Climate change tool for coastal communities

The National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) has launched the beta version of CoastAdapt, a climate risk management framework for Australian coastal communities.

The tool will assist more than 200 coastal councils that already face flooding risks from storm surge, king tides, beach erosion and cyclones. As noted by NCCARF Director Professor Jean Palutikof, these risks will “only increase with projected climate change impacts of more intense storms and sea level rise”.

Providing councils with almost everything they need to prepare for climate change impacts, the tool brings together a diverse range of information, maps, guidance and Australian and international examples of coastal adaptation in three main sections:

• Current information on all aspects of coastal management affected by climate change, including access to nationally consistent datasets.
• A decision support system known as C-CADS, which takes users through the steps to determine what response is necessary, the timing of actions, costs and how to monitor and evaluate the results.
• An online forum for the community of adapters where they can share problems, news and ideas. Coast councils can put their relevant area into the website and get detailed information on sea level rises and flooding threats until 2100.

In developing CoastAdapt, NCCARF incorporated input from about 700 coastal decision-makers through an extensive consultation process. Nine local governments and one industry group have also been involved as tool development partners to provide feedback on both the structure and content of the tool.

“What sets CoastAdapt apart is its authoritative advice and guidance that has been developed with sustained and extensive stakeholder input,” said Professor Palutikof.

CoastAdapt is presented in an accessible style to make it easy to use, even for those without a technical background. Decision-makers are being given early access to the tool to provide feedback before it is finalised in February 2017.

 For more information, visit https://www.nccarf.edu.au/CoastAdapt-beta-release.