Responding to sea level rise
The expected rate of sea level rise will have a significant impact on the infrastructure of Australian coastal and tidal councils. This will present significant infrastructure challenges for Local Government.
In Australia, average temperatures have already risen by around 0.7 degrees over the last century; and average sea levels have risen 120–160mm. Future climate change will bring higher temperature and less rainfall, and more frequent extreme weather events.
Globally, the last ten years include the warmest years on record. The past 30 years has seen acceleration in the rate of warming to almost 0.2 degrees centigrade per decade.
Responding to sea level rise:
a national event
The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) is holding a national conference, on
3–5 August 2008 in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, to provide an opportunity for all coastal and tidal councils to learn about innovative responses and adaptations to sea level rise across different types of coastal regimes.
The conference theme is ‘Responding to Sea Level Rise: Engineering Practical Climate Change Solutions’. The focus is specifically on what different coastal councils are doing, and can do, to address sea level rise impacts on council infrastructure. The aim is to share ideas and to learn how other council staff and consultants are innovating and developing adaptation responses to sea level rise.
Keynotes will address international perspectives and the ‘Vulnerability of the Australian Coastline to Climate Change’. This will also be put into the context of the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework.
Two streams of papers will be presented addressing the key elements of response and adaptation:
- extent of sea level rise
- impacts and risk assessment
- planning responses
- council responses
- site and locale responses
- adaptation strategies
- wider impacts and responses
- land use planning
- storm tide and emergency management
- community impact and engagement.
Infrastructure that we are building now will most likely still exist in 2020, 2030 and 2050. Decisions made today need to occur in a way which ensure that the outcomes of those decisions are robust enough to cope with, or adapt to, changing climatic conditions into the future.
The significant variety of local communities across Australia means that we need to consider many different approaches to addressing climate change. This conference will report on the many different approaches and experiences of Local Governments along our coastlines.
The conference will provide an opportunity for engineers and technical staff, consultants, planners, CEOs and elected members to share ideas and to learn how others are innovating and developing adaptation responses to sea level rise.
Visit the IPWEA web site at www.ipwea.org.au/coffs08 for further information and to download the conference brochure and registration form.
