Economy
Alpine parks face threat of hotter, dryer climate
OUR alpine parks face a hotter and drier future, with up to a quarter less rain and snow forecast for the region by 2050.
The first official update on the state of the Australian alps in more than half a century warns that the region’s dwindling snow melt and run-off will threaten the Murray-Darling’s $10 billion lifeline to clean, reliable water supplies.
It calls for more than $100 million in extra funding over 15 years to help the alpine parks adapt to climate change, starting with the eradication of brumbies, deer and other pests.
The report, commissioned by the federal Climate Change Department, found that the high country straddling Victoria, NSW and the ACT was not sufficiently resilient to cope with climate change on top of land degradation.
“For an environment of climate change, there were too few sub-catchments assessed as good and improving,” the report says. More than a third (38 per cent) of sub-catchments across the 1.6 million hectares of alpine parks were rated in good health, with the remainder in moderate (54 per cent) or poor (8 per cent) condition.
Conditions were improving in less than 25 per cent of catchments, despite annual spending of $53m on alpine park management.
The report said “new and improved” responses were urgently needed, costing its plan to control weed, feral animal, soil erosion and fire threats to water quality and flows at $7m a year for 15 years.
It warned that the alternative was to endanger $9.6bn worth of high country run-off into the Snowy, Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers that ultimately supply that nation’s food bowl, the Murray-Darling Basin.
“As the Murray-Darling Basin becomes hotter and drier with climate change, every gigalitre flowing from the alps catchments to the basin will become more important,” the department says.
Feral horse populations exploded by 300 per cent over the six years to 2009, with another 55 per cent increase expected by next year. Aerial culls have triggered a public backlash, due to animal welfare concerns and the brumby’s place in outback lore.
Related:
The NY Times has been running a series on forests, forestry practice and climate change. Here’s the link to the latest in the series below. Other article links are listed on the left-hand side of this article.
And, Rolling Stone:
Climate Change and the End of Australia
Want to know what global warming has in store for us? Just go to Australia, where rivers are drying up, reefs are dying, and fires and floods are ravaging the continent
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/climate-change-and-the-end-of-australia-20111003
And, Guardian:
Oil sands imports could be banned under EU directive
Fuel from oil sands projects face effective ban under EU proposals, though UK may oppose green plan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/04/oil-sands-imports-eu-ban