Climate Migration in Canada: A Case Study of Lennox Island, PEI
Date
2018-04
Authors
Brooks, Hariana
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Description
The community of Lennox Island, Canada will require relocation due to climate change-induced erosion and sea-level rise. The Canadian government is not yet prepared for climate migration events. There are varying social and economic challenges to community relocations. For this reason, it can be useful to learn from past forced relocation events within Canada and climate migrations abroad. This study uses the precedent of Newtok, Alaska’s climate migration to determine measures that should be used during Lennox Island’s climate migration. Three measures are discussed throughout this paper: government coordination, community ownership and financial constraints. The first measure, government coordination, notes that the collaboration of all stakeholders involved can substitute for a lack of designated government agency assistance. The second measure, community ownership, emphasises that for prior cases of community relocation, it has been found that community-led initiatives resulted in the best outcomes in terms of improving residents’ livelihoods. The third and final measure, financial constraints, finds that resourcefulness is required to receive funding. These financial constraints exist because of a lack of financial security in place for climate migration events in Canada. In time, Lennox Island will inevitably be lost to the sea. It is best to acknowledge this reality and begin to taking immediate action to ensure an effective relocation.
Keywords
Citation
Brooks, H. (2018). Climate Migration in Canada: A Case Study of Lennox Island, PEI. College of Sustainability Honours Theses.