A strategic approach to climate change impacts and adaptation

This paper describes a strategic approach to examining potential climate change impacts on agricultural, forestry and regional/rural resources. It outlines a holistic framework that links impacts with adaptation actions that is consistent with new thoughts on preparing society for climate change. The assessment of the potential impacts is a logical extension of the land resource evaluation models described in the paper by Hossain et al. (2006) since it links land suitability analysis modelling, developed by Primary Industries Research Victoria (PIRVic), with climate change impacts modelling developed by the Commonwealth Sci-entific and Industry Research Organisation (CSIRO). The Framework is illustrated by its applications in two regions in the State of Victoria, AUSTRALIA. The project described in this paper is part of a joint national and state effort in Australia to improve the knowledge on, and tools to adapt to, climate change and climate variability. HUMAN-INDUCED CLIMATE CHANGE Many environmental aspects of Planet Earth are changing rapidly due to human, or anthropo-genic, activity. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), conducted under the auspices of the United Nations, concluded: “Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly an