About – First Nation Adapt Program
Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) provides funding to First Nation communities located below the 60th parallel to assess and respond to climate change impacts on community infrastructure and emergency management.
The program works with First Nation communities to identify region-specific priorities, impacts, and opportunities for climate change projects. The program prioritizes First Nation communities most impacted by climate change related to sea level rise, flooding, forest fires, drought, fisheries and winter road failures. These disruptive and costly impacts present significant challenges to meeting First Nation communities’ infrastructure needs.
The program provides support for communities to address one or more of the following types of projects:
- risk assessments of climate change impacts on community infrastructure or emergency management
- development and assessment of adaptation options
- cost benefit analysis of adaptation options
The additional funding from Budget 2017 will support climate impact assessments and adaptation planning efforts in communities at significant risk of flooding. The program will work closely with communities to integrate the best scientific and Indigenous Knowledge on climate indicators, flooding exposure and future climate projections.
The floodplain mapping portion of the program provides support for communities to:
- participate in regional watershed management processes
- collect and share regional watershed data
- develop floodplain maps on a smaller scale in order to identify flood risks to local infrastructure
- develop best practices, tools and adaptation options for flood management
