Change Management Planning for Climate Variability in the Namoi Catchment
Tamworth Regional Council
Funding: $760,000
About the project
The Tamworth Regional Council is the lead recipient for a consortium of Council's covering the regions of Tamworth, Liverpool Plains, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Walcha and Walgett.
The project entails change management planning due to increased climate variability in the Namoi Catchment. This council will do the following:
- update and/or create new strategic plans to account for and manage future risks and scenarios related to water use and climate change;
- have the value of water quantified for all water users and planners (industrial, agriculture and domestic);
- develop environment and social indicators for the entire catchment;
- improve understanding by community stakeholders and Local Government Councillors and staff of climate change science and possible future scenarios for water management;
- summarise forecast impacts of climate change for the region and ongoing monitoring of future scientific knowledge in place;
- establish a social economic resilience model; and
- improve cross sector engagement and communication on water planning for the entire catchment and its stakeholders.
Project benefits
These efforts will have a pronounced and long lasting benefit for the region. These benefits include:
- an improved understanding of the implications associated with climate change;
- forecasted impacts of climate change summarised for the region;
- the establishment of a socio economic resilience model tool; and
- improved cross sector engagement (buy in) and communication on water planning for the entire catchment and its stakeholders.
Project completion
This project was completed in July 2012. The project resulted in the development of a purpose-built economic model to estimate the value of water to the Namoi Catchment. This model consists of three integrated modules:
- The land use model which estimates the direct hit to agricultural production in the catchment from a water shock;
- A Computer General Equilibrium that determines the flow on impact to output at the catchment level from reduced agricultural production; and
- A community level disaggregation resilience model which examines the direct impact on water users in the catchment based on land and water use profiles of each community.
Further information
Further information on this project may be obtained by contacting the Tamworth Regional Council directly on 02 6767 5555.
The Strengthening Basin Communities program is funded by the Australian Government's Water for the Future initiative.