The local north shore of Lake Erie is getting a financial boost to help strengthen its resilience.
The federal government has awarded the Pelee Coastal Resilience Committee $1 million to help its efforts in protecting communities from the worst economic and environmental impacts of climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events that come with it.
The funding aims to support coastal communities around the Great Lakes by completing climate change risk assessments and developing integrated adaptation plans and actions over the next three years in collaboration with regional stakeholders and Indigenous communities.
The Pelee Coastal Resilience Committee is developing a Climate Resilience and Adaptation Action Plan for the north shore of Lake Erie from Amherstburg in Essex County to Port Alma in Chatham-Kent.
The region is at risk from flooding, erosion, and loss of coastal wetlands and the committee will conduct a vulnerability assessment to future climate change impacts and co-develop integrated regional resilience plans and adaptation actions that are "equitable, sustainable and transformative", said Natural Resources Canada.
"As the Chair of the Pelee Coastal Resilience Committee, I would like to express our sincere gratitude for the funding. It has galvanized our local partners to work collaboratively with landowners and stakeholders to develop and implement climate change adaptation solutions to increase coastal resilience," said President of Zuzek Inc. Peter Zuzek.
The Pelee Coastal Resilience Committee was formed in the fall of 2023 with funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The Committee made a successful application to Natural Resources Canada’s Climate Resilience Coastal Communities Program to develop a Coastal Resilience Action Plan for the Pelee Coast.
Funds were also received from the County of Essex, local municipalities, and regional conservation authorities.
A virtual meeting will be held on February 12, 2025, from 6-8 p.m. to learn more about the decision-making tool developed for the project and the draft adaptation concepts and actions developed to date to increase coastal resilience.
Click here to register and a meeting invitation will be sent by email.
