Coastal and Water Issues Committee Projects

Coastal Work 

Our 13 000 km coastline is Nova Scotia’s most priceless asset.  Our culture, economy, and environmental well-being are closely linked to healthy, productive coastal ecosystems and habitats.   The EAC seeks long term and protection and management for Nova Scotia’s coast.

• We are a key member of the Coastal Coalition of Nova Scotia – a vibrant coalition of like-minded members.
• We support local efforts to stop loss and destruction of coastal ecosystems and habitat.
• We trying to establish demonstration projects to manage erosion and restore damaged ecosystems to sow that change is possible.
• We work with municipalities and other institutions or organizations trying to improve coastal planning and stewardship. 
• Ultimately, we think the strongest source of long term protection for our coast is through consistent, province-wide regulations about which activities are appropriate and which are not in the coastal zone.   We champion the creation and implementation of a Coastal Act to outline easy-to-understand, comprehensive, fair, and defensible coastal management measures.  

More info...

Living Shorelines

The Living Shorelines project supports Nova Scotia coastal property owners, contractors, developers and planners in developing a better understanding of living with natural coastal systems. Soft methods of coastal management promote natural coastal processes, such as improving water quality, allowing for natural sediment transport and enhancing coastal and marine habitat. Through the development of demonstration sites, case studies, presentations and public outreach we will encourage stakeholders to adopt a Living Shorelines approach to shorelines and forego hard structures such as seawalls. More info...

Climate Change Adaptation  

The EAC thinks adapting to climate change will be one of the greatest challenges to face Nova Scotia’s coastal communities over the coming decades.   Climate change adaptation is about anticipating the risks of cumulative change like rising sea levels and extreme events like storm surges and making plans and changing practices so we can adapt to new circumstances.   Adaptation may have associated costs, like potentially relocating wharves and infrastructure, but it will also save money and create new opportunities. 

The EAC has a climate change adaptation project in Cheticamp.   We are focusing on how climate change will impact fisheries and tourism in coastal communities.    The project is identifying potential barriers to competitiveness, as well as any opportunities related to climate change.  At the end of the project,  we will have developed  tool kits for fisheries and tourism sector to help these sectors come up with adaptation strategies.  The tool kits  and everything else we learn, will be shared with other communities through the fishing and tourism associations.  You can learn more about our project activities, and  download copies of our reports and fact sheet at  www.cccheticamp.ca 

Fresh Water Policy

Nova Scotia needs to strengthen water policy and legislation in order to better protect and preserve our freshwater ecosystems.  We work with community-based watershed groups, academics, and First Nations to encourage decision-makers to consider all land-use practices that impact water quantity and quality within the watershed.   We strive to highlight the importance of water for our economy, our health and well-being and the health of our ecosystems including the species that rely on them.  Important tools of our water policy work include the Water Caucus of the Nova Scotia Environmental Network, Turn on the Taps and Ditch the Bottle coalition and Atlantic Regional Collaboration. More info...

On Solid Ground

Mines and quarries are large industrial projects that can have severe and long-term environmental impacts. Because they involve the extraction of non-renewable resources, extra care must be taken that we steward these resources responsibly, ensuring we minimize impacts and maximize benefits.  With the opening of the Mineral Resources Act in 2013, we want to use this as an opportunity to inject more progressive and more sustainable policies that will protect water and other natural resources during future mining and quarry operations.  More info...

Groundswell

How healthy is our groundwater?  The Groundswell Project will help us find out!  With new connections to community groups, government and existing monitor networks, this community-based monitoring program will provide groundwater information to communities, environmental organizations, planners, consultants, and anyone else interested in watershed management.  Monitoring is expected to begin in the spring, with local-scale groundwater data available online shortly after!   More info on Groundswell.

Stormwater Management

This exciting new project will help improve stormwater management in urban areas around Nova Scotia! In the summer of 2012, the EAC, in partnership with HRM, Halifax Water and Insurance Bureau of Canada, will be creating the first stormwater management demonstration site in Nova Scotia.  We will be retrofitting an existing HRM building with a range of urban Best Management Practices (BMPs) to increase on-site retention of stormwater runoff and reduce infrastructure damage and flooding. More info...

Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)

The Ecology Action Centre is very concerned about shale gas developments and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Nova Scotia. Several committees at the EAC are actively involved in this issue. More info...

Bird Conservation

The EAC has turned its attention to birds because, like so much on this planet, birds are in trouble. Birds are very sensitive to climate change, habitat loss, and poisoning from pesticides and other toxins, so they are excellent indicators for the general health of the planet.  We have developed several projects to help birds directly and to raise awareness about their plight. More info.

---