Thursday, October 4, 2007
Four Points Sheraton, London, Ontario

The workshop presented the results of a very exciting and interesting research project that examines the effects of climate change on a broad array of water management issues, including both flood and drought frequency in the Upper Thames River basin. In addition, the workshop provided participants with an overview of local climate change mitigation and adaptation activities and opportunities.

The Research Project: Assessment of Water Resources Risk and Vulnerability to Changing Climatic Conditions

Researchers at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Waterloo (Simonovic) conducted a study in the Upper Thames basin, titled “Assessment of Water Resources Risk and Vulnerability to Changing Climatic Conditions.” This study uses the Upper Thames River basin to examine the effects of climate change on a broad array of water management issues, including effects on both flood and drought frequency. A novel approach is used that examines critical exposures first and proceeds to test how different climate change scenarios are likely to increase (or decrease) the frequency of these critical exposures (i.e. flooding and drought). Hydrologic and socio-economic models are coupled, to allow for testing of different water management policy decisions in order to examine potential outcomes under different climatic conditions. This study is in its final stages and ran from 2003 to 2007. The UTRCA participated directly in this study, which was funded by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences.

• Click HERE to see the Speaker Profiles.

• Click HERE to go to the Information Links.

Speakers & Presentations (pdf files of the original PowerPoint presentations)

Morning Sessions:

• Linda Mortsch - “Climate change: Moving beyond assessing impacts to facilitating adaptation" (PDF of presentation)

• Dr. Slobodan Simonovic - “Modelling impacts of climatic change on the watershed scale: Implications for management of the Upper Thames River Basin” (PDF of presentation)

• Karen Maaskant - “2007 Upper Thames River Watershed Report Cards: Turning Information into Action” (PDF of presentation)

Afternoon Session - Leaders of Change in Research

This detail-oriented session built on the morning presentations. Speakers provided information on the project components: weather generator, hydrological monitoring, and vulnerability mapping. Discussion groups worked on specific questions addressing the future use of research results.

• Dr. Slobodan Simonovic and Mark Helsten - Project objectives and UTRCA issues (PDF of presentation)

• Dr. Donald Burn - Weather generator tool and its use in the project (PDF of presentation)

• Dr. Simonivic and Predrag Prodanovic - Climate change impacts on flood flows and low flows in the upper Thames River basin and their use in the project (PDF of presentation)

• Predrag Prodanovic and Dr. Simonovic - Integrated water resources management model for the upper Thames River basin and its use in the project (PDF of presentation)

• Linda Mortsch and Andrea Hebb - Illustration of climate vulnerability analysis for London downtown area (PDF of presentation)

• Small group discussion session notes

Afternoon Session - Leaders of Change in the Community

This session provided an overview of community actions designed to adapt to or to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Speakers presented successful community-based projects from other areas.

• Deborah Martin-Downs - Leading the Way in the GTA – Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s Strategy and Model (PDF of presentation)

• Leslie Garrett - Author, "The Virtuous Consumer" (PDF about presenter)

• Jamie Skimming - Climate Change Initiatives at the City of London (PDF of presentation)

• Gabriella Kalapos - Supporting the implementation of local clean air and climate change actions (PDF of presentation)

Evening Presentation

• Dr. David Pearson - "No Going Back: The Science of a Warmer World" (PDF of presentation)

TOP