The Regional District of Nanaimo’s coastal areas are home to many residents, important services like roads and utilities, diverse and sensitive ecosystems, rich agricultural lands and some of our most scenic landscapes.
These areas are also the most vulnerable to coastal hazards such as flooding, erosion and storm events. These coastal risks can contribute to environmental and structural impacts like landslides, infrastructure and property damage, road closures, and loss of agricultural and recreational lands.
The RDN is starting a conversation about the changing coast, including current experiences and how we can prepare for a sustainable future together. The RDN invites residents to share their experiences and questions about coastal hazards through a survey until Nov. 17.
Nearly 125,000 RDN residents live near coastal areas that could be affected by coastal processes like flooding and erosion. The survey will help the RDN to learn about residents’ experiences with coastal risk, e.g. coastal flooding, erosion, slope stability and sea level rise; concerns about coastal risk; level of preparedness and attitudes toward coastal risk; preferred ways of learning about and participating in future coastal risk work.
This survey complements technical work the RDN is doing to assess risks along our coastline and understand how they might impact our area (Coastal Risk Assessment).
Residents’ input received through the survey will be used in the ongoing Coastal Risk Assessment and help make plans for future work and engagement.
In 2025, the RDN will share the findings from the Coastal Risk Assessment and what they heard from residents. The RDN plans to continue conversations about what the regional district and municipal partners are doing, and what residents, property owners and businesses can do to prepare and plan for successful coastal living.
For more project information, to complete the survey by Nov. 1, and to receive future updates and invitations to participate in planning for coastal risk, please register and sign-up to the project page at getinvolved.rdn.ca/coastal-risk.
