Climate and Natural Resources

This study reports on research into the significant social and economic costs of the 2003 bushfires across the Gippsland and North East Regions for both the short and medium terms. It reveals that the bushfires are expected to have considerable direct and indirect effects on these regions for the long term (i.e. the next two to fiv ....

This report updates changes in the Western Australian pastoral rangelands at the Land Conservation District (LCD) scale, providing information on seasonal quality, stock numbers and changes in the density/frequency of perennial shrubs and grasses. It is based on data from the Bureau of Meteorology, the Annual return of livestock and improvements ....

The vulnerability of cities to inundation from the impacts of climate change associated with the increased inter-annual variability associated with extreme weather events has been highlighted in the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. Predictions of an increased intensity of rainfall are likely to result in subse ....

The social and economic changes associated with large scale mineral resource extraction are key issues for rural society in Australia and internationally. Resource extraction has played an important role in Australia since European settlement and continues to do so. However, there are some indications that Australia's current resources 'boom' may ....

The Australian government has developed a range of programs to encourage sustainable agriculture and protect Australia’s natural resources. These programs include the National Landcare Program, the Natural Heritage Trust and, more recently, the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. The 2001-02 resource management survey was de ....

Values of resources and commodities and current information of interest. This resource provides a wealth of publications on regional issues, including specific reports relating to energy and resources in Regional Australia. As a collection, these publications provide valuable information on regional industry. Report Locationhttp://www.bree. ....

As remnant vegetation covers <15% of the Australian sheep-wheat belt, it is important to identify conservation strategies suitable for use in agricultural landscapes. Tree lines are widespread ecological structures in rural areas, and are now the subject of government subsidy schemes in New South Wales. However, the contribution of tree lines ....

Revegetation is an important and urgent issue in natural resources management in Australia, and there is a growing awareness of the need for extensive revegetation to counter environmental problems arising from the loss of native vegetation, including the decline in biodiversity. This guide is the culmination of a project to identi ....

In 1995 the Australian, State and Territory Governments agreed to a program of competition policy reform. There has been substantial progress in the implementation of the National Competition Policy (NCP) over the past eight years, including in the related reform areas of electricity, gas, road transport and water. This report exam ....

This paper examines the role of local institutions in supporting climate change adaptation action from a public policy perspective. While certain adaptation actions will provide public benefits, many others will offer private benefits. The paper argues that adaptation investments and assigning the adaptation responsibility across various actors s ....

This paper examines non-metropolitan disadvantage in the framework of five key areas: economic capital; institutional capital; social capital; human capital; and natural capital. Through analysis of a range of issues including population, health, education, employment and environment, the report identifies and describes some of the ....

This paper argues that climate change poses two distinct, if related, sets of challenges for poor rural households: challenges related to the increasing frequency and severity of weather shocks and challenges related to long-term shifts in temperature, rainfall patterns, water availability and other environmental factors. Within this framework, t ....

Many nations claim to be pursuing a ‘green growth' model in response to global economic and climate crises including ambitious green jobs projections. The rural dimension of this issue requires closer attention. This article draws on secondary sources and Australian Bureau of Statistics data to critically analyse green jobs projections based on ....

Management of natural resources, particularly water, increasingly requires that likely benefits of particular actions (e.g., allocating an environmental flow) are quantified in advance. Therefore, new techniques are required that enable those potential benefits to be objectively compared among competing options for management (e.g., compared to a ....