AdaptNet for 18 October 2011

1. Climate Change: Adaptation for Queensland
2. Winds of Change: India’s Emerging Climate Strategy
3. Sustainable Adaptation: An Oxymoron?
4. The Critical Decade: Surviving the Anthropocene
5. Converging and Conflicting Interests in Adaptation
6. NCCARF Annual National Conference 2012 – Melbourne 

Climate Change: Adaptation for Queensland                

Scientists warn that Queensland (Australia) is likely to be severely impacted by changes in temperature, rainfall, sea level and extreme weather events. This issue paper explores projected risks and adaptation actions for Queensland. It covers various priority areas, including: human settlements; infrastructure; ecosystems; water management; primary industries; emergency management; and human health.

Climate Change: Adaptation for Queensland – Issues Paper, Department of Environment and Resource Management, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 2011 [2.08 MB, PDF] 

Winds of Change: India’s Emerging Climate Strategy   

The paper finds that India’s approach towards climate change has dramatically shifted in the span of a few years. This is due to the development of India’s comprehensive domestic climate change program and adopting a new stance in the international negotiations. The paper argues that India must demonstrate that action on climate change does not come at the expense of economic growth or development goals, and that these can, in reality, go hand in hand.

Winds of Change: India’s Emerging Climate Strategy, Namrata Patodia Rastogi, The International Spectator, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 127–141, June 2011 [111 KB, PDF] 

Sustainable Adaptation: An Oxymoron?           

Sustainable adaptation, as a term and a concept, is now gaining currency in debates about how best to respond to climate change, particularly in poor countries. This article shows how sustainable adaptation shares some similar features with sustainable development. It highlights the types of interventions which might simultaneously address both climate change and poverty and development concerns. 

Sustainable Adaptation: An Oxymoron? Katrina Brown, Climate and Development, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 21-31, June 2011[265 KB, PDF] 

The Critical Decade: Surviving the Anthropocene     

This presentation includes slides showing the potential challenges and climate change projections for Tasmania, Australia. The presenter (Professor Will Steffen from the University of Tasmania) makes argument that the coming decade is a critical time. The choices we make this decade will shape the long-term climate future for our children and grandchildren. 

The Critical Decade: Surviving the Anthropocene, Lecture Presented by Prof. Will Steffen, University of Tasmania, Australia, August 2011 [4.73 MB, PDF] 

Converging and Conflicting Interests in Adaptation

This article discusses how adaptation measures that are intended to increase resilience may simultaneously cause increased vulnerability at other scales. It is based on qualitative research in the provinces of Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue in central Vietnam. The paper illustrates that adaptation of different groups of people has to be seen in the context of interaction between social and environmental processes. 

Converging and Conflicting Interests in Adaptation to Environmental Change in Central Vietnam, Malin Beckman, Climate and Development, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 32-41, June 2011 [283 KB, PDF] 

NCCARF Annual National Conference 2012 – Melbourne

This NCCARF (Australia’s National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility) annual conference will take place in Melbourne from 26-28 June, 2012. It aims to highlight Australia’s contribution to understanding climate impacts and developing adaptation pathways by including themed sessions chosen from submissions. Abstracts (up to 300 words) may be submitted by 31 January 2012.      

2012 Climate Adaptation Conference (Climate Adaptation in Action 2012: Sharing Knowledge to Adapt), National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF), Melbourne, Australia, 26-28 June, 2012

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Saleem Janjua, editor AdaptNet.