The way forward for GORCC
About this page
What are we doing to help address the impacts of climate change on our coast?
Since early 2009 GORCC has been working in partnership with the Department of Sustainability (DSE), Surf Coast Shire and other organisations and stakeholders in an effort to identify a way forward to tackling climate change impacts on the coast at a local level.
In August 2009, a workshop jointly organised with the shire brought together representatives from government, business, tourism, environmental and community sectors to discuss this issue.
GORCC has commenced work on a project, supported by funding provided by the Australian Government, to assess the vulnerability to climate change of coastal areas along the Great Ocean Road between Torquay and Lorne. This will provide a better understanding of the likely climate change risk profile for our iconic coastline and provide a basis for considering adaptation strategies.
The project will build on larger coastal climate change vulnerability assessments currently underway or already completed at the state and national level. It will assess the vulnerability that climate change poses to our local coast, including its natural, cultural, economic and social values, and the potential impacts on coastal assets and infrastructure, beach areas and cliff systems.
In addition, the project will explore appropriate adaptation requirements and opportunities. The latter is likely to focus on three options:
1. Protect (e.g. protection of beaches, dunes and infrastructure, land use and development).
2. Accommodate (e.g. planning and building policies and provisions, redesign and rebuild).
3. Retreat (e.g. relocation of infrastructure, land use and development).
The project commenced in April 2010 and will serve as a foundation piece of work that will underpin and support future initiatives. Its findings will be used to generate education materials to communicate the wider findings to the broader community. Stay tuned!
