Policy Guidance Brief: Emergency management and climate change adaptation
Author: NCCARF
Year: 2013
Communities depend on emergency management to deal with much of the risk from climatic events – cyclones and storms, bushfires, extreme heat and flooding. These events cause great financial and emotional hardship for individuals and communities, and can result in significant loss of life. This factsheet first describes the future projections of extreme climate events in Australia, and then discusses the current and future effects, impacts and issues associated with them. It also considers what adaptation means for the emergency management sector, particularly in terms of preparedness and recovery. The following are the key findings for policy guidance outlined: (i) Long-term and sustained funding is needed to achieve necessary change in the balance of emergency management from response to preparedness and prevention, (ii) lessons learnt from events need to be incorporated in policy in a timely manner, (iii) land-use planning and emergency management need to be better connected to incorporate risk management into planning, and (iv) community education is critical to improving resilience and social understanding of risk.
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