The RMIT University Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP) has four integrated program activities each containing a range of supporting research projects:
- Assess and map the vulnerability of urban infrastructure in selected cities in Asia Pacific to climate change impacts;
- Implement an adaptive infrastructural initiative in two cities — one Australian and one in the Asia-Pacific region; and
- Propose a global framework for equitable and efficient allocation of adaptation costs; and convene a global or regional mayoral event on World Environment Day, 2009, to launch a global city compact for implementing city-level adaptation commitments.
We recognise that the adaptation issues that are being faced throughout the world are massive. No one institution has all the expertise required to address all the interrelated issues. The information available on adaptation related issues and responses is growing exponentially. Finding time required to stay up to date is challenging. To support researchers and to increase our ability to respond to adaptation needs quickly, we are undertaking the following two projects which do not fit within the above four categories.
1. AdaptNet
This important project aims to make it easy for those interested in climate change adaptation issues to keep up to date with the latest information on adaptation strategies, measures, tools, research and analysis, best practice and implementation. AdaptNet is a free weekly report on climate change adaptation issues. Each edition of AdaptNet contains links to 5 reports, information on 1 conference/event and 1 Policy Forum Essay. AdaptNet is currently available in Chinese, English, Indonesian and Vietnamese. Click here to view the latest edition or to subscribe. For more information contact: Mr. Saleem Janjua.
2. Assessment of CCA actual and latent research capacities
This project focuses on identifying climate change adaptation related expertise throughout RMIT University and The University of Melbourne. We intend to expand this to other institutions in the future. Data on researchers and their expertise are being collated into a repository that can be searched by name or issue. Therefore if a need arises to find experts in sea level rise, green building and infrastructure design, disease control or any of the many other adaptation related issues, we can type in those keywords, search, and find details of experts in those fields. The database provides us with a summary of their expertise, their past research and publications, plus their contact details.
This work will be further expanded to identify capacity clusters and relevant experts within those clusters. A capacity cluster is a grouping of interrelated issues that we can expect to see arise in relation to climate change. Two examples are provided below:
1. Water-Related Infrastructure Adaptive Capacity Cluster
A Water-Related Infrastructure Adaptive Capacity Cluster would contain researchers working on adaptation issues that arise from:
- Severe storms resulting from climate change can have severe effects on water and sanitation systems, with major implications for public health.
- In addition to direct transmission of water-borne gastro-intestinal diseases resulting from the impact of floods on these systems, cities also face new insect-borne infectious diseases (especially via mosquitos) resulting from pooled and stagnant water with high organic loads between floods.
- Coastal cities face the additional burden of sea level rise and impact of direct contamination of drinking water by sewage and seafood contamination due to nutrient flushes and harmful algal blooms.
Adaptive measures to address this cluster of issues are manifold but include relocation of processing facilities, re-powering with decentralized energy sources, flood control and mitigation measures, and many public health monitoring and management technologies and methods. Our CCA capacity repository would enable us to quickly identify experts working in these areas enabling a quick and integrated response.
2. Urban Heat Island and Public Health Adaptive Capacity Cluster
An Urban Heat Island and Public Health Adaptive Capacity Cluster would contain researchers working on adaptation issues that arise from:
- Increased pollen production by weeds and trees due to more carbon dioxide combined with longer growing seasons;
- Increased carbon dioxide may also stimulate increased molds, further nurtured by increased humidity resulting from higher temperatures combined with increased intensity of rainfall
- Particles such as diesel exhaust combine with mold and pollen to produce more allergens that are then delivered to vulnerable populations susceptible to respiratory disease
- Photochemical smog will increase due to longer and hotter heat waves that affect cardio-respiratory illness and mortality.
Adaptive measures to address this cluster of issues are manifold but include public health system responses to increased demand for services due to heat island effects of climate change and amelioration of heat island by public transport, green belts, urban trees, parks, and roof gardens.
For more information contact: Dr. Jodi-Anne Smith.
