Climate Change and Health & Well-Being: A Policy Primer for Canada's North

Managing the Risks to Human Health and Well-being from Climate Change in Canada's North

People living in Canada's North are very active in efforts to build strong and vibrant communities and improve the general health status of all who live in this region.¹¹ Adaptation to the health effects of climate change and variability involves the management of a number of risks to health and well-being. Of particular importance for decision makers is the identification of how vulnerable specific communities and regions of Canada are to the possible effects of climate change. This depends on a number of moderating factors such as population density, level of social, economic and technological development, local environmental conditions, knowledge of, and relationship to the surrounding environment, pre-existing health status (including nutritional status and lifestyle habits), the quality and availability of health care services and public health infrastructure.¹²

Adaptation efforts, which refer to public health actions, measures, strategies and policies that offset or reduce the effects of climate change and variability on human health and well-being, will need to respond to both positive impacts (e.g., greater shipping access, increased hunting season) and negative impacts (e.g., change in ice distribution and stability which will have impacts on wildlife and human travel). The adaptive capacity of communities to minimize the negative impacts and take advantage of the opportunities will be critical in the future.¹³ Adaptive capacity refers to the ability to prepare for hazards and opportunities in advance and to respond or cope with the effects.¹⁴ In Canada's North there is some variation among communities with regard to their capacity to adapt to the health impacts of climate change. However, some funding programs currently exist (see Annex 1) to alleviate some of the cost pressures related to adaptation measures. Also, many of the needed adaptive policies are "no-regrets" actions or those that would benefit northern communities for a variety of reasons and not just because they respond to the effects of climate change (e.g., strengthened public health infrastructure).

Both government and non-governmental groups in Canada's North should begin integrating such considerations into public health promotion and protection activities through adaptation initiatives because of the following considerations:¹⁵

• Climate change cannot be totally avoided.
• Anticipatory and precautionary public health adaptation is more effective and less costly than forced, last-minute, emergency adaptation or retrofitting.
• Climate change may be more rapid and more pronounced than current estimates suggest. More unexpected events that could have serious health and well-being impacts are possible.
• Immediate public health benefits can be gained from better adaptation to climate variability and extreme weather events.
• Climate change brings public health opportunities as well as threats. Future benefits can result from climate change if planning begins now.

Annex 2 provides examples of adaptation strategies that northern communities might explore to reduce the risks to human health and well-being from climate change.

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