The domination of private interests presents a risk to the long-term health of the Bay of Fundy

In The Conversation, Department of Natural Resource Sciences PhD Candidate Elson Ian Nyl Galang and Dalhousie University Postdoc Lara Cornejo write about their experience gathering a group of leading thinkers in Halifax, near the iconic Bay of Fundy, to set about imagining “what could plausibly happen to the Bay of Fundy coast by 2072.”

The group produced four “storylines,” or scenarios, of plausible futures for the region. With the recent scrapping of Nova Scotia’s Coastal Protection Act (CPA), it seems like some of these predictions may rapidly be coming to pass.

The Bay of Fundy faces significant threats from climate change. Retaining a focus on the public interest will be essential to preserving its long-term health. Without the CPA, the Galang and Cornejo warn, the future of the Bay of Fundy and the entire Nova Scotia coast —including the human and non-human communities that depend on them — now rests in the hands of private interests.

With risks to this iconic landscape rising, Galang and Cornejo's team hopes their report can help prompt critical reflections as Nova Scotia moves forward.