City of Mandurah Coastal Zone Climate Change Risk Assessment ...

Climate Change AdaptationGood Practice - Case StudyCity of Mandurah Coastal ZoneClimate Change Risk Assessmentand Adaptation Action Plan

About Adaptation Good PracticeAdapting to climate change is a relativelynew concept to many. It is importantto learn from practitioners who areundertaking adaptation activities that arebeginning to have tangible outcomes.Documenting examples of good practiceand identifying the criteria that makesthem work, enables those interested inadaptation to learn about how to takeaction.There are expectations that AdaptationGood Practice (AGP) includes a definitestart and finish to a project. Howeverclimate change practitioners’ experiencesshow that adaptation projects are oftensteps in longer learning journeys. Thereare no golden rules on how to adaptand often practitioners across Australiaare inventing the wheel that drives futureAGP. This case study of the City ofMandurah Coastal Zone Climate ChangeRisk Assessment and Adaptation ActionPlan is part of a series of 16 case studiesthat recognise exemplars for AGP inAustralia. Through the development ofthese stories of successful adaptationit was refreshing to see an emergenceof similar experiences and challengesregardless of the project or location.A synthesis of these stories can beseen in the Synthesis Report ‘ClimateChange Adaptation Good Practice: Keylessons from practitioners experiences’,which which will help practitioners tounderstand that they are not alone intheir challenges and to see some of theclear lessons learned about what drivesgood practice in adaptation.Following the Snapshot there is a morein depth narrative of the experiences,learnings and network links to stimulatefurther engagements and knowledgesharing among the growing communityof adaptation practitioners.This project was funded by the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation,Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary EducationFor further information contact:Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary EducationEmail: stakeholderrelations@climatechange.gov.auThe Adaptation Good Practice project was undertaken byD. Rissik and N. Reis from the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.© Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education) 2013. ISBN 978-0-9922764-2-3. This work islicensed under the Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/auThe Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education asserts the right to be recognised as author of the original material.The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for any informationor advice contained herein.Acknowledgements : Ailbhe Travers, Mr. Brett Brenchley from the City of Mandurah is gratefully acknowledged for his input to this case study. The information providedhere builds on a previous CoM leadership case study – ‘Benefit or Burden? How to lead a positive legacy in local climate change adaptation’ - compiled by NCCARF towhich Mr. John Gabrielson and Mayor Paddi Creevey contributed.

Case study snapshotCity of Mandurah Coastal Zone Climate Change RiskAssessment and Adaptation Action PlanNTNSWACTMandurah has one of the fastestgrowing populations of any Australianlocal government. It has a large 50 kmof coast from Madora in the Northto Lake Clifton in the South and iscomprised of a local government areaof 153.5 km 2 . Coupled with this, asignificant percentage of the populationgrowth is located in the coastal zoneand extensive canal estates. As a resultthe City was identified as one of fourmost vulnerable local government areasin Western Australia to the potentialimpacts of climate change (in the ClimateChange Risks to Australia’s Coastpublication released by the AustraliaGovernment in 2009).Key climate change impacts for the areawere identified as rising sea levels, andchanges in the passage of storms, theirfrequency and intensity. Mandurah’sCoastal Zone Climate Change RiskAssessment and Adaptation Action Planresults as proof of the collaboration withincouncil with support from the Mayorand executive management. The climatechange team facilitated the focus onintegration and dissemination across allcouncil departments.The project journeyDeveloping a Local Adaptation PathwaysProject (LAPP) provided an importantfoundation to build adaptive capacityin the City of Mandurah (CoM) localgovernment area (LGA). The City hasacquired a solid reputation for addressingthe possible hazards and impacts of sealevel rise and storm surge events that areforecast to worsen with climate change.The LAPP ‘1st pass assessment’enabled the City to understand key risksand align these to a prioritised adaptationpathway. It provided a platform forcommunication and collaborationwith the local community and keystakeholders including state governmentdepartments. The LAPP also laid thefoundation for increased engagementacross different departments withinthe LGA and highlighted the needfor a mainstreamed approach toadaptation that moved away from themore traditional siloed approach toenvironmental management.Most importantly, the LAPP provided theimpetus for the CoM to advance theirongoing adaptation portfolio to includea strategy for climate sensitive localplanning. Their work to produce guidancefor developers undertaking vulnerabilityand adaptation assessments, andsupport for the local developmentapprovals process within the City isboth innovative and proactive and hasprovided inputs to help shape the WestAustralian state coastal planning policy(SPP 2.6).MandurahWASAQLDVICTASSource: Coastal Zone Management Pty LtdFigure 1: Location of City of Mandurah LocalGovernment Area.

The projectThe prioritisation of risks gave an important roadmap for further investigation and initiatives.Drivers of adaptation action• The City has a strong history ofawareness and action with respect toClimate Change Adaptation with theinitial LAPP project 2009• Significant investment in coastalinfrastructure and extensive areas ofcanal estates and waterways• Ecological significant areas; the coastis a cultural and socio-economicbackbone of community.4Reflect1Research andAssessmentand PlanningDecision making2Adaptation actionMandurah’s Coastal Zone ClimateChange Risk Assessment andAdaptation Action Plan allowed councilto integrate climate change into theirbusiness plans and to provide supportand collaboration for other councils.Implementation3Outcomes achievedThe LAPP project formed the basis foran ongoing climate change adaptationportfolio for the City. The prioritisationof risks gave an important road mapfor further investigation and initiatives.The project provided a backdrop foran ongoing strategy of risk based localplanning and has acted as an impetusfor development of a climate sensitivetown planning process. Findings of thestudy have also served as an importantcommunication tool internally within thelocal government and externally with keystakeholders and the community.Figure 2: City of Mandurah Coastal Zone Climate Change Risk Assessment and AdaptationAction Plan Adaptation Good Practice phaseEmerging outcomesInternal capacity building for localgovernment officers through involvementin the LAPP and subsequent initiativessuch as involvement in the PeronNaturaliste Partnership (PNP) CoastalAdaptation Pathways (CAP) Project hasbeen an additional useful outcome.Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project 4

The projectThe projectThe CoM has a strong focus on takingaction to address climate change. TheCity’s commitment is reflected in theirStrategic Plan, plus development andimplementation of climate change plansincluding Coastal Climate Change RiskAssessment and Adaptation Action Planand Climate Change Response Plan. Theinitial LAPP project was undertaken in2009 and was funded by the AustralianGovernment with additional supportfrom the CoM. The City is also a partyin the Peron Naturaliste Partnership(PNP). The PNP is a collaboration of ninelocal governments to provide a regionalmechanism for effective and timelyadaptation responses to climate change.It has recently completed a CoastalAdaptation Pathways Project fundedby the Australian Government, seeDeveloping Flexible Adaptation Pathwaysfor the Peron Naturaliste Coastal Regionof Western Australia 2011 – 2012, in thisseries for further details.The LAPP completed by CoM served asa starting point to identify and prioritiseclimate change risks for the City and wasparticularly useful as a baseline studythrough its focus on both strategic andsite specific risk assessment.The LAPP has acted as an impetus forsubsequent activities that have led thecity to follow a pathway towards riskbased town planning decisions cognisantof climate change. Most recently this hasbeen seen through Mandurah’s initiativefor climate sensitive local planninginforming elements of the State PlanningPolicy.Source: Coastal Zone Management Pty LtdFigure 3: Canal estates and associated infrastructure at risk from erosion and elevated water levelsThe LAPP completed by CoM served as astarting point to identify and prioritise climatechange risks for the City and was particularlyuseful as a baseline study through its focus onboth strategic and site specific risk assessment.Risks and impacts addressedThe climate change impacts consideredfor the purposes of the LAPP projectare summarised in Table 1. In particular,impacts of sea level rise and stormresponse to existing coastal infrastructureas well as land use planning will impedethe City’s ability to fulfil its organisationalobjectives across key local governmentsectors. These impacts will besuperimposed on already pressurisedcoastal, estuarine and channel systems.The output of the initial risk screeningprocess was a Strategic Climate ChangeRisk Register that provided a list of risksper local government function for furtherassessment through the course of theLAPP study.Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project 5

The projectTable 1: Risk assessment parametersTimeframe 2070Sea-level risescenario100 Year OceanlevelTemperature+ 0.47 mRainfall (annual) - 19%Rainfall (spring) - 27%1.2 m to 1.67 mResponse strategy+ 2.7 °C;Days over 35 °C = 28 to 53The output of LAPP was a list ofadaptation options prioritised forimplementation. The response strategiesdetailed in the LAPP have formed thebasis of the City’s ongoing programfor climate change adaptation. Theintegration of risk assessment outcomesinto business processes is alreadyvisible within the Council. Since theclimate change risk assessment wasundertaken, the Council has requestednumerous developers to conduct climatechange risk assessments to ensure theirdevelopment plans have consideredfuture climate change, with particularfocus on sea level rise. The City hasembarked on a process of generatinga locally relevant climate sensitiveplanning process and has contributed toamendments to State planning policy.Implementation phasesThe LAPP was implemented througha series of phases that aligned to theAustralian Greenhouse Office (AGO)which became the Department of ClimateChange “Climate Change and RiskManagement: A Guide for Business andGovernment” report (AGO, 2006). TheAGO Risk Framework was supplementedwith components of international bestpractice with regard to vulnerabilityassessment and considerable advancesmade within Australia in the field ofclimate change risk management.The work carried out was undertakenat a focused scale to resolve issuessuitable for making coastal managementdecisions. It should be rememberedthat the AGO approach is focussed ongeneral/organisational risks. This is animportant differentiation as it is widelyrecognised that coastal response needsto be considered at relatively hightemporal resolutions. The subsequentapproach to the Mandurah Projectaimed to build on previous work carriedout in Western Australia for the Townof Cottesloe, for which a similar riskassessment process was used.An important next step for the CoM alongthe path to climate change adaptationwill be the elucidation of thresholds ortrigger points of the implementationof predetermined actions. These willnecessarily be based on the outcomesof monitoring climate performanceindicators (e.g. water availability, pestlevels, and changes in rainfall patterns).Outcomes achievedA key outcome from the work undertakenthrough the LAPP was the prioritisationthroughout the CoM local governmentarea to provide a roadmap for futureaction. These outcomes were usedby the City to both inform ongoingstrategic planning, and to engage andcommunicate with the wider communityon the subject of climate change.The LAPP acted as an impetus for CoMto engage with the State Government.With respect to climate change planningmatters in Western Australia (WA) it hasadvocated that current policies need tobe reviewed in response to uncertainfuture climate change impacts. Inparticular, CoM has been involved inthe provision of input to the WA StateGovernment recent review of StateCoastal Planning Policy (SPP 2.6).Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project 6

The projectCoM Coastal Risk AssesmentApproachAGO Risk AssesmentApproachInitial decisionMoredetailedanalysisrequiredTreat nowPhase 1: Strategic Risk Assessment and Adaptation PlanStrategic Risk Assessment1. Set the context2. Sensitivity assessment3. Vulnerability assessment4. Risk assessment5. Risk prioritisationStrategic Adaptation Assessment1. Adaptation issues brief2. Conceptual mappingidentity options3. Strategic mapping andassessment develop plans andimplementSet the contextObjectives; Stakeholders; Criteria; KeyElements; Climate scenariosIdentify the risksWhat can happenHow could it happenAnalyse the riskReview controls; Likelihoods;Consequences; Level of RiskEvaluate the riskEvaluate risks; Rank risks; Screenminor risksTreat the risksIdentify options; Select the best;Develop plans; ImplementSet the contextObjectives; Stakeholders; Criteria; KeyElements; Climate scenariosInitial decisionTreat nowMoredetailedanalysisrequiredCollectmoreinformationPhase 2: Site Specific Risk Assessmentand Adaptation PlanSite Specific Risk AssessmentAnalyses to gather more detailedinformationSite specific risk assessment TBDAdaptation Assessment3. Strategic AdaptationAssessment: identify options, selectbest, develop plans and implementIdentify the risksWhat can happenHow could it happenAnalyse the riskReview controls; Likelihoods;Consequences; Level of RiskEvaluate the riskEvaluate risks; Rank risks; Screenminor risksTreat the risksIdentify options; Select the best; Developplans; ImplementSource: Coastal Zone Management Pty LtdFigure 4: Implementation Phases in the LAPP aligned to the AGO risk assessment approachClimate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project 7

Lessons learntSource: Department of Planning and Infrastructure, 2008Figure 5: Example LAPP output illustrating areas identified as low, medium and high risk along the open ocean coast and estuary (CoastalZone Management Pty Ltd, 2009)Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project 8

Lessons learntCritical success factorsAGP analysis of the projectSuccess of this approach hasbeen driven by strong leadership,excellent connectivity between allstakeholders and a sustainablevision.This project is strong in:LeadershipConnectivitySustainabilityLeadershipThe City has a long history of leadershipwith respect to climate changesstemming from a resolution by the Mayor,which was unanimously endorsed byCouncil (on 20 November 2007). Thisresolution became a positive platformto meet with adaptation practitionersand researchers, who encouraged theCouncil to continue working on theissue. Importantly, it contained actionsand commitments for Council seniorstaff to display leadership on climatechange matters as well as a financialcommitment from Council to conducta risk assessment and subsequentadaptation planning.Leadership lesson learnt:Focused, shared leadership at thehighest levels within the organisationhas been the critical success factor inthe Council’s adaptive journey.EngagementThe CoM has maintained activeengagement with community and keystakeholders with respect to climatechange adaptation since it was firstidentified as an issue across the Council.This process began with an importantclimate change adaptation conferencein 2007, The Climate Change and theCoast Conference, which broughttogether a range of stakeholders andcommunity members. The initial driverfor the conference was the City’s strongrelationship with local researchersand consultants, who supported theCity’s desire to explore the climatechange concerns facing its community.Throughout the City’s adaptive journey,the organisation has maintained an open,proactive attitude, and worked closelywith research organisations, universities,and national and state governmentbodies.Engagement lesson learnt:Access to the best scientific informationand national best-practice means theCouncil is able to make appropriateadaptive decisions.ConnectivityAn important success factor in the CoM’sjourney towards a climate-adaptedcommunity was the formulation of adedicated climate change team withinCouncil. The climate change teamwas instrumental in driving work in theCoM around adaptation, and in 2011,Mandurah drafted and adopted a climatechange response plan. The plan is a keydocument in moving forward with workat the Council resulting in integratingclimate change into subsequent businessplans. In addition, a significant degreeof in-house capacity building has beenachieved through the active participationof council staff in the LAPP process andsubsequent initiatives. For example, therisk assessment process implementedthrough the LAPP has been emulatedto deal with the potential impacts ofextreme heat on community health forthe CoM using tools and techniques withwhich council staff are now familiar.The City is a strong component of thePeron Naturaliste Partnership and hascontributed to the work being done at amulti-council scale. This connectivity willultimately result in an integrated regionalapproach to dealing with climate change.Connectivity lesson learnt:Create a dedicated climate changeteam within Council to connect with thecommunity.SustainabilityThe LAPP project has enabled Mandurahto become more aware and betterinformed through the evidence thathas been gathered, and to apply thePrecautionary Principle to filter its coastaladaptation response planning. The Cityis now in a better position to develop amore sophisticated rationale and argue(supported by good evidence) for acautionary approach to developmentapplications especially in high hazardzones.Sustainability lesson learnt:Become better informed bygathering evidence and applying thePrecautionary Principle to filter coastaladaptation response planning.Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice (AGP) project 9

ConclusionThe outcomes of the LAPP providedmany lessons for other local areas facingsimilar coastal hazards. The approachemployed by CoM was subsequentlyused by several other local governmentsin Western Australia with the Mandurahexperience widely regarded asdemonstrating important elements of‘best practice’.The foundation laid by LAPP wasalso beneficial for the CoM in theirsubsequent involvement with the Peron-Naturaliste project. Through this regionalcollaboration, City staff were able toshare their experiences with respectto climate change adaptation andremain actively involved and engagedwith both the State Government andtheir counterparts across other localgovernments in the area. The partnershipwas successful in gaining fundingthrough the Australian Government’sCoastal Decision Adaptation PathwaysProgram. This collaborative approachis seen as a good model to addressconstraints and to promote localgovernment concerns in regards toclimate change.Gaps and future challengesThe coastal zone risk assessmentundertaken as part of the LocalAdaptation Pathways Program (LAPP),provided an indication of areasand levels of risk. However, it wasrecognised by the CoM that moredetailed locally relevant modelling anddata was required. This suggests thatdownscaled climate projections andhazard mapping should be a higherpriority. This information would not onlyaid in decision-making at the local levelbut in the provision of useful, relevantinformation to the community. This was inpart addressed through PNP.Furthermore, the provision of informationis often most effective in changingbehaviours if accompanied with otherinitiatives and /or intervention strategies.As such it is the view of the City that tobe most effective the provision ofclimate change information shouldform part of a larger initiative, whichincludes solutions to climate changeissues that empower the communityto take action under the leadershipof all levels of government. Roles andresponsibilities for adaptation by StateGovernment, including in the areas ofland-use planning, coastal management,and emergency management should alsobe clarified.10

NetworksLinks to more information and projects• www.mandurah.wa.gov.au/ClimateChangeStrategy.htm• Climate Change Risks to Australia’s Coast (2009) Department of Climate Changeand Energy Efficiency. - www.climatechange.gov.au/publications/coastline/climatechange-risks-to-australias-coasts.aspx• Coastal Zone Climate Change Risk Assessment and Adaptation Plan(2009) Coastal Zone Management Pty Ltd. - www.mandurah.wa.gov.au/ClimateChangeStrategy.htm• Coasts and Climate Change Council Report to Minister Combet (2011) Departmentof Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. - www.climatechange.gov.au/climatechange/australias-coasts-and-climate-change/adapting/coasts-and-climatechange-council/~/media/publications/coastline/cccc-report.pdf• www.nccarf.edu.au/content/cityofmandurah• http://peronnaturaliste.org.au/?p=81The Climate Change Adaptation Good Practice project was funded by the Australian Government and delivered by NCCARF