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18 mbiz | may 2015 i t seems every cloud has a silver lining. An internationally recognized expert on seaports and strategies for adapting to climate change is focusing on new opportunities for the Port of Churchill. Dr. Adolf K.Y. Ng, a professor of transportation and supply chain management at the I.H. Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba, says the downside of climate change is obvious, but there is an upside for Manitoba's northern port. "Usually the negative effects are clearly, explicitly visible to everybody," Ng says. "Positive impacts are not clearly visible and are relatively long term." However, Ng does see opportunities for Churchill. Recently, the U of M honoured Dr. Ng with an Rh Award in the Interdisciplinary category. He plans to use the award to research ways Churchill can maximize its potential as a port and promote shipping along the Northwest Passage. While Churchill is primarily a port for grain shipments, Ng says it needs to build more infrastructures to accommodate different types of cargoes, an investment that would enhance capacity for both the port and northern economic development. It could also position itself as a centre for security and search-and-rescue operations, he says, adding that the latter necessity has been largely overlooked. "Not only in Churchill but in northern Canada in general along the Hudson Bay, Baffin Island and the Northwest Passage, there is a very serious lack of supporting infrastructure which would support maritime transport in that region, which includes, for example, infrastructure for potential accidents," he says. "It's still a pretty dangerous and risky waterway." Ng points out that Arctic ice doesn't just melt into water, it melts into icebergs. It only took one iceberg to sink the Titanic in 1912, and ships in the Northwest Passage and the Davis Strait along Baffin Island may encounter multiple icebergs, which makes the need for rescue operations inevitable. "I believe that Churchill has the potential to become a kind of centre to coordinate these types of activities, not only within Manitoba but within Hudson Bay and even within northern Canada," he says. "You need several bases in order to carry out these activities and I really believe that Churchill can be one of them, which is also good for the region around Churchill." Ng co-authored the book Climate Change and Adaptation Planning for Ports, which examines ports on five continents. It will offer guidance to governments, industry and academics when it's published in September. It's just one of many projects he's undertaken on port's adaptation to climate change, including establishing an international research consortium. Ng earned his PhD in human geography from the University of Oxford in 2006. He joined the I.H. Asper School of Business in January 2013. ■ i.h. asper School of business professor dr. adolf k.y. ng is an expert on the effects of climate change on ports. Photo by Darcy Finley port authority proFessor explores neW strategies For churchill c a p i ta l

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