For those lucky enough to attend the NCCARF-CSIRO Climate Adaptation conference in Adelaide last week, it was an opportunity to catch up on latest developments – particularly at the local scale – in the coastal zone with a range of presentations from state and local authorities.

South Australia was the first state to consider sea-level rise in its coastal legislation back in 1991, and Murray Townsend from DEWNR neatly distilled six lessons from the past 25 years in a well-attended session on coastal adaptation. These lessons included the need to be clear and direct in policy statements; that local data are more trusted that global data; and that it is very hard to argue for long-term considerations. He also outlined that – because one size does not fit all and there is no perfect or simple solution – there is a very real need for community engagement.

Murray’s lessons were reflected at the local scale by several other presentations. Carol Muzyk, from the District Mallala Council, outlined how storm threats and inundation threaten public and private infrastructure in the low-lying town of Middle Beach, in South Australia. With a focus on developing community resilience, the Council had extensively engaged the community to develop tailored emergency plans (see details here).

More local lessons were provided by Ralph Roob in describing the Geelong Queenscliff adaptation program, which had undertaken an extensive coastal hazard and climate change risk assessment that underpinned their adaptation pathways approach. Craig Perry described the value of using a partnerships approach that brings together local and state agencies in the Perth region to form the Cockburn Sound Coastal Alliance.

A background to CoastAdapt, additional information about its components and results from recently completed coastal research projects funded by NCCARF, were also presented during sessions at the conference. More details, including the research reports, will be available soon.

What were your take home messages from the coastal session at the NCCARF-CSIRO Climate Adaptation Conference? Did you learn anything that you can apply in your context?