Helping to build resilient climate infrastructure in Canada and around the world
By Gabrielle Lepage, Communications & Public Engagement Manager, TAP-EDM
April 27, 2023 – Vancouver, British Columbia. Reflecting on time spent at the PIEVC* Global Forum, I appreciate I had the opportunity to participate and engage with many climate risk assessment stakeholders, from engineering firms to municipal partners, Indigenous elders, to Canadian and international community leaders and government officials.
This conference was of particular interest for the TAP team, as we welcomed two of our partners Ritesh Sardoje and Vijona Dipowirono, from the government of Suriname, Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment. They attended the PIEVC Global Forum in Vancouver as part of the technical expertise to increase awareness on climate resilient infrastructure. This was a unique chance to make fruitful connections and explore first-hand the tools and approaches that can be tailored to the development of the Suriname National Adaptation Plan. The Climate Risk Institute (CRI), who just recently returned from a visit to Suriname, was hired to work with the Suriname Government as the TAP Canadian expert.
Learn more about TAP in Suriname – Project profile.
The PIEVC Global Forum was a great success with over 160 attendees hailing from around the world, including representation from the government of Vietnam, Costa Rica, Georgia, PIEVC Alliance members like the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Engineers Canada, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations, the Pan American Academy of Engineering, the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil, and in Canada, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Assembly of First Nations, the Government of Canada, and several academic and training institutions.
The forum facilitated networking create more awareness and to increase capacity on improving climate and infrastructure risk assessment in the context of national adaptation planning. Through the sharing of best practices related to furthering infrastructure resilience, speakers and participants explored the topics of climate risk and vulnerability assessments for infrastructure from many different perspectives.
On behalf of the TAP EDM project, I would like to thank the PIEVC organizing team for giving us the opportunity to hold a joint presentation with CRI and our Suriname partner during the conference. The energy and the genuine enthusiasm generated at this conference is a great example of making a difference on climate change, in an inclusive and proactive way.
The Technical Assistance Partnership-Expert Deployment Mechanism (TAP-EDM), funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by Alinea International, contributes to enhancing the capacity of national-level institutions to manage policies and practices in a more gender-responsive and inclusive way; promoting social, political, and economic opportunities in partner countries; and increasing awareness and engagement of Canadians as partners and global citizens in support of Canada’s international assistance efforts.
* Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee
