Abstract
Throughout the mid to late 1900s around the Bay of Fundy, barriers were constructed across tidal rivers to serve as bases for roads and railroads, connect people to rich agricultural land and growing towns to one another, and limit maintenance on upriver dykes and aboiteaux. These barriers continue to be critical for transportation infrastructure and provide fresh water and recreational spaces. At the same time, they disconnect rivers from their bays, prevent safe fish passage, and have rippling social and ecological consequences. Today, coastal communities and infrastructure are increasingly at risk from rising sea levels, increasing erosion, and severe storm surges. Necessary adaptation and restoration options challenge people’s ideals and the way they experience tidal rivers, leading to conflicts within coastal communities. Ecological, social, and economic trade-offs are inevitable in restoration and adaptation, and understanding each is critical for equitable, sustainable decision-making. We present research methods and initial findings from the first five months of a study assessing the social impacts of potential causeway modifications in Windsor, NS, using a comparative case where restoration has occurred, the Petitcodiac River in Moncton, NB. This study uses a comparative Social Impact Assessment (SIA) framework and includes retrospective and prospective components. The retrospective approach includes document and longitudinal media analysis, and the prospective approach includes resident surveys and interviews with key informants. This work seeks to provide an applied example of how comparative SIA may be used to understand the social impacts of tidal river restoration through tidal barrier modifications and assess local perceptions and experiences with climate-resilient projects.
Citation
Margeson, K., Sherren, K., Manuel, P., Stewart, I., Murphy, E., & Smit, M. (2024). Social impacts of modifying tidal river causeways and river restoration. ACCESS/BoFEP 2024, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, 4-7 June 2024.
Related Blog Post
Khan, J., Legault, A., Margeson, K., Martinez Calderon, D. & Wells, P. G. (4 July 2024). “Tides of Change” – The ACCESS-Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership Conference, 4-7 June 2024. EIUI Blog. https://eiui.ca/tides-of-change-the-access-bay-of-fundy-ecosystem-partnership-conference-4-7-june-2024/