Adaptive Capacity Research

This collaborative project, led by Dr. John Janmaat at the Okanagan campus of the University of British Columbia, examines the ability of agricultural communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the Okanagan and Cariboo regions. The project builds on earlier work completed by our project partners.

After completing our initial set of interviews the project team refined the scope to examine how the regulatory environment in BC affects agricultural resilience to changes in water supply resulting from climate change. Specifically this project explores the following questions:

1. What are the goals of existing water supply regulation and policies in BC?
2. How do these regulations and policies apply to agricultural activities?
3. How was agriculture considered in the development of these regulations and policies?
4. How does the implementation of these regulations and policies affect the resilience of agriculture producers to climate change in the two study regions?
5. What key challenges and what key opportunities exist for agricultural resilience to changing water supply in the two study regions?

Project partnerships across academic, government and agriculture sectors are vital for understanding these interactions. The project team relies on the expertise of a diverse range of partner members, including our Advisory Committee with membership drawn from the University of British Columbia, ACARN, and organizations in the agricultural sector.

This project is funded by a two-year Partnership Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. These grants support academic research teams working in formal partnerships with other organizations to develop social science research and facilitate knowledge sharing.