Harvey Spencer Joseph Hill,Darrell R. Corkal,Cameron Kayter,Nancy Lee,Paul Christensen, Government of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, harvey.hill@agr.gc.ca
Visualizing and assessing potential hydro-climate events in terms of excess moisture and drought is an important first step for decision makers, particularly regarding their potential social, environmental, and economic impacts. An equally important, step is to articulate the relative value of alternative adaptation investments impact reduction on the landscape.
This presentation describes two activities being developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada intended to help decision and policy makers assess watershed and sub-watershed vulnerability and adaptation options. Activity one is a methodology called the Landscape and Infrastructure Resiliency Assessment (LIRA) assesses the vulnerability of a watershed to extreme precipitation events and the value of alternative landscape adaptation strategies under uncertainty. The method uses qualitative and quantitative methods dependent on data and resource availability. The second method, a simulation process, helps integrated teams assess the impacts of extended drought and the adoption a range of adaptations and mitigations.