Abstract
It is now widely understood that the impacts of coastal climate change will pose significant challenges to coastal communities. In response to anticipated threats, much effort is being devoted to adaptation planning, and many policies, plans and strategies have been prepared. Due to their key responsibilities for land-use planning and management, much of this effort is focused on and undertaken by local government. However, it is understood that since there are many uncertainties about coastal futures and climate change scepticism endures, achieving organisational ‘buy-in’ can be difficult when not all parties accept anticipated changes and associated risks. It is also documented that public perceptions may compel or constrain action to progress policies across many dimensions (political, social and economic), including climate change. Little is understood about the role of elected members and their influence on decision-making processes for coastal planning and adaptation. As representatives of the community, their perceptions of climate threats and associated risks have the potential to either promote or impede acceptance and action at the local government level. This study canvasses the perceptions of elected members and local government staff from South Australia’s 34 coastal councils about coastal climate change preparedness. It provides a comparison between the perceptions of these two groups and offers some insights into possible adaptation barriers and implementation gaps.
Presenters
Beverley ClarkeAssociate Professor, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, Flinders University, South Australia, Australia Nicole Pelton
Allira Taylor Wilkins
Student, Bachelor (Honours), Flinders University, South Australia, Australia Cassandra Star
Peter Tangney
Claire Nettle
Climate and Sustainability Policy Research Group, College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University, South Australia, Australia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Technical, Political, and Social Responses
KEYWORDS
Coastal, Adaptation planning, Policy, Values, Local government, Threat perception
