Building climate resilience

5.1

Build community resilience by raising awareness of flood risks and implementing a statewide system for flood warnings and alerts

DPFEM (SES)

State Emergency Service has initiated an ongoing program to deliver Community Flood Guides for all flood-prone communities in Tasmania. The guides provide advice to residents on what to do before, during, and after a flood event.

SES has initiated a project to deliver a new flood warning service that aligns with the Australian Warning System.

Ongoing

5.2

Develop online resources to help communities understand their exposure to natural hazards

DPAC (OSEM)

RiskReady went live on the TasALERT website in mid-December 2019.

RiskReady was developed to provide an easy-to-use online portal that delivers property-based natural hazard information to the community in an accessible, relevant and understandable format. By providing this information, property owners can be empowered to adapt and respond to the presence and risks of natural hazards on their land.

These spatial layers are currently available on RiskReady:

• Landslide;
• Coastal Inundation;
• Coastal Erosion;
• Bushfire Prone Area; and
• Bushfire Impact Area.

‘Bushfire prone area’ mapping is currently available on RiskReady for 10 Local Government Areas, with a further 12 to be added soon.

‘Bushfire prone area’ mapping for the remaining seven Local Government Areas will be made available once councils make amendments to their respective planning schemes.

Other additional hazards will be added to RiskReady over time, with detailed flood modelling becoming available in the next couple of years.

Complete

5.3

Work with local government and regional bodies to embed climate change adaptation into strategic and financial decision making

DPAC (TCCO)

TCCO continues to support Tasmanian councils to understand and manage climate-related risks likely to affect their operations and service delivery. Following a 2018 analysis of Tasmanian local government’s climate change governance, 17 of Tasmania’s 29 councils participated in the Climate Resilient Councils project. Each council received a detailed project report that assessed how climate change is considered by their council, and suggested opportunities for further consideration of climate-related risk in council decision making.

Ongoing

5.4

Understand and manage the impacts of coastal hazards to existing settlements by identifying risks and developing management options

DPAC (TCCO, OSEM)

DoJ

Supporting Tasmania’s coastal managers to help them identify and manage coastal hazards to existing settlements and values. Four information gathering workshops with coastal managers and relevant staff from State and local governments and government business enterprises were held across the State in late 2018.

The findings from the workshops will inform the development of the Tasmanian Government’s ongoing approach to managing coastal hazards for existing settlements and values.

Ongoing

5.5

Examine the impacts of climate change on bushfire risks in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

DPAC (TCCO)

DPIPWE

DPFEM

The Tasmanian Government’s response to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Bushfire and Climate Change Research Project was publicly released in December 2017.

To support the implementation of the report recommendations, the Tasmanian Government allocated additional funding of $4 million over four years in the 2017-18 Budget for bushfire management in the TWWHA.

This funding is supporting the implementation of a number of the Research Project’s recommendations. This includes improving bushfire management planning, bushfire risk assessment and modelling, bushfire recovery, developing a model of fire cover, and undertaking planned burning in the TWWHA.

Complete

5.6

Work with Tasmanian Government agencies to embed climate change consideration in strategic planning, purchasing and decision making

DPAC (TCCO)

Treasury

The Tasmanian Government has substantial information on climate-related risks for Tasmania. A key example is the climate projections developed through the Climate Futures for Tasmania project.

The 2020 review of the Climate Change (State Action) Act 2008 (the Act) is underway which will include consideration of climate in government decision making.

The Tasmanian Government is preparing its response to the review of the Act.

Ongoing

5.7

Mitigate risks from bushfire by delivering a targeted program of burns to reduce fuel in areas that pose the greatest risk to the Tasmanian community

DPIPWE

The Parks and Wildlife Service (DPIPWE) has completed 48 planned burns from 1 July 2020 to 1 June 2021 covering 10,000 hectares. The burns have been targeted to reduce the risk of bushfires impacting on communities, as part of the Statewide Fuel Reduction Program, and also treat broad areas of vegetation in and around the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area to protect natural and cultural values.

Ongoing