C-Change Working Paper: Mobilizing Local Knowledge to Bridge Information Gaps in Climate Change Adaptation Planning

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1 C-Change Working Paper: Mobilizing Local Knowledge to Bridge Information Gaps in Climate Change Adaptation Planning by Titus Tienaah MScE candidate, Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada Susan Elizabeth Nichols Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB, Canada Donald L. Forbes Senior Research Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada and Michael Sutherland Lecturer, Department of Geomatics Engineering and Land Management University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago C-Change Working Paper 2011 Published by the C-Change Secretariat (Canada) Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa C-Change ICURA Working Paper Series No. 35 This document is prepared as a public discussion document among C-Change communities as part of the C-Change ICURA Project ( and with the permission of the C-Change Secretariat (Canada). This paper has not been subjected to peer review or other review processes and does not necessarily represent the position of individual C-Change Community Partners or researchers. This work is presented to encourage debate and enhance awareness of environmental change among coastal communities in Canada and the Caribbean. C-Change Correspondence on this paper should be directed to the C-Change Secretariat, c/o C-Change Administrator, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, 55 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Ontario CANADA K1N 6N5 administrator@coastalchange.ca Telephone: +1 (613) x2933 C-Change Secretariat (Canada) C-Change Secretariat (Caribbean) Telfer School of Management, c/o Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of University of Ottawa Social & Economic Studies (SALISES) 55 Laurier Avenue East University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Ottawa ON K1N 6N5 Canada Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies Tel: (613) Post 2933 Telephone: (868) Administrator@coastalchange.ca Administrator1@coastalchange.uwi.edu

2 Abstract Over the last 10 years, Canada has helped to lead the way in terms of modeling sea level rise and storm surge threats for coastal communities. Coastal climate adaptation projects in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have benefitted from the use of high precision LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data to develop digital elevation models (DEMs) of the coast. Used with sea level data, ocean modeling, and coastal geomorphology, these DEMs provide a strong scientific base for visualizing the spatial extent of threats under various sealevel rise scenarios. The challenge for many communities is that they do not have a strong information base and may not be able to afford new data collection and processing technologies. Therefore part of the C-Change ICURA project is to design approaches for threat identification that can be applied in data-rich and data-poor settings. This paper addresses the need for flexible approaches for some Canadian and Caribbean communities and illustrates what can be accomplished using local knowledge to supplement science. A Coastal Collaborative GIS (CCGIS) has been developed, using best available data, open-source software and web imagery (Google/Bing) as base layers. CCGIS then allows participants to add spatial and non-spatial notations, as well as various multi-media, to track storm events and to identify threatened areas based on local knowledge. Keywords 2011 Page 2

3 C-Change Working Paper: Mobilizing Local Knowledge to Bridge Information Gaps in Climate Change Adaptation Planning 1. Introduction With climate change and its potential impacts in many coastal communities, the Atlantic region of Canada has been implementing projects to aid coastal adaptation. In 2002, a project was designed to determine the physical and socio-economic impacts of climate change and accelerated sea-level rise on the coast of Prince Edward Island (PEI) with possible adaptation plans [McCulloch et al., 2002]. Environment Canada [2006] undertook a three year study of the effect of sea-level rise and adaptation case studies along the north eastern coast of New Brunswick. In addition, LiDAR 1 flood risk mapping was carried out for parts of Nova Scotia [Webster and Forbes, 2005; Webster, 2010]. These examples depended on precise data using LiDAR to provide a scientific extent of coastal phenomena such as erosion, flooding, habitat at risk, water pollution etc. C-Change is an International Community-University Research Alliance (ICURA) project in a collaborative process of developing adaptation strategies with four Canadian (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Gibsons, British Columbia; Isle Madame, Nova Scotia; and Iqaluit, Nunavut) and four Caribbean (Georgetown, Guyana; Grand Riviere, Trinidad and Tobago; Belize Barrier Reef, Belize; and Island of Bequia, Grenadines) communities. The challenge for most local communities is the lack of high precision (vertical elevation) data for threat identification (such as LiDAR). This paper focuses on how local knowledge can help to meet the needs of vulnerable communities with varied data resources. 2. Local Knowledge Model The participation of local people in projects with geographic context usually involves the use of maps, physical models, forums, and interviews to exchange implicit or explicit spatial knowledge. In many sea level rise adaptation projects, relatively precise (±30cm in vertical uncertainty) scientific maps and scenarios have been used to identify and predict threats for public engagement in discussion forums. The use of scientific data such as LiDAR is to define a coastal topographic surface at which different water levels will intersect this surface. By delineating the intersection of water levels and the coastal topography, it is possible to extract these regions as flood zones. To precisely identify flood zones, it is important to utilise vertical spatial information that have uncertainties better than change in water level, if not, flood zones generated may under or over capture vulnerable zones leading to unrealistic scenarios. An unrealistic coastal vulnerability extent will eventually lead to poor design and development of adaption to coastal threats. This crucial spatial requirement is not usually met in many coastal communities: developing and developed countries [Titus, 2001]. It is therefore important to use the local knowledge of coastal stakeholders observing these threats in their own communities to supplement spatial data with 1 An optical remote sensing technology that detects and locates objects using light from a laser Page 3

4 poor vertical uncertainties or in places where data is completely unavailable. The anthropologist Clifford Geertz, defines local knowledge as practical, collective and strongly rooted in a particular place that forms an organized body of thought based on immediacy of experience [Geertz 1973; Geertz 1983; Corburn 2005]. Knowledge acquired through the scientific process is also local and geographic in context. However, scientific knowledge has the ability to move and apply the knowledge it produces beyond the site of its production (local environment) [Turnbull, 2000]. A conceptual model of local knowledge acquisition to support the design and implementation of coastal adaptation planning is described in Figure 1. Figure 1: Local Knowledge in a Coastal Adaptation Process. The authors of this paper agree adaptation planning is more than selecting a technical or simple policy option; it is a complex iterative process and requires engagement of stakeholders [Forbes, 2007]. Stakeholders usually sense spatial phenomena in the form of landmarks, roads, paths, coastlines, regions, spaces, or areas. Experiences and observations lead to the development of mental models that exist in the minds of people. Abstractions of these mental models are quantified or mapped to represent coastal events and their extents. These spatial objects describe real world features such as a point to represent a spatial location or landmark, a line to describe a linear feature, and a polygon to quantify an area. Abstraction leads to simplification of the 2011 Page 4

5 knowledge recorded which is good for easy graphical representation but comes with loss of detail, expression, and values. To make up for the loss, this research includes rich attribute information (multimedia: pictures, video, audio and text) as metadata to describe the spatial geometric objects. This collaborative process of geo-referenced data collection, storage, processing, retrieval and visualisation for various spatial planning activities is part of a community based collaborative or participatory geographic information system. 3. Coastal Collaborative GIS (CCGIS) Different effects of sea level rise demand an information system that can address local needs in different community settings. A software interface for flood risk mapping may have overlapping and different functions from that designed for habitat risk mapping. Communities involved in the C-Change project have overlapping and different threats of which adaption is required in each local setting. This research designed a system to meet these varied needs using the Zend Model View Controller (MVC) software architecture pattern. The MVC approach keeps the application component of the software independent from the user interface [Jézéquel et al., 1999]. MVC, as the name suggests, consists of three components: Model - data acquired from community participation, View interactive or user interface, and Controller the component that communicates between the View and Model. This approach separates the user input, modelling of the external world, and visual feedback to the user [Helman, 1998; Singh et al., 2002]. To improve usability in any coastal community, the user interface was developed using OpenLayers (mapping application programming interface) and ExtJS (JavaScript graphics library), Google and Bing Maps (public familiar mapping tools). Other scientific layers are added using Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) services provided via OpenLayers. 4. Knowledge Mobilization Knowledge is collected for the system using a user-friendly map interface. With Google and Bing Maps as base layers, users can spatially identify features in their local community thereby providing a good base through which a mental model or experience can be digitized. A user friendly interface of the CCGIS makes digitizing of points, lines and polygons very simple. Data drawn on the map can be described with text, pictures, video, and audio. Sample spatial object description is as shown in Figure Page 5

6 Figure 2: Meta Data Description Local knowledge digitized is stored in a lightweight (small size) human readable spatial format (GeoJSON). This improves data transfer and interactivity between the user interface and web or spatial server. Spatial inputs are further moderated by a system administrator and peer review process as shown in Figure 3. Figure 3: Data Flow and Validation Process (Registered Users) 5. Results and Discussion The CCGIS has been tested for functional usability by the C-Change research team and other research associates. Preliminary results show that the system is user-friendly and can be used to capture local community input as local knowledge. For maximum benefit to cost ratio in terms of time and effort invested in testing, some authors suggest five to eight participants [Hwang and Salvendy, 2010; Zhao, 2007; Nielsen, 2000]. An initial usability test on the CCGIS was reviewed 2011 Page 6

7 by seventeen (17) users. Results from Table 1 show a rough preliminary functional ease of use. Table 1: Usability Test Results er ID Description Forum Geolocation Line Multimedia Point Polygon Yes Yes_With_D ifficulty No Functionality wise, improvement is required in the Geolocation and Multimedia implementation. Geolocation performed poorly with more No than Yes. Also, the multimedia review showed that: of those able to use the functionality of the system, approximately half were able to use it with difficulty or could not use it at all. However, other functionalities tested showed higher Yes compared to Yes_with_Difficulty and No. Functional support for geo-location and mobile devices such as smart phones are on-going to widen the scope of stakeholder participation in a coastal adaption process. One of the weaknesses of the CCGIS approach is the dependence on computer and spatial literacy. This can be partially overcome by using facilitators to input data for community participants. 6. Conclusion A unique advantage of the CCGIS over other participatory systems is the use of public, familiar, free, and open source tools. The combination of these tools through the Zend MVC architectural pattern allows for flexibility in client interface design for different purposes (flood mapping, habitat protection, erosion, pollution etc.) whiles keeping the backend components intact. This approach separates data, application, and rendering logic such that each component can be modified independently. The MVC design pattern is important to address different community needs as coastal threats and issues change over time. Each C-Change community can therefore rollout the system to suit their needs while overlaying the best available scientific data with local knowledge serving as a supplement in communities where scientific data fall short Page 7

8 References Corburn, J. (2005). Street Science : Community Knowledge and Environmental Health Justice. Cambridge, MA, USA, MIT Press. Environment Canada (2006). Impacts of Sea Level Rise and Climate Change on the Coastal Zone of South-eastern New Brunswick. [On-line] 14 April F97422FC1B Forbes D.L. (2007). Stormy Waters and Rising Seas: Climate-Change Impacts on Canadian Coasts. NRCAN Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation: Speaker Series Archive [On-line], 14, April, Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures, New York: Basic Books. Geertz, C. (1983). Local knowledge: Further essays in interpretive anthropology, New York: Basic Books. Helman D. (1998). Model-View-Controller. OOTips.org [On-line] 3 June Hwang, W. and G. Salvendy (2010). Number of people required for usability evaluation: the The 10±2 Rule rule. Communications of the ACM. Vol.53, No.5, pp Jézéquel, J., M. Train, and C. Mingins (1999). Design Patterns and Contracts, Addison- Wesley. McCulloch, M. M., D. L. Forbes, and R. D Shaw (2002). Coastal Impacts of Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise on Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 4261, pp.5. Nielsen J. (2000). "Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users." useit.com, [On-line] 8 February Singh, I., B. Stearns, and M. Johnson (2002). Designing Enterprise Applications with the J2EETM Platform. Sun Microsystems, Inc. Titus, J. G. and C. Richman (2001). Maps of lands vulnerable to sea level rise: modeled elevations along the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Climate Research. Vol. 18, No. 3, pp Turnbull, D. (2000). Masons, Tricksters and Cartographers: Makers of Knowledge and Space, Florence, KY, USA: Gordon and Breach Publishing Group. Webster T.L. and D. L. Forbes (2005). Using Airborne LiDAR to Map Exposure of Coastal Areas in Maritime Canada to Flooding From Storm-Surge Events: A of Recent Experience. Canadian Coastal Conference 2005, [On-line] 2011 Page 8

9 Webster T.L. (2010). Flood Risk Mapping Using LiDAR for Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada. Remote Sensing, Vol.2, Issue: Zhao, J. (2007). An Empirical Usability Evaluation of a Web-based Public Participation Geographic Information System and Discussion Forum. M.Sc.E. thesis, Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, Technical Report No. 250, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, 155 pp Page 9