Government approval for the Agriculture, Forest and Seafood Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan has been welcomed by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed.
Adaptation is the process of preparing for the impacts of climate disruption including, for events such as flooding, fodder shortages or extreme storm events.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the overall adaptation goal of the statutory plan is to build resilience to the effects of climate change and weather-related events in the agriculture, forestry and seafood sector.
The plan includes 15 case studies to highlight some real examples of the impact of future climate change projections on the sector and steps towards building resilience to deal with these impacts.
By taking steps to reduce exposure to present climate variability we can inform future climate adaptation requirements and increase resilience.
Speaking today, Thursday, October 31, following the approval of the adaptation plan, Minister Creed said:
“I am very pleased the Agriculture, Forest and Seafood Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan has been approved as part of the whole-of-Government approach adopted under Climate Action Plan 2019.
We have taken a consistent approach to adaptation planning across the department and have prepared a single plan covering the agriculture, forest and seafood sector.
The minister noted that primary producers are very much to the forefront of dealing with the impacts of a changing climate but stressed that climate change is an issue which belongs to everyone.
He said that the issue is something that everyone in the production chain needs to consider, adding that it is not solely a domestic issue.
“Our agriculture, forest and seafood sectors will be impacted by global changes in climate also.”
The minister continued, adding: “In addition to reducing our emissions, we must ensure that our food production system is resilient and ready to adapt to future climate risk.
The Agriculture, Forest and Seafood Sectoral Adaptation Plan approved today is an important next step in our goal to build a strong and resilient sector that is well placed to take on the challenges and opportunities presented by our changing climate.
The adaptation plan highlights a number of case studies identifying how the sector has and will continue to be impacted by changing weather patterns and steps towards building resilience.