1. Climate change science into
policy: the TREND experiment
in South Australia
http://www.trendsa.org.au/
Susan Sweeney & Phil Pisanu
Department of Environment,
Water and Natural Resources

2. Department of Environment,
Water and Natural Resources
(DEWNR)
• DEWNR’s role in managing SA’s
natural resources ranges from policy
leadership to on-ground delivery with
regional Natural Resources
Management (NRM) Boards.
• The issues we work on include:
climate change, sustainable land
management, water security, public
estate management and biodiversity
conservation.

3. Interpreting Climate
Science for NRM Policy and
Planning in South Australia
• Significant investment by
DEWNR in policy development
for adaptation to climate
change.
• Eg DEWNR Corporate Plan, State
Climate Change Strategy and
Adaptation Framework, State
NRM Plan.
• NRM regions also address
climate change in their plans.

4. • Despite recognition of climate change as a policy
priority, perception within DEWNR is that climate
change research is not being used effectively to
inform policy development and the delivery of
NRM programs.
• Also concerns from research partners about the
lack of up-take of new science generated
specifically for the South Australian Government.
• South Australian TRansect for ENvironmental
monitoring and Decision making (TREND)
attempting to bridge the science/policy interface
http://www.trendsa.org.au/

5. • TREND - SA Gov funded climate change project
• Policy translation theme important condition of funding
• Component of the Multi-Scale Plot Network within TERN
• Establishing baseline
monitoring transects
in SA
• Assessing likely
impacts of climate
change on terrestrial
and marine
ecosystems,
agricultural production
and human
dimensions (space as a
proxy for time).

6. TREND policy translation
Aim:
• Ensure research
undertaken is policy
relevant
• Support evidence based
decision making by
government
• Identify the broad policy
questions that
government needs
answering

7. What did we do?
• NRM policy officers and planners
invited to relevant workshops.
• Before each workshop, invitees
provided with information about
TREND and main climate change
policy drivers in SA
• Eg SA Strategic Plan, Climate Change
Adaptation Framework, Draft Marine
Park Management Plans, NatureLinks,
State NRM plan
• Invitees were asked to provide 3-4
draft policy questions which were NatureLinks
compiled and synthesised prior to the
workshop.

8. • At each workshop, appropriate
research scientists provided
detailed description of research
aims and methodology
• Marine (Prof Corey Bradshaw &
Dr Jason Tanner)
• Terrestrial biodiversity (Prof Andy
Lowe & Dr Greg Guerin)
• Agricultural Production (Dr Peter
Hayman & Dr Dane Thomas)
• Workshop participants considered, word-smithed and prioritised
previously distributed draft policy questions, with guidance from
scientists, as to what was realistically achievable from their research.
• Therefore policy issues were identified prior to the workshops and
the workshops focussed on the synergies between the policy issues
and the planned research.

9. Marine Biodiversity Question
How can TREND inform considerations for marine adaptation and
management? That is, how will changing marine invertebrate
distributions affect the representativeness of marine parks?

10. Agricultural Production Questions
1. What is the vulnerability in terms of agricultural production of different agricultural
regions and industries?
2. What is the vulnerability in terms of risk of environmental degradation (eg wind and
water erosion) of different agricultural regions and industries?
Liddicoat C, Hayman P, Alexander B, Rowland J,
Maschmedt D, Young M-A, Hall J, Herrmann T,
Sweeney S, 2012, Climate change, wheat
production and erosion risk in South Australia’s
cropping zone: Linking crop simulation modelling
to soil landscape mapping, Government of South
Australia, through Department of Environment,
Water and Natural Resources.

11. Terrestrial Biodiversity Questions
1. What drives species composition in the region and how will
this be affected by climate change?
– What species or ecosystems could provide early indicators
of stress?
– What species and ecological communities are most and
least at risk from climate change and what are the expected
impacts?
– How will climate change interact with other disturbance to
influence ecosystem attributes?
2. What adaptation strategies could improve the resilience
of key species and communities?
– What shifts in distribution, species composition and
ecological characteristics can we expect?
• = TREND
– What are the implications for conservation planning monitoring sites
and landscape design?

12. Callistemon teretifolius
(Family Myrtaceae)
A) current climate;
B) 2030 low scenario;
C) 2030 high scenario.
Dark green - dark red indicates
unsuitable - suitable habitat*
Models do not represent
projected distributions, only changes in
suitability.
*McCallum K, Lowe AJ, Guerin, GR, Breed, M (in prep.) An
integrated approach to evaluating species vulnerability and
conservation strategies in a changing climate. [final draft]

13. Future Land Use Planning Conflicts under climate
change?
• Areas identified for
environmental refugia
have also been
earmarked for other
uses such as
horticulture
Houston P & Rowland J, 2008, Room to move. Towards a
strategy to assist the Adelaide Hills apple industry adapt
to climate change in a contested peri-urban
environment, DWLBC Report 2008/20
http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/Knowledge_Bank/Sc
ience_research/Changing_climate/Regional_Climate_Cha
nge_Decision_Framework

14. How to translate these results to NRM policy
and Planning?
• These results need to be integrated
with other climate change research
and related studies, as climate
change is just one of many
stressors that impacts a landscape’s
biodiversity eg weeds, fire, habitat
fragmentation
• However, even this combined
information will still only inform
the implementation of nature
conservation in a landscape.

15. • In order to successfully
implement nature
conservation, information
must be translated into explicit
goals, targets and milestones,
and subsequently into on-
ground activity.
• Eg, modelling tends to
produce a prediction about
the status and trajectory of an
environmental asset that could
be tested through
implementation of actions on-
ground (adaptive management
approach)

16. • TREND has made good inroads but more work needed for results to
be applied to real world policy and management issues.
• Important for researchers to continue engaging with NRM planners
(and vice versa) to assist with this process and to understand each
others competing issues eg funding cycles, timing of plan reviews,
legislation and community aspirations.
• Government based scientists can facilitate this interaction as they
often work with all of the specialist groups. Dedicated resources and
skills development required to develop this science/policy interface.
• Specialist policy translation roles required in future projects?

17. • Other opportunities to engage with NRM planning through
NRM plan reviews and implementation processes.
• Also, new initiatives such as Commonwealth investment in
adaptation plans, through programs such as the Biodiversity
and Regional Natural Resource Management Planning for
Climate Change Funds.
• Important to keep strengthening relationships between science,
policy makers and resource managers to ensure science is fit
for purpose and delivers to NRM managers.