Adaptation Custom Guides

Below is a list of the many different published guides intended to help users through the process of conducting an impact assessment, an adaptation assessment or both.  The guides are organized according to their target audience, subject matter and/or their adaptation approach.  This is by no means a complete list of all guidebooks on climate adaptation.  We encourage you, the user, to contact us about other guides that you find useful and would like profiled.

Adaptation Assessment

• United Nations Development Programme Adaptation Policy Frameworks (APF) for Climate Change APF is a comprehensive, structured approach to adaptation planning and actions for projects of any population scale, from a village to the national level (United Nations Development Programme).

Business Assessments

• BACLIAT (Business Areas Climate Impacts Assessment Tool).  Helps users explore the implications of climate change for their business or sector (UK Climate Impacts Programme).

• CLARA (Climate Adaptation Resource for Advisors). Is aimed at helping business advisors to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in understanding and preparing for the impacts of climate change (UK Climate Impacts Programme).

Coastal Assessments

Community Assessments

• Adapting to Climate Change: A Risk Based Guide for Local Governments  Helps identify and analyze climate change risks and communicate them to the public Enterprises International)

• Changing Climate, Changing Communities: Guide for Municipal Climate Adaptation  Assists local governments in creating an adaptation plan to address climate change impacts on their communities (ICLEI-Canada).

• Canadian Communities’ Guidebook for Adaptation to Climate Change Guides you through a decision-process that combines sustainable development, adaptation and mitigation (Environment Canada).

• LCLIP (Local Climate Impacts Profile)  Is a resource that local authorities can compile so that they better understand their exposure to weather and climate (UK Climate Impacts Programme).

Environmental Assessments

• Guide to Considering Climate Change in Environmental Assessment in Nova Scotia  This guide offers step-by-step advice on how to incorporate climate change into your project EA (Nova Scotia Environment).

• Incorporating Climate Change Considerations in Environmental Assessment: General Guidance for Practitioners  This document provides general guidance on how to incorporate climate change into project EAs (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency).

• Addressing Climate Change Uncertainties in Project Environmental Assessments  Provides guidance on how to manage uncertainties in project assessments (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency).

Developers Assessments

• Guide to Considering Climate Change in Project Development in Nova Scotia  Provides step-by-step technical advice on how to incorporate climate change into your project design and operations plan (Nova Scotia Environment).

• Climate Change Developers Risk Management Guide  Helps developers to design for climate extremes and variability (Climate SMART: Halifax Regional Municipality).

Infrastructure Assessments

• Adapting Your Infrastructure To Climate Change.  This course offers a roadmap of available tools and techniques that support vulnerability assessment, risk evaluation and response planning. (Canadian Standards Association).

• Infrastructure Climate Risk Protocol.  Guides designers, owners and operators through an assessment of the impact of climate change on infrastructure to help include adaptation in its design, management, and decommissioning (PIEVC).

Resilience Assessments

• Assessing Resilience in Socio-Ecological Systems: Workbook for Practioners.  A workbook using strategic questions and activities to help you construct a model of a social-ecological system (Resilience Alliance).

Risk-based Assessments

• Risk Management - Principles and Guidelines.  Guidelines on risk management for use by any organization or individual (Canadian Standards Association).

• Risk Framework Is a step-by-step decision-making framework to help you judge the significance of your climate change risk compared to the other risks you face, so you can work out what adaptation measures are most appropriate (UK Climate Impacts Programme).

• Adaptation Wizard Is a risk-based impact and adpatation assessment framework.  It determines your vulnerability to climate change, identifies your key climate risks, and helps you to develop a climate change adaptation strategy (UK Climate Impacts Program).

• AdOpt Gives guidance that explores the nature of adaptation in the context of climate risk (UK Climate Impacts Program).