Unlocking Community Adaptive Capacity: - Navigating Systemic Barriers, Drivers and Enablers in Climate Adaptation

Unlocking Community Adaptive Capacity Foreword The purpose of this study was to explore the systemic barriers, drivers, and enablers to increase the adaptive capacity of com- munities in the face of climate change. [...] Therefore, for the duration of the fellowship my group has been researching the question, “How might we identify and address the systemic barriers, drivers, and enablers to increase the adaptive capacity of communities in the face of climate change?” Climate Change Climate change refers to the long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns on a local, regional and global scale. [...] By protecting the environment and becoming stewards of the land, communities are able to have greater knowledge of how the environment changes during climatic events, and as a result, they are able to adapt with the changes. [...] Since the flood of 2013, the City of Calgary and the Government of Alberta invested one hundred and fifty million dollars in flood mitigation and resilience programs, to help avoid similar disasters in the future (City of Calgary, n.d.). [...] However, in order to successfully implement these solutions in the existing system, society needs to begin to understand the importance of the environment and the need to prioritize their relationship with nature.