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EMCR Session, hosted by Sahar Safaie

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��Putting the Resilience in Disaster Risk Reduction: From assessment to action in B.C.��Disaster and Climate Risk and Resilience Assessment��Disaster and Climate Risk Reduction Strategy

Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR)�Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV)

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Dec 2022: New Ministry Mandates

EMCR and ENV to collaborate on a provincial hazard risk vulnerability assessment that:

Is developed in consultation with communities and Indigenous Peoples
Builds on B.C.’s Preliminary Strategic Climate Risk Assessment and integrates climate and disaster risk
Advances B.C.’s commitments to the Sendai Framework
Will inform the development of a subsequent province-wide disaster and climate risk reduction strategy

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Disclosing risks: Legislative requirements and public commitments

The last provincial-scale Hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability Assessment (HRVA) was completed in 1997.
New proposed legislative and regulatory requirements in the Emergency and Disaster Management Act which had its first reading last week (October 3):

All regulated entities required to undertake risk assessments using the best available local and Indigenous knowledge climate science, and consideration of equity

The Climate Change Accountability Act requires the province to assess and report on climate change risks every 5 years

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DCRRA: Key Pillars

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Distinctions-based approach to co-developing the process and results with First Nations and Treaty Nations.

Co-development with First Nations and Treaty Nations

Represent distributional impacts, including the drivers of risks, and ensure diverse perspectives and experiences of risk and resilience are included through engagements with diverse populations.

Take an equity-Informed, strengths-based approach

Ensure the assessment is grounded in local knowledge and contexts, upholds Indigenous knowledge systems, and reflects the best available Indigenous and western science.

Upholds best available knowledge

Develop approaches and information that offer value to communities and support community-level action. Reflect the variability of climate and disaster risks and resilience across B.C.

Support communities

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Key questions the DCRRA will seek to answer

What are the current and future levels of risks and resilience?
What are the key drivers of risk?
How do risks and resilience vary across BC, including across geographies, populations, and urban/rural communities?
What risks, vulnerabilities, and resilience traits are specific to distinct and unique Indigenous individuals and communities?
To what extent are the risks being managed? To what extent are resilience traits being developed?
What are the priority actions in the next 5-10 years to reduce risk and build resilience in BC?

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Values-Based Approach

The DCRRA will take a values-based approach focusing on the vision, "Resilience of All that We Value".

Start by defining what we value ("Value Groups")
What does resilience look like for each value groups? (through "Resilience Statements")
How will value areas be affected by disaster and climate hazards (through “Risk Statements”)?

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Value Area	Assets	Values, strengths, and conditions that we want to preserve, safeguard, and enhance	Risk/Consequence Statements	Resilience Statements: Strengths, capacities, or actions that can reduce consequences
Built Environment	Buildings (residential, commercial, industrial, public)	Affordable housing, safe housing, operational businesses, operational government	Risks to buildings due to extreme weather events, drought, wildfire, and ongoing sea-level rise.	(1) Safer buildings designed by more advanced codes and located outside of high hazard zones

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Risks for 2024 Provincial-Scale Assessment

Riverine flooding
Coastal flooding
Wildfire
Water scarcity (droughts)
Extreme heat

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Earthquake
Cascading/Compounding events e.g.:

Heat > Wildfire > Extreme precipitation > Landslide

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DCRRA Draft Framework

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�Visioning & value mapping�Defining what “resilience” means in B.C., identifying our resilience traits, mapping what we value, developing resilience statements.

Co-development approach

How can we make this process and work meaningful to First Nations & Treaty Nations

Developing risk statements

Understanding how hazards/slow-onset risks will affect what we value

Indicators

Identify how we measure consequences and resilience

Prioritize risks

�Through

co-development, engagement, and research, prioritize top hazards to be included in provincial-scale risk assessment for 2024.

�Information gathering, research and quantitative and qualitative analysis�

Geospatial analysis (hotspots)
Desktop research
Crowdsourcing insights
Using scenarios to score consequences

Designed through co-development with First Nations & Treaty Nations

Participatory assessment of consequences and resilience

Interactive scenario exercises
Studying past events
Learning from other jurisdictions
Engagement with local and regional players, including LAs and CI owners

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DCRRA Timeframe & Outputs

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Provincial Assessment

September 2023 –June 2024

Framework Design

January – August 2023

Regional & Future Assessments

2024 - 2026

ClimateReadyBC

“One stop shop" disaster and climate risk reduction tool for Nations local governments, public and private sector including information on funding and supports
Features data, tools, and resources to help communities understand and reduce disaster and climate risks
ClimateReadyBC@gov.bc.ca

Timeline for the DCRRA: Framework design is complete, entering into provincial assessment phase now, followed by regional assessments, as well as future assessment by regulated entities
ClimateReadyBC: all outputs and products will be hosted on this new site

Framework Design:

Draft framework received and reviewed

Initiation of co-development with First Nations and Treaty Nations

Procurement process to select contractor for DCRRA project

2024 DCRRA:

Objectives:

Provide a comprehensive overview of risks & priorities at the provincial level to inform provincial resilience actions and funding programs

Support ministries in meeting regulatory requirements for hazard-specific risk assessments

Provide a framework to support risk assessments conducted at sub-provincial level, including data, information, guidance and consistent methodologies

Future Assessments:

Regional assessments (2026 release)

Will build on risks included in the provincial assessment and can include additional risks
Regions will be based on watersheds and language groups
Fall engagement as part of the provincial-scale assessment will continue work to identify priority risks for regional-scale assessments

Regulated entities

Local authorities

Critical Infrastructure owners and operators

Public Sector Organizations

First Nations and Treaty Nations

Indigenous partners

Service Organizations

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Disaster and Climate Risk Reduction Strategic Plan

Joint mandate for EMCR and ENV to develop a provincial strategic plan that:

Will be informed by the Disaster and Climate Risk and Resilience Assessment (DCRRA).
Assesses identified priorities and systematically coordinates and implements cross-government interventions consistent with those priorities.

Strategy is in preliminary stages of development planning.
Preliminary engagement underway in partnership with DCRRA team focused on understanding priorities and developing a vision.
Additional and more targeted public and partner engagement are anticipated to occur in 2024.�

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Disaster and Climate Risk Reduction Strategy

Anticipating that the Strategy will aim to:

Integrate and build cohesion between disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate adaptation.
Establish a coordinated, multi-hazard governance framework.
Provide a strategic framework to coordinate climate and DRR work across government and among EDMA regulated entities through a shared vision, common goals and objectives.
Respond to and address priorities identified in the DCRRA and other sources (e.g., Abbott-Chapman Report, other strategic reviews, Expert Task Force on Emergency Management).

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Thank you