Lessons from Canada: Community Involvement in Coastal Restoration

The climate and ecology of Canada's Maritimes and coastal Nicaragua are very different, but just like in New Brunswick, Nicaragua's "coastal areas support economic, cultural, and recreational activities, as well as a diversity of flora and fauna." For these reasons, and more, the findings in this paper from CAKE (Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange) are relevant to us:

Examining Community Adaptive Capacity to Address Climate Change, Sea Level Rise, and Salt Marsh Restoration in Maritime Canada

Like the authors of this study, we are interested in exploring "the potential for humans to adapt and use technology to overcome economic [and environmental] damage" in the face of climate change. Also like the authors, we think that important steps in any restoration project include local data collection, risk assessment, interviewing for stakeholder opinions, mapping physical characteristics, local training, and conducting community workshops.

Our Coastal-Marine Research Project includes many of the same strategies and methods as this study, and we are pleased to be able to compare notes with and learn lessons from our fellow conservation scientists in Canada. Our experience lends support to the authors' conclusion that successful adaptation to climate change is a holistic approach based on the relative strength of social and economic systems, the health of the local environment, and the reach of a local information network.