This Professorial Lecture is part of SEGRA 2007 held in Wollongong from 17-19th September. The 11th National Conference on Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia (SEGRA) provides opportunities to increase knowledge, skills and networks to advance regional capacity to create and react creatively to change. SEGRA’s cutting edge agendas have made it Australia’s most credible independent voice for regional Australia. Agenda items include: Climate Change, Demographic Change Issues, Labour Force, Economic and Policy Trends. More at http://www.segra.com.au/segra ..........................................................................................................................
Abstract
Australia has a particularly varied and iconic coastline and a large proportion of the population lives along the coast. Many aspects of both natural and socio-economic systems on the coast are threatened by climate change. Sea-level rise, in particular implies that low-lying coastal plains, such as the Kakadu wetlands, and small reef islands, such as those in Torres Strait, appear especially vulnerable. These environments, however, have evolved as a consequence of past changes of climate and sea level and their natural resilience will be examined in the context of these past changes.
Climate change is a global issue and requires a global response. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has produced several assessment reports, and its Fourth Assessment of impacts and vulnerability will be published in September 2007. Although the coast appears especially vulnerable to sea-level rise, successive IPCC assessments have refined this view by emphasising the impact of extreme events, such as storm surges, and by identifying impacts related to other aspects of climate change, for example coral bleaching due to thermal stress. It is clear from studies overseas that coastal systems will be disproportionately impacted by climate change. Australia probably encapsulates a wider range of coastal systems than any other nation, from the diverse reefs of the tropics, through a range of temperate shorelines, to its Antarctic territories, and the distinct nature of the Australian coast means that there is a need to develop new tools to assess vulnerability to ensure that Australians are well prepared to adapt to the impacts that climate change will have on the coast.
Prof. Woodroffe is with the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the Faculty of Science.
Attending the SEGRA conference are (from left) Professor Colin Woodroffe; the Chief Executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Wendy Craik; the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Rob Whelan and conference convener, Tony Charters
Professor Colin Woodroffe giving his Professorial Lecture, as part of the SEGRA conference
