One of the Worst Natural Disasters in Canada
The drought of 2001 to 2002 (nicknamed Ada) can be considered one of the worst natural disasters in Canada. Consequently, the Ada drought offers a unique and timely opportunity for the purpose of this project which is to improve our understanding of current adaptation processes and options in Canadian agriculture, especially with regard to drought.
Drought Naming Tradition Begins
Large and intense droughts may be the most costly natural hazards in the world. One way to gain respect for droughts, and to give them more recognition is to name major droughts.
We call the 2001 and 2002 drought “Ada” in recognition of the acronym for this project, Agricultural Drought Adaptations (ADA). Also it uses the first letter of the alphabet for the first major drought in the 21st century.
The Project
The Agricultural Drought Adaptation (ADA) project is the first work to comprehensively assess the severity, area and duration of past droughts across Canada. It is also the first work to estimate the characteristics of future droughts across the entire country. It is also the first to extensively document and categorize current adaptations and the dynamics of adaptation to drought across Canada.
The ADA synthesis report and project reports are available upon request
Project Benefits
- Improve information to characterize the nature of droughts
- Aid in the development of actions to reduce vulnerability to droughts
- Building more effective adaptation
Highlights
- At several individual stations in the Prairie provinces, Ada was the worst drought during the period, 1915 to 2002.
- Ada was a rare cross-Canada extreme drought. In the 105 years analyzed, only the summer of 1914 had coincident droughts of the same magnitude in all areas as did 2001.
- Future droughts were projected to dramatically increase in both spatial extent and severity, if the effect of temperature is considered. Climate change scenarios indicate that the worst droughts on record, including the Ada drought, may be frequently exceeded in the future.
- Drought adaptation dynamics were found to have distinctive time and space patterns. In eastern Canada, the six most frequently mentioned adaptation options identified as being used during the Ada drought were: irrigation, crop insurance, water conservation and management, Ontario Low Water Response (OLWR)/Water Response Teams (WRT), the Net Income Stabilization Account (NISA) and the Canadian Farm Income Program (CFIP). A lack of awareness of programs to decrease vulnerability was indicated and stresses the need to increase awareness.
- In the Prairie Provinces, the most frequently mentioned adaptation options were those for crops and livestock, followed by water and economics; community support and technology may have much less emphasis than expected. Several negative drought impacts occurred, even with the application of adaptation.
- A monthly analysis of the numbers of articles shows that spring and late summer to early fall are peak times of adaptation concerns. This pattern likely corresponds to seeding and harvesting times for crops, for example.
- Adaptation is most effective if it is implemented properly, facilitated and has few barriers.
- Barriers to adaptation (to drought) in Canada were documented, including lack of knowledge of water supplies and water use. Barriers to dealing with droughts documented for the Prairie Provinces included lack of funds, lack of research, and difficulty in making changes. Provincial and national drought and integrated water management planning could be useful vehicles for reducing vulnerability to water scarcity.
- Even if adaptation is applied, it may not be effective.
- Most regions of Canada experienced the Ada drought, but coping ranges appear to have been exceeded in several cases.
- More attention needs to be paid to adaptation research, planning, capacity building and implementation processes.
Project Contacts
Elaine Wheaton, SRC
Email: wheaton@src.sk.ca
Virginia Wittrock, SRC
Email: wittrock@src.sk.ca
