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Preparing for climate change: Workshop on adaptation practices in developed countries

The NZ Climate Change Office hosted a workshop in Wellington for the local government sector on 'Preparing for Climate Change' (12 October 2004, Wellington). The workshop was a companion to the International Workshop on climate change adaptation practices & strategies in developed countries.

Workshop goals

  • To discuss and share adaptation strategies and practices relevant to the local government sector
  • To identify and record barriers to preparing for climate change in the local government sector with a view to future work to address these

Workshop scope

  • A forum for practitioners to share their experiences in advancing practical adaptation to climate change, highlighting successes, failures, and lessons learnt.
  • An opportunity for participants to learn from relevant offshore experts about successful approaches to adaptation, practical tools and options for stakeholder engagement.

Workshop culture

The format of the workshop will be informal, participation- and discussion-focused. We encourage participants to prepare input and bring along material relevant to the themes below:

Key workshop themes

  • Underpinning knowledge: What knowledge is necessary for the local government sector to take practical steps to consider climate change impacts in its work? Is this knowledge readily available and understood? To what extent does uncertainty preclude practical adaptation responses? To what extent does the community understand and prioritise climate change risks? How can councils and central government manage this?
  • Stakeholders: Who are the relevant stakeholders for preparing for climate change? What mechanisms work best to engage these stakeholders? To what extent are adaptation responses consistent with stakeholder expectations?
  • From knowledge to action: What barriers exist to making use of existing scientific knowledge in implementing practical adaptation responses? How is adaptation knowledge best communicated? Are there common themes for barriers and solutions that cut across different intervention areas (for example, is fousing on the co-benefits of adaptation responses a solution?)
  • Prioritisation: What criteria, if any, are being applied to decide on adaptation priorities? What tend to be the adaptation priorities for councils (eg. rainfall changes leading to increased flood risk, sea-level rise impacting on coastal settlements, other impacts)? Can we make better use of co-benefits and risk assessment criteria that apply to both climate variability and climate change? How does adaptation fit into the LTCCP and other local government processes?
  • Closing the loop: How can experiences from practical adaptation projects best be shared among the sector? How can central government help with this?
  • Collaboration: What potential is there for further dialogue and sharing of information between interested councils?

Workshop notes

Read informal notes from the workshop discussion.

Workshop presentations

  1. The UK Climate Impacts Programme: Adaptation practices in developed countries - A presentation by Jacqui Harman, UK Climate Impacts Programme
  2. Climate Change and Climate Variability don't come in labelled packages - A presentation by Brian Sadler, Chair, Indian Ocean Climate Initiative, Australia
  3. Gold Coast City - An approach to planning for climate change - A presentation by Thomas Evans, Gold Coast City Council
  4. Council River and Drainage Schemes: Provision of Global Warming Draft Policy. A presentation by Peter Blackwood, Environment Bay of Plenty.
  5. Restoring natural dune resilience to mitigate projected sea level rise - A presentation by Greg Jenks, Environment Bay of Plenty
  6. The built environment and preparing for climate change - A paper by Claire Benge, Architect

Last updated: 20 March 2008