To help strengthen resilience against climate-related hazards, the Province is providing funding to the Fraser-Fort George Regional District and the Peace River Regional District for a pair of community projects.

“British Columbians are concerned about the increasing effects of climate change and the emergencies we’re already experiencing – like drought, flooding, extreme heat and wildfires,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. “By funding local, on-the-ground projects, our government is helping First Nations and local governments protect their communities and keep people safer from future emergencies.”

The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George will receive $1,049,875 for a regional project to identify and assess flood and landslide risk and hazards across all four municipalities, seven electoral areas and two First Nations in the region. Communities will strengthen long-term efforts to reduce the risk of disasters by understanding the existing vulnerabilities and developing a framework for future decision-making.

“The review will provide the regional district and its partners with a better understanding of the natural hazards in the region and what, if anything, can be done to mitigate those risks and better support emergency event response,” said Lara Beckett, chair, Regional District of Fraser-Fort George. “It will also provide more information when considering land-use planning, building inspection, emergency management and climate-change policy.”

Peace River Regional District (PRRD) will receive $80,000 for an in-depth workshop for elected officials and senior staff on geohazards throughout the region. In recent years, PRRD has experienced several geohazard-related emergencies, including landslides and flooding. The workshop will teach the importance of geohazard risk identification and risk reduction, so PRRD leaders are in a better position to make decisions that will reduce the impact of geohazards in a changing climate.

“Members of the Peace River Regional District board are looking forward to the geohazards workshop, so they can fully understand why identifying and mitigating geohazards is important,” said Leonard Hiebert, chair, Peace River Regional District. “Armed with this information, the regional district board will be better positioned to make important land-use decisions facing the PRRD, and to prepare more comprehensive and responsive emergency and disaster management plans in the region as well.”

The Province is providing a total of approximately $5 million to several communities through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) under the Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Adaptation stream. These investments also support the Province’s Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy, which outlines a broad range of actions until 2025 to address adverse climate effects and build resilience throughout B.C.

In February 2023, the Province provided $180 million to CEPF, bringing the total provincial investment in the program to $369 million since its establishment in 2017. More than $165 million has been provided to First Nations and local governments through CEPF for approximately 1,600 projects that help communities prepare for disasters and climate-related emergencies. The CEPF is administered by the Union of BC Municipalities on behalf of the Province.

In response to the growing number of climate-related emergencies in B.C., the Province also launched ClimateReadyBC, which provides mapping tools, risk data and resources to help communities better prepare and reduce the risk from disasters and climate emergencies.

Intake for the current Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Adaptation stream will be open until March 28, 2024.

Learn More:

For information about the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, visit: https://www.ubcm.ca/cepf

For information about disaster and climate-risk reduction, visit ClimateReadyBC: https://www.ClimateReadyBC.ca

To learn about the Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy, visit: http://www.gov.bc.ca/BC-Adapts