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Climate change adaptation in the Alpine Shire of Australia: a decision process appraisal

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Abstract

This study aims to integrate scientific knowledge from a variety of disciplines with local experience to describe, contextually and in detail, the impact of flood events on the community of the Alpine Shire and current mitigation efforts to alleviate and reduce these impacts. The Myrtleford Floodplain Management Study was the cornerstone of the strategy to address the goal of reducing flood damage in the community. It was found that the most consequential deficiencies in the Myrtleford flood mitigation scheme decision process are related to flaws in four elements of the process: the articulation of goals; the development of appropriate knowledge support; the effectiveness of promotion; and the ability to move from invocation to application. The Alpine Shire can be used as a microcosm that can represent adaptation challenges in other communities to climate change and extreme events. This research contributes to the development of the conceptual and analytical framework of integrated assessments, while making concrete contributions to the development of adaptive policies in Alpine Shire.

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Notes

  1. Interview in the Alpine Shire, 6 June 2005.

  2. Interview in the Alpine Shire, 17 May 2005.

  3. “Rates” is the term used in Australia for property taxes.

  4. Overall the number of municipalities was reduced from 216 to 78, but in rural areas the number dropped from 149 to 47.

  5. Interview in the Alpine Shire, 22 May 2007.

  6. See footnote 5.

  7. The 1857 census of the Beechworth Warden’s District revealed that 88.4% of the population was born overseas [British Isles (52.9%), China (25.2%), Europe (5.4%), and USA (2.1%)] (Breen 1979).

  8. Interview in the Alpine Shire, 19 May 2005.

  9. See footnote 8.

  10. Interview in the Alpine Shire, 5 December 2005.

  11. See footnote 2.

  12. See footnote 1.

  13. See footnote 8.

  14. See footnote 8.

  15. Interview in Myrtleford, 7 June 2005.

  16. The Myrtleford Mail and Whorouly Witness, 14 June 1917.

  17. Turbidity, or cloudiness in the water, peaked at 70,000 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) on 27 February 2003 at Myrtleford (EPA 2003; North East Water 2003). By comparison, turbidity levels in the Ovens River are usually well below 10 NTU.

  18. Australian Bureau of Meteorology, http://bom.gov.au/climate/map/rainfall/IDCJCM0004_rainfall.shtml.

  19. See footnote 10.

  20. Planning Schemes in Victoria must seek to achieve the objectives of planning in Victoria as set out in Section 4(1) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. They aim to do this through providing a clear and consistent framework within which decisions about the use and development of land can be made.

  21. ID&A (1994, p. 15).

  22. Including local widening, deepening, reshaping and clearing of channels and verges (SKM 2000, p. 81).

  23. SKM (2003, p. 6).

  24. ID&A (1994, pp. 15–16).

  25. Interview in Melbourne, 22 October 2007.

  26. Interview in Melbourne, 10 April 2008.

  27. Interview in Myrtleford, 5 December 2005.

  28. See footnote 27.

  29. Interview in the Alpine Shire, 7 May 2005.

  30. See footnote 5.

  31. See footnote 27.

  32. See footnote 25.

  33. Zuvele Leschen, 10 April 2008.

    Viktor Brenners, 22 October 2007.

    Ronnie Beauchamp, 22 May 2007.

  34. See footnote 5.

  35. See footnote 27.

  36. Raised in an interview with Zuvele Leschen in Melbourne, 10 April 2008.

  37. See footnote 5.

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Acknowledgements

This work would not have been possible without the insights and inspiration provided by Ron Brunner. The importance of the participation, support and interest of the people of Alpine Shire cannot be overestimated. This research program has been supported by the Australian Research Council though FF0348550 and by CSIRO through their Research Top-Up Scholarships.

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  1. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Northeast Regional Climate Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Lee M. Tryhorn

  2. Regional Climate Group, School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Amanda H. Lynch

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Correspondence to Lee M. Tryhorn.

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Tryhorn, L.M., Lynch, A.H. Climate change adaptation in the Alpine Shire of Australia: a decision process appraisal. Policy Sci 43, 105–127 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-009-9088-0

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