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Project Summary / Overview
To help survey and assess the vulnerability of British Columbia lands to climate change, the BC Ministry of Environment has used GIS technology to create sensitivity maps of the Province. These projects have been conducted in collaboration with students at the Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, BC under the mentorship of BC Ministry of Environment staff.
Project Background
Sensitive coastal ecosystems will be identified through GIS analysis in order to inform park planners and managers so that their actions today make sense in tomorrow’s world. Results from this project should help prioritize and guide planners and managers when planning for structures, economic opportunities, and ecosystem shifts in protected areas along the coast.
GIS sensitivity maps will be created using multiple layers of data including:
- Shore zone mapping (e.g., substrate type and exposure)
- United Nations Environment Programme-predicted sea level rise rates
- Topographical information (e.g., shoreline aspect and slope)
- Habitat types in uplands adjacent to shore
- BC Park boundaries
Different layers of data will be combined to build a model to evaluate sensitivity to sea level rise. Sensitivity maps will be created for three pilot shorelines - protected sandy, estuarine, and open coast - to see if results from the GIS program are logical and reasonable. Once the model is refined, it will be run for the entire coast of the province, generating maps of sensitivity to sea level rise. The North and Central coasts have been identified as priorities for the BC Ministry of Environment because they recently acquired a large tract of parkland in this region and planners must consider the effects of climate change when developing management plans.
