Coastal Zone Management pty ltd.

November 2011

To help guide organisations working in the marine adaptation sector, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) have released the Climate Change Adaptation Principles report. Compiled as a result of outcomes from the Bringing Adaptation to Life workshop, held in Cairns in April 2011, the guiding document outlines a set of principles to help guide adaptation practice.

Staff at Coastal Zone Management (Ms Ania Niedzwiadek and Dr Robert Kay) finalised the principles, and wrote the final guidance document. Adopting a unique approach for this type of publication, the team compiled four storyline scenarios to demonstrate to readers how the principles can be practically applied across a range of industry stakeholders.

Dr Kay was also a stakeholder presenter at the workshop as an expert on coastal zone management.

To help monitor the use of this unique document, GBRMPA have asked for feedback from users as to how the principles and the workshop materials are being used across industry sectors. "One way we are hoping to gain feedback as to the effectiveness of the principles is to collect some data about if or how industry practitioners, managers and researchers have applied the principles in their respective professional fields" said GBRMPA Director Dr. Paul Marshall. "It would be great to know how far our publication has spread and will also help us to monitor, evaluate and report on the outcomes of the project" he said.

All stakeholder and keynote speaker presentations, as well as publications, and details about participants are available online from the GBRMPA workshop website.

On 23 November, Robert Kay and Carmen Elrick from CZM attended the EIANZ Climate Change Leadership Forum, held at the University of Western Australia. Officially opened by John Braid, WA's EIANZ President, the forum included diverse speakers and presentations about climate change adaptation, mitigation and compliance.

Robert presented a thought-provoking reflection on applying adaptive leadership in climate change, while Carmen spoke about protecting coastal infrastructure assets.

"It was great to be invited to present at the forum and to catch up with colleagues we have not seen for years" Robert commented.

"It was also the first time I heard Naomi Oreskes speak as the keynote speaker, where she summarised her recent book the Merchants of Doubt. I was so inspired that I bought the book during the lunch break and have been unable to put it down."

Carmen added that the day was informative and very enjoyable. "EIANZ pulled together a great conference, full credit to the organisers."

Naomi's presentation, along with those of other presenter have been published on the conference website.