“Climate change is disrupting our natural and built environments, our health, livelihoods and sense of place,” according to a draft report from state officials on the impact of climate change on Oregonians.
The state Department of Land and Conservation Development has released a draft of a “social vulnerability” assessment it developed after conducting a survey and in-person workshops around the state in 2022 and 2023.
“People across the state value access to the outdoors, community gatherings, clean air and water, high-quality food, and local decision-making power,” said the executive summary of the DLCD draft. “Many Oregonians are concerned about how climate change might impact their well-being, livelihoods, and sense of place.”
State agencies will use information from the report when they develop or modify state policy, programs, and projects in response to climate change.
The project split the state into eight regions, with Stayton, Sublimity and Aumsville in Region 3, which includes Marion, Linn, Lane, Benton, Polk and Yamhill counties.
Key future climate change impacts seen for Region 3 include drought, heat waves, extreme precipitation, wildfires and longer fire seasons, air quality degradation, increased mean temperature and negative impacts on agriculture.
A total of 187 residents in Region 3 responded to the survey or participated in a workshop.
Of those, 86 percent said drought and heat have a negative impact on their lives, with 84 percent noting concerns about wildfires.
The draft report goes beyond physical vulnerabilities such as heat and fires and also looks at social vulnerability, noted Christine Shirley, a climate change resilience coordinator with the DLCD.
“We expanded the range of information we consider in the risk assessment to include social variables such as access to recreation, social clubs and other organizations, the presence of arts organizations, etc.,” Shirley told Our Town via email.
“Traditionally, natural hazards mitigation has focused on strengthening built assets to withstand harm from natural hazard events caused by climate change.
“We are learning through studies like the (assessment) that activities that strengthen the social fabric, activities that build stronger social communities, are also natural hazard mitigation. Protecting against social harm is just as important as protecting the built environment.”
Region 3 residents rated social, health and personal issues such as being able to walk, hike or run, their personal relationships and even access to farmer’s markets as values to consider along with clean water and clean air.
Participants from Region 3, the draft assessment says, “value access to the outdoors, a healthy environment that meets basic needs and quality food and provides recreational opportunities.”
Key recommendations that the draft assessment cites include:
• Establish a statewide, coordinated, and locally focused program of climate change adaptation.
• Expand the scope of regional solutions to include climate change mitigation and adaptation planning and action by making specialists available to local government and community-based organizations.
• Learn to use climate change, equity, environmental justice, social vulnerability indexes and data wisely and transparently.
• Enhance support for the public health system to engage in and contribute to decision-making processes related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change adaptation.
“Collectively,” the draft report concludes, “these measures will create strong, resilient communities capable of withstanding the impacts of an unpredictable climate future.”
