The Slow-Motion Tragedy of Coastal Erosion

The rugged coastline of Lamèque, New Brunswick, has been a haven for generations of families, including the Guignards, who have called their ancestral home home for an astonishing seven generations. Climate change is quietly but relentlessly stripping away the foundations of this picturesque community, leaving residents to wonder if they’ll soon be forced to abandon ship.

Renald Guignard, 83, has watched in dismay as his backyard – and indeed the entire shoreline – succumbs to the rising tides. The once-frozen Gulf of St. Lawrence now laps at the doorstep of his family’s 1850s-era home, its ice cover a distant memory. Since he was a child, Guignard estimates that the house has retreated by over 143 meters, leaving barely seven meters between the cliff and the water’s edge.

Valores Research Institute projects that the cliff will be gone within two decades, rendering the Guignards’ home uninhabitable. Despite growing awareness of this issue, local authorities seem to be in a state of suspended animation, caught between mitigation, adaptation, and cost considerations.

The slow pace of change can lull governments into complacency. Policymakers often wait for someone else to take action or for a catastrophic event to galvanize response. Meanwhile, families like the Guignards face mounting property taxes on a shrinking asset that’s rapidly becoming worthless.

The provincial government’s decision to increase the assessed value of the Guignard property by $10,000 this year is puzzling. Is it a case of bureaucratic obliviousness or negligence? The Department of Public Safety’s written statement suggests disconnection: cases of ongoing erosion don’t qualify for disaster financial assistance programs unless they’re coupled with a sudden major event.

This highlights the problem of scale and urgency in addressing coastal erosion. While it’s a gradual process, its cumulative impact can be devastating – not just for homeowners but also for entire communities. It’s a classic example of climate change’s slow-motion tragedy, as scientist Paul Rafferty once put it.

Researchers like Marion Tétégan Simon and Benjamin Kocyla are working to develop adaptation and mitigation projects that can help communities adapt to this new reality. This complex effort will require governments, businesses, and residents to work together in innovative ways.

For now, the Guignards remain stuck between a rock (or rather, a cliff) and a hard place. Their story is both heartbreaking and terrifying – a stark reminder of what’s at stake as we continue to wrestle with climate change. As Renald Guignard puts it: “We’re living it. We’re living it.”