Developing a Method to Build Community Resilience to Climate Change in Sea Change Communities

The sea change phenomenon has gained increased attention at all levels of government and in the popular press (eg. formation of the National Sea Change Taskforce, cross-cutting commentary on the Suburbanisation of Coastal Australia in the latest Commonwealth State of Environment Report, and numerous newspaper articles on sea change). Climate change is likely to have dramatic impacts on many of these sea change communities through diminished potable water supplies, rising sea levels, storm surges, and increased intensity of flood events – with indirect impacts on health, financial sectors, and biodiversity. Given the inherent diversity within sea change communities with regard to age, culture, and socio-economic status there are likely to be differences in ways of adapting, the ability to adapt, and the desired direction of any changes. Cognizant of the potential enormity of climate change impacts, the need for rapid responses, and the diversity within communities, this paper proposes a participatory and transformative method to work with communities in responding to climate change and variability. The method focuses on determining probable futures for various communities of place and interest within sea change areas and aims to build the capacity for dynamic on-going learning to achieve those futures, both within and between the communities being studied. Through this process community members may be empowered with dynamic and future-orientated learning skills that build upon community knowledge, innovation, and resilience