AdaptNet for 12 July 2011

1. Kakadu: Vulnerability to Climate Change Impacts

2. Local-Scale Vulnerability Assessment – Atoll Island Countries

3. Environmental Migration and Displacement – Challenges

4. Climate Change Risks to Coastal Buildings and Infrastructure

5. Review of Observed Climate Adaptation in Developed Nations

6. Adaptation Forum 2011 – Bangkok, Thailand 

Kakadu: Vulnerability to Climate Change Impacts

The report examines the potential impacts of climate change and sea level rise on the South Alligator River system in Kakadu National Park, Australia. It uses modelling to assess the risk of saltwater intrusion and extreme rainfall events on low-lying coastal wetlands, under climate change scenarios for 2030 and 2070. The report discusses adaptation options, potential barriers to adaptation and opportunities to improve future planning, management and policy responses. 

Kakadu: Vulnerability to Climate Change Impacts, Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Australian Government, Canberra, Australia, June 2011 

Local-Scale Vulnerability Assessment – Atoll Island Countries   

The report describes a project undertaken in two Pacific atoll countries, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu. The key project objectives were: (1) build research skills in atoll countries to undertake rapid vulnerability assessments at the local scale; (2) identify local scale variances in atoll island vulnerability; and (3) explore policy implications of local scale variations in island vulnerability.

Improving Understanding of Local-Scale Vulnerability in Atoll Island Countries: Developing Capacity to Improve In-Country Approaches and Research, Paul Kench et al., Project Reference: CBA2010-06NSY-Kench, Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), 2011 [1.96 MB, PDF]

Environmental Migration and Displacement – Challenges          

Drawing on evidence from previous disasters and predicted climate change impacts, this paper shows that internal environmental migration is an emergent challenge to the US disaster policy. To discuss this challenge, the paper adapts the model of population displacement from Cernea (1997) to reflect the barriers to resilience, related to housing, finances, health, and discrimination, facing populations displaced in the US. 

Vulnerability, Resilience, and Policy: The Challenge of Environmental Migration and Displacement in the United States, Michelle Meyer Lueck, Department of Sociology, Colorado State University, USA, 2011 [351 KB, PDF] 

Climate Change Risks to Coastal Buildings and Infrastructure     

The report presents data on the exposure of commercial buildings (e.g. retail precincts), light industrial buildings, and transport infrastructure (road, rail, tramways), in Australia’s coastal areas. It complements the first national assessment of climate change risks to Australia’s coastal assets. The report is intended to be used at a national scale and to assist in prioritising future coastal adaptation planning needs.

Climate Change Risks to Coastal Buildings and Infrastructure – A Supplement to the First Pass National Assessment, Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Australian Government, Canberra, Australia, June 2011

Review of Observed Climate Adaptation in Developed Nations     

The paper develops a systematic mixed-methods review methodology to examine if and how climate change adaptation is taking place in developed (defined as the 41 Parties identified under Annex I to the UNFCCC) nations. It finds limited evidence of adaptation action. However, the paper argues that the methodology presented in this paper offers important insights for meta-analyses in climate change scholarship and can be used for monitoring progress in adaptation over time. 

A Systematic Review of Observed Climate Change Adaptation in Developed Nations: A Letter, James D. Ford, Lea Berrang-Ford, and Jaclyn Paterson, Climatic Change, Vol. 106, No. 2, pp. 327-336, DOI 10.1007/s10584-011-0045-5, March 2011 [216 KB, PDF]

Adaptation Forum 2011 – Bangkok, Thailand

This adaptation forum will take place in Bangkok, Thailand on 27-28 October 2011. It aims to focus on ‘adaptation in action’ signifying a shift from deliberations to decisions, plans to policies and policies to practices. The forum will gather adaptation practitioners from global, regional, national, and sub-national levels. Individuals interested in speaking in a specific panel are invited to submit a ‘briefing note’ summarising their proposed contribution by August 1, 2011.      

The Adaptation Forum 2011, Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia (Adaptation Knowledge Platform) and the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN), United Nations Conference Center, Bangkok, Thailand, 27-28 October 2011 [572 KB, PDF]

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Saleem Janjua, editor AdaptNet.