think climate. think change.
13-14 December 2005
Australian Greenhouse Office , Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2006
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Australia’s coastal zone is increasingly under pressure with some 85% of Australia’s population now living near the coast and the demand to live there is increasing. The coast also supports important activities and features such as: tourism, infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, coastal wetlands and estuaries, mangroves and other coastal vegetation, coral reefs, heritage areas and threatened species or habitats. The likely impacts of climate change will increase the challenge of sustainable management of the coastal zone and it is likely that the current coastal development patterns are increasing vulnerability to climate change.
Likely impacts of climate change on Australia’s coast and oceans include:
There is increasing evidence that a number of these changes are already occurring.
An assessment of coastal vulnerability to climate change is needed in order to prepare for and adapt to the likely impacts of climate change. The assessment will also need to recognise the range of pressures on the coastal zone, of which climate change is one. Outcomes of the assessment must support decision-making and the identification and management of risk. The Australian Government’s interests in assessment of coastal vulnerability include:
The national policy framework for integrated coastal zone management, Framework for a National Cooperative Approach to Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), has the objective to ‘improve understanding of the impacts of climate change on the coastal zone’. An identified action, 3.1.2, is to ‘build a national picture of coastal zone areas that are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts to better understand the risks and interactions with other stresses in the coastal zone’. The Framework is overseen by the Marine and Coastal Committee (MACC) which reports to the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council (NRMMC). The MACC has interpreted action 3.1.2 as including spatial mapping.
Concomitantly, the national Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability: Promoting an efficient response in Australia report was released by the Minister for the Environment and Heritage to assist the setting of priorities for the National Climate Change Adaptation Programme (NCCAP). The NCCAP aims to commence preparing governments and vulnerable industries and communities for the unavoidable consequences of climate change. The report identifies the coast as a priority, and refers to the need to factor climate change issues into coastal land use planning. In addition to improving the knowledge base and addressing areas of national significance or vulnerability, a key element of the NCCAP is the provision of information and tools so that regions and sectors can understand the likely changes in climate, and access tools to identify and manage risks. Mapping Australia’s coastal vulnerability to climate change would form an important component of this research.
The role of the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) in coastal vulnerability activities includes the delivery of NCCAP and taking a lead in key climate change actions in the ICZM framework. The work will be progressed in consultation with the States and Territories under the auspices of the Climate Change in Agriculture and NRM (CLAN) and the Intergovernmental Coastal Advisory Group (ICAG). An important and key responsibility is facilitating the development of a national approach for assessing, mapping and communicating coastal vulnerability to climate change. As a major first step in this process, the AGO held an Expert Technical Workshop in December 2005 which was attended by some 45 technical coastal experts and practitioners from around Australia. This report forms a record of the outcomes of the workshop. The workshop was designed to identify key issues, share information, seek clarification and develop recommendations on the knowledge and methodologies required to assess, map and communicate Australia’s coastal vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Following a series of scene-setting presentations, participants engaged in a mixture of group and plenary discussions. Major themes for the breakout sessions were:
A workshop agenda is provided at Appendix 1, a table of group participants and discussion questions is provided at Appendix 2, and a full list of delegates is provided at Appendix 3.
