Our Changing Coast

Share Our Changing Coast on Facebook Share Our Changing Coast on Twitter Share Our Changing Coast on Linkedin Email Our Changing Coast link

Project Background

The Regional District of Nanaimo's (RDN) coastal areas are home to many residents, essential services like roads and utilities, diverse and sensitive ecosystems, and some of our most scenic landscapes. However, these areas are also potentially vulnerable to coastal hazards like flooding, erosion, and storm events impacting public and private lands.

In the RDN, coastal hazards like flooding, erosion, and storm events can damage homes and infrastructure, cause road closures, wash away agricultural land, disrupt supply chains, and impact our environment. These coastal risks affect our safety, economy, and quality of life--and are increasing, impacting many people living and working in our region.

To help address these challenges and build resilience to coastal risks, the RDN has initiated a four-year program called Our Changing Coast. This will involve technical work, engagement, and partnership building, with the end goal of creating a Coastal Climate Adaptation Strategy for our region.

Our Changing Coast Objectives

  • Improve our understanding of coastal risks from sea level rise, flooding, and erosion to our area and how they may evolve under climate change.

  • Identify the best ways our region can prepare for and respond to these changing risks.

  • Build sound collaboration to tackle these shared challenges

Understanding Coastal Risks

Coastal risks are created when coastal hazards such as flooding and erosion affect people, property, buildings, sensitive habitats, cultural sites, infrastructure, or other valued things. Risks can vary from place to place, even along the same coastline. We also expect that risks will change over time, through sea level rise and more intense storm effects under climate change. By understanding where risk is present, and how it might change over time, we can start to plan proactively on how to prepare and respond. This will help us make better decisions about where to build and what to do to protect our communities and our environment.

One of the most important places to start is to understand how people living in the RDN are experiencing coastal risks, what they value and want to protect along our coastlines, and any questions they might have on the topic. As an initial first step, we conducted a Coastal Risk Survey in the fall of 2024 for residents to share their experiences and help us better understand their perceptions, concerns and questions related to coastal risk in the RDN. The results will help us develop a communications and engagement approach that supports continued conversations about coastal risks in our area and helps us connect residents with the information they have told us they would like to have.

Study Area for Coastal Risk and Erosion Assessment

Although Our Changing Coast includes the entire RDN, the study area for the Coastal Flood Risk and Erosion Assessments encompasses all the RDN, except for the City of Nanaimo and Snuneymuxw First Nation Reserve lands, which are being assessed through a separate process.

Want to stay informed and learn more?

  • Subscribe through the Stay Informed tab to receive direct email updates
  • Visit the Document Library to learn more about the project.
  • See our FAQs or What's New tab to better understand this project.
  • Register to submit a comment form or ask questions.
  • Ask a question in the Q&A tab and we will respond
  • Connect with our Team under Who's Listening
  • Share this page and spread the word!
We thank you for your interest and participation.


Project Background

The Regional District of Nanaimo's (RDN) coastal areas are home to many residents, essential services like roads and utilities, diverse and sensitive ecosystems, and some of our most scenic landscapes. However, these areas are also potentially vulnerable to coastal hazards like flooding, erosion, and storm events impacting public and private lands.

In the RDN, coastal hazards like flooding, erosion, and storm events can damage homes and infrastructure, cause road closures, wash away agricultural land, disrupt supply chains, and impact our environment. These coastal risks affect our safety, economy, and quality of life--and are increasing, impacting many people living and working in our region.

To help address these challenges and build resilience to coastal risks, the RDN has initiated a four-year program called Our Changing Coast. This will involve technical work, engagement, and partnership building, with the end goal of creating a Coastal Climate Adaptation Strategy for our region.

Our Changing Coast Objectives

  • Improve our understanding of coastal risks from sea level rise, flooding, and erosion to our area and how they may evolve under climate change.

  • Identify the best ways our region can prepare for and respond to these changing risks.

  • Build sound collaboration to tackle these shared challenges

Understanding Coastal Risks

Coastal risks are created when coastal hazards such as flooding and erosion affect people, property, buildings, sensitive habitats, cultural sites, infrastructure, or other valued things. Risks can vary from place to place, even along the same coastline. We also expect that risks will change over time, through sea level rise and more intense storm effects under climate change. By understanding where risk is present, and how it might change over time, we can start to plan proactively on how to prepare and respond. This will help us make better decisions about where to build and what to do to protect our communities and our environment.

One of the most important places to start is to understand how people living in the RDN are experiencing coastal risks, what they value and want to protect along our coastlines, and any questions they might have on the topic. As an initial first step, we conducted a Coastal Risk Survey in the fall of 2024 for residents to share their experiences and help us better understand their perceptions, concerns and questions related to coastal risk in the RDN. The results will help us develop a communications and engagement approach that supports continued conversations about coastal risks in our area and helps us connect residents with the information they have told us they would like to have.

Study Area for Coastal Risk and Erosion Assessment

Although Our Changing Coast includes the entire RDN, the study area for the Coastal Flood Risk and Erosion Assessments encompasses all the RDN, except for the City of Nanaimo and Snuneymuxw First Nation Reserve lands, which are being assessed through a separate process.

Want to stay informed and learn more?

  • Subscribe through the Stay Informed tab to receive direct email updates
  • Visit the Document Library to learn more about the project.
  • See our FAQs or What's New tab to better understand this project.
  • Register to submit a comment form or ask questions.
  • Ask a question in the Q&A tab and we will respond
  • Connect with our Team under Who's Listening
  • Share this page and spread the word!
We thank you for your interest and participation.


  • Understanding Coastal Risks Technical Work

    Share Understanding Coastal Risks Technical Work on Facebook Share Understanding Coastal Risks Technical Work on Twitter Share Understanding Coastal Risks Technical Work on Linkedin Email Understanding Coastal Risks Technical Work link

    The Our Changing Coast initiative will also help improve our understanding of coastal risk through two technical studies:

    A Coastal Flood Risk Assessment will help us better understand where areas important to the community (e.g., infrastructure, homes, essential services, parks, etc.) have the highest exposure to coastal hazards, and how this may evolve with climate change. Part of this work involves taking time to hear from our community members and understand what is important to them.

    An Erosion Hazard Assessment will help us understand where the shoreline is increasing or decreasing, and by how much.

    Together, this technical work will help us identify risk hot spots, understand what is at risk in those areas, and give us some of the information needed to figure out how best to prepare and respond.

    Understanding how to prepare and respond

    Impacts of climate change on coastlines can occur quickly through intense storm and erosion events, and more slowly through sea level rise that happens over decades. In coastal areas, solutions are often expensive, involve more than one jurisdiction and can have unexpected impacts on other values, like fish and shoreline habitats. The results of this information coupled with sound collaboration and engagement will inform the co-development of a Coastal Climate Adaptation Strategy for the region at the end of the four-year program.

    The strategy would include the development of effective and coordinated actions, and the long-term relationships needed for sustained action. The strategy creation and implementation would be guided by a range of interest holders including First Nations, local governments, supporting agencies and interest groups, shoreline property owners, businesses, and community members to prepare for coastal climate change impacts.

  • Addressing Coastal Climate Adaptation Together

    Share Addressing Coastal Climate Adaptation Together on Facebook Share Addressing Coastal Climate Adaptation Together on Twitter Share Addressing Coastal Climate Adaptation Together on Linkedin Email Addressing Coastal Climate Adaptation Together link

    Addressing the complexities of a changing climate along our coastline requires collaboration across geographies, jurisdictions and scales. It requires the contribution of interdisciplinary knowledge and approaches to address multiple needs and issues within our region. To do so effectively and meaningfully, this work must consider the range of values and perspectives in our region.

    The impacts of climate change are not felt equally. This work will create intentional opportunities for inclusive and accessible participation and ensure the equitable distribution of climate adaptation efforts while considering ways to balance individual and community needs and values within our region.

  • Where We Are in the Process

    Share Where We Are in the Process on Facebook Share Where We Are in the Process on Twitter Share Where We Are in the Process on Linkedin Email Where We Are in the Process link

    Timeline

    Planning for our coastal future is underway. The timeline below illustrates how far along we are in the engagement and technical and planning work. Both the technical work and engagement processes will continue simultaneously to address the challenges we face along our coast related to climate change.

  • Our Changing Coast Survey Results

    Share Our Changing Coast Survey Results on Facebook Share Our Changing Coast Survey Results on Twitter Share Our Changing Coast Survey Results on Linkedin Email Our Changing Coast Survey Results link

    Coastal Risk Survey Highlights

    • 86.6% of survey participants identified ways in which they have experienced impacts, direct or indirect, from coastal hazards.
    • 50.9% of survey participants believe that they may be at risk from coastal flooding, erosion, or sea level rise.
    • 54.3% of survey participants indicated a high or moderately high concern that coastal flooding, sea level rise and erosion might impact their area or property.

    For the complete summary of What We Heard, view the Coastal Risk Survey Engagement Summary Report here.

    The conversations about Our Changing Coast have only just begun. There will be more opportunities to share your experiences, ideas and points of view as this work progresses.

    To be kept up to date on the progress of the Our Changing Coast initiative through direct email, you can subscribe by clicking the Stay Informed tab.

  • Coastal Risk Survey Results

    Share Coastal Risk Survey Results on Facebook Share Coastal Risk Survey Results on Twitter Share Coastal Risk Survey Results on Linkedin Email Coastal Risk Survey Results link

    Thank you all who shared their thoughts by completing our Coastal Risk survey. See our What We Heard Engagement Summary to learn about what we heard and next steps in Our Changing Coast initiative. Be sure to subscribe if you haven't yet to receive updates as we move forward.

Page last updated: 18 Sep 2025, 10:45 AM