REPORT | - SEPTEMBER 2020 - Territorial Analysis and Survey of Local Government Priorities

The Capital district at the southern tip of Vancouver Island is the largest district in the territory in terms of population and number of municipalities; it is also the seat of the provincial government. [...] The majority of the population 10 Territorial Analysis and Survey of Local Government Priorities for Climate Action: VICC centres in the region are in the middle and southern regions of Vancouver Island, forming a land- based network of urban agglomerations. [...] Human transformation of land uses has caused the fragmentation of habitats, the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of soil and water and has impacted the global carbon cycle.2 Health outcomes are linked to land use in a myriad of ways—from the health benefits of walkable communities to the impacts of greenspaces on mental health. [...] The availability of pack melt, regular precipitation, and the proximity to the ocean keep the relative humidity of VICC fairly high, which is fortunate in light of the increasing threat of wildfires to the province. [...] The VICC has an older age profile than that of the province as a whole: the average age of the population of the VICC region is above that of the provincial average (44.8 years of age versus 42.3 provincially).