The Queensland Government, in partnership with the Local Government Association of Queensland (LAGQ) is investing $12M of funds to help coastal Councils and their communities plan and prepare for storm tide, coastal erosion and rising sea levels resulting from climate change. The QCoasts program supports coastal Councils in their progression from identifying coastal hazards and climate change risks through to the decision-making and implementation phases.
The Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy (CHAS) is a process designed to assess the risk from the projected effects of climate change over the medium to long term; propose adaptation measures to mitigate these impacts; and establish an implementation program for the mitigation measures. A CHAS is the product of a series of studies that seek to:
- Identify coastal hazard areas
- Understand vulnerabilities and risks to a range of assets
- Engage with the community to understand their preferred approach to adaptation
- Determine the costs, priorities and timeframes for their implementation.
This process provides each LGA with a long-term strategy that proactively plans for the future management of their coastal areas. The development of the strategy has a strong focus on understanding the needs of stakeholders and communities. It integrates technical assessments that incorporate increasing sea-levels and changing climate, robust economic assessment, and flexible and adaptable management and engineering options, to help increase the resilience of their coastal areas.
Alluvium was engaged by the Douglas Shire to deliver Phases 3 – 8 of the CHAS process and Douglas Shire Council are now the first to complete their draft and final strategy and all supporting technical papers and communications and engagement activities and material for Phases 1 – 8.
