1 / 15

State of the WA Environment Climate Change Vulnerabilities & Impacts: The unavoidable need for managing change

State of the WA Environment Climate Change Vulnerabilities & Impacts: The unavoidable need for managing change. Dr Wally Cox Chairman Environmental Protection Authority. Pressures. State. SOER. Response. WA State of the Environment 2006. SoE Overview.

kendis
Download Presentation

State of the WA Environment Climate Change Vulnerabilities & Impacts: The unavoidable need for managing change

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. State of the WA Environment Climate Change Vulnerabilities & Impacts:The unavoidable need for managing change Dr Wally Cox Chairman Environmental Protection Authority

  2. Pressures State SOER Response WA State of the Environment 2006 SoE Overview • Report to community and decision makers (every 5 years) • Major environmental issues and trends • Raise awareness • ID responses required • Report out in late 2006

  3. WA State of the Environment 2006 Scope • Fundamental Pressures: • CLIMATE CHANGE , population & consumption • Major environmental themes: • Land, air, inland waters, marine, biodiversity , human settlements, heritage • NRM Sectors: • Agriculture, mining, energy, water supply etc Climate change identified in every section

  4. WA State of the Environment 2006 Aspects of climate change

  5. WA State of the Environment 2006 WA’s position • Primary focus greenhouse gas emissions mitigation • Global emissions reduction beyond our control • Change is inevitable • WA must prepare to live with and adapt to climate change

  6. WA State of the Environment 2006 Vulnerabilities • Key drivers temperature and rainfall • Every living organism has a T & R range • Implications for natural and economic systems in WA

  7. Key vulnerabilities - natural systems

  8. Key vulnerabilities - economic systems

  9. Gnangara Mound decline

  10. Consequences Yanchep Caves Stygofauna and root matt communities Banksia prionotes Banksia littoralis Regelia ciliata

  11. Median monthly flows for the Harris River, near Collie before and after 1976

  12. WA State of the Environment 2006 Adaptation - Principles • Prevent and/or modify threats • Change uses / activities • Change location of activities • Expand research into impacts, technologies and methods of adaptation • Educate, inform and encourage behavioural change

  13. WA State of the Environment 2006 Adaptation - capacity • Some areas will be able to adapt: • Water sector • Coastal planning • Agriculture • Some won’t • Vulnerable SW ecosystems • Wheatbelt spp. • Southern rangelands? • Coral reefs – Ningaloo, Dampier Archipelago

  14. WA State of the Environment 2006 Intervention? • Extreme / deliberate intervention - • ‘Last line of defence’ • Millenium Seed Bank Project, cryogenic chamber • Yanchep stygofauna Cost of intervention Technology requirements Timeframe Knowledge Intervention: adaptive management Natural adaptation

  15. WA State of the Environment 2006 Conclusion • The “Greenhouse Bulldozer” is coming • We have a moral obligation to reduce our GHG emissions • We need to: • Enhance our understanding of the impacts for WA environment and sectors • Plan to adapt AND • Adapt

More Related