Economic Assessment and Decision-Making for Community-Led Managed Retreat in British Columbia

After years of extensive research and analysis, the 43-page report on community-led managed retreat has been published, With this work, authors Ben Cross, Brent Doberstein and Vaness Lueck have brought forth an important summary of benefits and challenges, and case studies relating to this often misunderstood risk reduction strategy. Examples of climate catastrophe in Grand Forks, Merritt, Sumas Prairie, Calgary, and High River, are analyzed within the context of organizational intervention and community response.

“The assessment and decision-making processes for Managed Retreat should be designed for the specific context and nature of the decisions being made. For example, these processes may be very different for [1] a community deciding whether to proceed with retreat, [2] a municipal government selecting amongst multiple flood risk reduction options, [3] a higher level government deciding if retreat is best for society as a whole, or [4] when fulfilling the requirements of a flood risk reduction funding application. An assessment meant for one decision may be inappropriate for another context, even for the same retreat project.”

The full report goes through the background of managed retreat as an adaptation, assessment tools for managed retreat, the case studies, key principles, and a proposed framework for managed retreat assessment and decision-making. In the appendix there are additional guidelines, planning tools, case study details, valuation techniques, and a summary brochure.

Go to Resources to download the report for free.