The burgeoning field of transdisciplinary adaptation research in Quebec (1998–): a climate change-related public health narrative

Abstract

This paper presents a public health narrative on Quebec’s new climatic conditions and human health, and describes the transdisciplinary nature of the climate change adaptation research currently being adopted in Quebec, characterized by the three phases of problem identification, problem investigation, and problem transformation. A transdisciplinary approach is essential for dealing with complex ill-defined problems concerning human–environment interactions (for example, climate change), for allowing joint research, collective leadership, complex collaborations, and significant exchanges among scientists, decision makers, and knowledge users. Such an approach is widely supported in theory but has proved to be extremely difficult to implement in practice, and those who attempt it have met with heavy resistance, succeeding when they find the occasional opportunity within institutional or social contexts. In this paper we narrate the ongoing struggle involved in tackling the negative effects of climate change in multi-actor contexts at local and regional levels, a struggle that began in a quiet way in 1998. The paper will describe how public health adaptation research is supporting transdisciplinary action and implementation while also preparing for the future, and how this interaction to tackle a life-world problem (adaptation of the Quebec public health sector to climate change) in multi-actors contexts has progressively been established during the last 13 years. The first of the two sections introduces the social context of a Quebec undergoing climate changes. Current climatic conditions and expected changes will be described, and attendant health risks for the Quebec population. The second section addresses the scientific, institutional and normative dimensions of the problem. It corresponds to a “public health narrative” presented in three phases: (1) problem identification (1998–2002) beginning in northern Quebec; (2) problem investigation (2002–2006) in which the issues are successively explored, understood, and conceptualized for all of Quebec, and (3) problem transformation (2006–2009), which discusses major interactions among the stakeholders and the presentation of an Action Plan by a central actor, the Quebec government, in alliance with other stakeholders. In conclusion, we underline the importance, in the current context, of providing for a sustained transdisciplinary adaptation to climatic change. This paper should be helpful for (1) public health professionals confronted with establishing a transdisciplinary approach to a real-world problem other than climate change, (2) professionals in other sectors (such as public safety, built environment) confronted with climate change, who wish to implement transdisciplinary adaptive interventions and/or research, and (3) knowledge users (public and private actors; nongovernment organizations; citizens) from elsewhere in multi-contexts/environments/sectors who wish to promote complex collaborations (with us or not), collective leadership, and “transfrontier kno...

Public Health Adaptation to Climate Change in Canadian Jurisdictions

“…Similar to the United Kingdom Climate Impacts Program (UKCIP), Ouranos functions as a boundary organization that seeks to bridge science and policy to increase engagement of decision-makers, build adaptive capacity and create a network of knowledge [ 74 ]; such boundary organizations have been identified as an important component of institutional development for promoting readiness for adaptation [ 18 , 75 ]. Ouranos emerged in response to several extreme weather events (1998 ice storm and 2000 flooding in Quebec, and the European heat wave in 2003) which incited support for climate change research [ 76 ]. Gosselin et al suggest adaptation to the health impacts of climate change in Quebec is taking place because of stable financing (money from the province’s carbon tax funds its climate change action plan), willingness for transdisciplinary collaboration, openness to public health innovation, and the knowledge provided by Ouranos on the current and projected impact of climate change in the province [ 76 ].…”

“…Ouranos emerged in response to several extreme weather events (1998 ice storm and 2000 flooding in Quebec, and the European heat wave in 2003) which incited support for climate change research [ 76 ]. Gosselin et al suggest adaptation to the health impacts of climate change in Quebec is taking place because of stable financing (money from the province’s carbon tax funds its climate change action plan), willingness for transdisciplinary collaboration, openness to public health innovation, and the knowledge provided by Ouranos on the current and projected impact of climate change in the province [ 76 ].…”

“…A national or regional research consortium would serve to coordinate research activities and act as a boundary organization to link research and policy [ 18 ], as Ouranos does for Quebec and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) does for Australia. Development of Ouranos in the province of Quebec has helped to characterize and quantify the impacts of climate change on human health in Quebec and provide a solid knowledge base for subsequent Action Plans [ 76 ]. Similarly, the Australian government established the NCCARF to coordinate and manage climate change adaptation research.…”

Public Health Adaptation to Climate Change in OECD Countries

“…Three key governance dimensions of public health adaptation have received greater consensus in academic literature: cross-sectoral collaboration, vertical coordination, and national adaptation planning [ 23 , 25 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. These three dimensions stand out in the literature as highly necessary, pertinent to public health adaptation challenges, and applicable across country contexts.…”

“…These three dimensions stand out in the literature as highly necessary, pertinent to public health adaptation challenges, and applicable across country contexts. First, the health risks posed by climate change are cross-sectoral in nature, impacting health through multiple pathways, and involving a diversity of actors with varying roles and responsibilities, and different types of communities and populations with diverse vulnerabilities [ 50 ]. One of the primary recommendations from the 2015 Lancet Commission on Climate Change and Health is for governments to facilitate collaboration between ministries of health and other departments, such as environment [ 12 ].…”