Canada - Prince Edwards Island commits to protecting public access to beaches as climate change shifts shoreline
Among 16 policies urged by Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation
The P.E.I. government says it will take steps to protect the public's right to unimpeded access to the Island's beaches and shores as the coastline continues to recede inland — even on land that was not public before erosion took a toll.
Developing a public beach access policy was one of 16 recommendations in a report released Tuesday by the UPEI-based Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation.
The provincial government commissioned the report as a roadmap to mitigate damage from future weather events like post-tropical storm Fiona, and amid heated questions about buffer zones and shoreline access as a high-profile development was being built at Point Deroche on the North Shore.
The province has committed to implementing all the recommendations.
The beach access policy has implications for property owners and beach-goers because the ownership boundary for coastal properties is generally the top of the bank or the ordinary high-water mark.
This means that any part of the land that gets wet under a high tide, including P.E.I.'s beaches and intertidal flats, is considered public space.
"As the backshore of the coast erodes and the natural boundary of the coastline recedes, the high-tide water line will reach further inland. The area that was once part of the adjacent property becomes part of the foreshore, and consequently becomes public land," the report states.
The right to access shorelines is not new in Canada or P.E.I., but the report recommends that the government address how it would continue to be protected under the conditions of a changing climate or sea level rise.
"Such a policy and/or legislation could include provisions for the enforcement of the removal of structures (buildings and/or armourstone) that over time have become non-conforming and impede public access to and along the beach," the report says.
The recommendations are intended to provide a clear vision for how and where coastal development will be permitted in the future, planning for the impacts of coastal hazards, and "safeguarding the Island's beaches for future generations."
It urges the government to develop shoreline management plans for 17 different segments of the coast, called littoral cells, each with its own strategy to manage environmental, social and economic conditions.
