Overview – Towards a Resilient Sydney
A key target of the NSW Government’s ten year plan, NSW 2021, is to minimise impacts of climate change in local communities. Consistent with this target is NSW Government is committed to developing information to assist communities in Sydney adapt to a changing climate.
The Towards a Resilient Sydney project aims to meet actions contained within three RegionalAction Plans – Northern Beaches, Western Sydney - Blue Mountains and South Western Sydney. Namely the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) will 1) develop improved information of climate risks for Sydney; 2) assess cross sectoral vulnerability to these risks; and 2) identify responses and opportunities that assist local communities to improve resilience and minimise impacts.
Governments nationally and globally are adopting a range of city-wide measures to adapt to climate change. At a local level councils are conducting risk assessments and developing adaptation strategies. Many strategic responses require a regional or metropolitan approach to achieve outcomes at wider scales. The project provides an opportunity to build on existing efforts to respond to climate change by both levels of government in the Sydney Metropolitan Area.
Key elements of the project are:
- Developing improved information of climate impacts for Sydney. OEH is working with University of New South Wales Climate Change Research Centre to develop high resolution climate projections for Sydney (Refer Project 2)
- Assessing the cross sectoral vulnerability to these risks. This includes understanding the vulnerabilities for land uses, buildings and infrastructure in Sydney. This will assist in building capacity and endorsement across government, private sector, and community to deliver best practice adaptation. (Refer Projects 4 and 5)
- Identifying responses and opportunities that assist local communities improve resilience and minimise impacts. Adaptation planning will be undertaken with stakeholders and the community and will build on existing processes to ensure integration of actions. (Projects 5 and 6)
Project Partners Group
A Project Partners Group was established in late 2010 to oversee the project, which comprises DP&I, Environmental Protection Authority, Sydney Coastal Councils Group and the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils. Towards a Resilient Sydney is highlighted in the Draft Metropolitan Strategy (pg 62).
Project Scope
The Project will cover 41 local government areas making up the Sydney Metropolitan Area.
Key Project Steps - Summary of the key projects. Many are running concurrently.
· Project 1 – Taking Stock
A project plan was developed and the Project Partners Group was established. An Adaptation Review Paper, which identifies “best practice” principles and action for urban adaptation planning for climate change has been completed.
· Project 2 – Climate Storyline for Sydney
Sydney climate projections have been developed by the Climate Change Research Centre at University of New South Wales (UNSW) as a pilot study. OEH Scientists undertook research on the potential biophysical impacts of climate change in Sydney including impacts on: hydrology; coastal erosion and inundation; heat; fire weather; native vegetation; and soil properties. This research has informed the preparation of a Climate Storyline for Sydney.
The Climate Storyline will only to be used to assist stakeholders identify direct and indirect impacts on their sector and capacity to adapt to these impacts. However next year OEH will be publically releasing the broader NSW and ACT Regional Climate Model projections which can be accessed by a range of end users, including local government.
· Project 3 – Socio-economic profile for Sydney
The NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure have developed a socio-economic profile of the Sydney region which outlines current economic and demographic trends and projections. This will inform the integrated regional vulnerability assessment.
· Project 4 – Review and Synthesis
A series of literature reviews by leading researchers have been undertaken across different sectors to determine current and emerging research on climate change adaptation and to identify potential research opportunities and promote these opportunities to mobilise adaptation research for Sydney.
Eight research papers have been completed - human health, emergency management, infrastructure, settlements and communities, buildings and neighbourhoods, cultural and natural assets. OEH hosted a Research Seminar in December 2012 to present findings of these papers and understand local and state government research needs. A Synthesis Paper is currently being prepared.
· Project 5 – Integrated Regional Vulnerability Assessment
The first step of adaptation planning is to understand vulnerability of a region so that action to reduce it can be prioritised. An integrated regional vulnerability assessment (IRVA) identifies the impacts of climate change on social, economic and biophysical systems and their capacity to adapt to climate change.
The Sydney IRVA will build on experience from the South East and Riverina Murray IRVAs methods to examine climate impacts and sectoral vulnerabilities in the Sydney region. An integration report which identifies key cross-sectoral vulnerabilities and prioritises responses will be produced. The report will outline a range of specific actions for priority vulnerabilities and be tailored to inform stakeholders.
Local and State government decision-makers across a range of sectors will be engaged to understand the dynamic interactions that are going on within their sector and where sector may have (unanticipated) impacts on other sectors. It also allows participants to identify areas where there are common risks or vulnerabilities between sectors so that they can address these issues in a coordinated way.
· Project 6 – Towards a Resilient Sydney
Identifying responses and opportunities that assist local communities to improve resilience and minimise impacts. Adaptation planning will be undertaken with stakeholders and the community and will build on existing processes that ensure integration of actions. The development of responses will be a culmination of the outputs of Projects 1 to 5, seeking to provide a coordinated response for Sydney.
This project provides an excellent opportunity to build on existing efforts to respond to climate change by both levels of government in the Sydney Metropolitan Area, by recognising local actions to assess and address climate risks and identity regional adaptation strategies that will potentially support local actions.
An example of how the project may identify adaptation responses is Action 20.1 of the DraftMetropolitan Strategy for Sydney where there is a commitment from the Department of Planning and Infrastructure to review the outcomes of the Towards a Resilient project to identify opportunities for land use strategic planning.
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