansion, such as a user upload function, whereby users are given the opportunity to upload other adaptation related resources that were not originally included in the scope of the project. User rating and review features have also been added on each product page, and allow users to provide their own feedback on how helpful they found the resource to be, and how it may have been applied in their own work. Furthermore, the updated “My Library” feature now allows users to create a login profile and save various resources in their folder to access and consult at a later date.
About the Validation Framework
Community, forestry, and energy products were reviewed using their respective validation frameworks that examined their sustainability, clarity, participatory processes, locality, and replicability. These frameworks are meant to guide users of the Library on when, where, and how products might fit their community or sector-specific climate change adaptation assessment and planning efforts.
The purpose of the validation frameworks is not meant to ascertain whether or not the product succeeds in meeting its objectives, but rather gauge whether it includes elements that make up a comprehensive community or sector-based adaptation project as determined by a group of adaptation practitioners. Products were not validated against one another, but against a framework that was developed after the completion of all products thereby allowing for their comparison against an impartial criteria (i.e. all products were on an ‘even playing field’).
Products were given ‘full marks’ if they fulfilled the criteria (e.g. clear evidence of element in question), ‘half marks’ if the criteria was only somewhat fulfilled (e.g. element in question was only mentioned briefly or partially completed), ‘no marks’ if the criteria was not at all fulfilled (e.g. element in question was not included when it should have been), and “not applicable” was assigned to criteria that were not a necessary element of the product.
Thank you to our Advisory Committee
We would like to thank the members of the Advisory Committee for their generous donation of time and invaluable feedback. Your input throughout the process of this project was greatly appreciated.
Kevin Behan, Clean Air Partnership
Valérie Bourduas Crouhen, OURANOS
Devin Causley, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Stephanie Gower, Toronto Public Health
Nancy Hackett, City of Red Deer
Kevin Hanna, University of British Columbia
Elizabeth Henry, Fraser Basin Council
David Lapp, Engineers Canada
RAC & Tools Synthesis Working Group
James Tweedie, Canadian Gas Association
Tim Short, Enbridge
Mike Sullivan, Canadian Institute of Planners
Deborah Hartford, Adaptation to Climate Change Team
Terry Dugit, PRAC
David MacLeod, City of Toronto
Tamsin Mills, City of Vancouver
Debbie Nielsen, Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities
Don Reeves, Province of Prince Edward Island
Gregory Richardson, Health Canada
Nicole Rowsell, Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Dan Sandink, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction
Brian Montgomery, City of Hamilton
Angela Danyluck, Corporation of Delta
Emily Rideout, Government of Nova Scotia
Jo-Ellen Parry, International Institute of Sustainable Development
Kim Bitterman, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Susanne Jakobsen, MOECC
Jason Edwards, Northern Forestry Centre (NRCan)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How do I search for a product in the Adaptation Library?
There are a number of ways you can search for a product in the Adaptation Library. If you would like to perform a general search, you may begin by selecting one of the eight geographic regions located on the home page. By selecting a region, you will then see an array of adaptation tools and resources related to that particular region.
If you are looking for a specific product, or have a specific aspect of adaptation that you would like to explore (e.g. communication, capacity building, etc.) you may opt to select filters, which will help to further narrow your search. These filters allow you to explore products from different sectors (e.g. forestry, energy or community); products from specific regions, provinces or territories; products exploring specific climate changes or impacts; products that have various primary or secondary focus areas; different types of products (decision-making tools, case studies, etc.); or tools and resources that are targeted at different audiences.
You may also use the Search function to find a resource. This approach may be most helpful if you know the specific title of the product you are looking for, or are looking for a specific author.
How do I remove a filter?
All filters that are selected will be listed under Active Filters. You can remove active filters at any time by clicking on the filter text.
How can I search for similar or related products?
If there are related products to the particular one you have found, these will be listed in the “Related Products” section on the product page. Alternatively, you can search for similar products by exploring similar keywords or the organization.
I know of a product related to climate change adaptation, but don’t see it in the Library. How can I upload a resource?
You can upload your own resource by clicking the “Upload a Resource” tab at the top of the web page. Select the type of resource it is (community, forestry, or energy) and fill out the accompanying bibliographic and evaluation details. Once those two tabs are completed, you may upload your PDF on the attachment tab and save your changes. A moderator will review your document before it appears on the Library.
The product mentions ‘overall strategic lessons learned’. Why did it only receive half marks for this component?
The purpose of the review is not meant to ascertain whether or not the product succeeds in meeting its objectives, but rather gauges whether it includes elements that make up a comprehensive community adaptation project as determined by a group of municipal adaptation practitioners. A “half mark” was likely given because the criteria was only somewhat fulfilled (i.e. ‘overall strategic lessons learned’ were only mentioned briefly, or partially completed).
Who can I contact for more information?
Please contact ICLEI Canada at email@example.com
Note: *Inclusion of a product on this Website does not constitute an endorsement of its content or recommendations by Natural Resources Canada.*