Capes coast partnership celebrates a decade of climate change action

The Peron Naturaliste Partnership marked 10 years of addressing coastal climate change this month alongside local governments of the wider South West. In 2011, nine local governments between Busselton and Rockingham started the unique collaboration now known as the Peron Naturaliste Partnership, aimed at planning and managing the hazards and risks associated with sea level rise. Chairman Mark Jones said the partnership was a great example of how local governments could come together to address the issue of climate change which requires strong and unified actions. “The impacts of climate change such as sea level rise and more intense storm events are happening all along our coast, so it makes sense from a resourcing and practical perspective to tackle this issue together,” he said. “The partnership has successfully delivered numerous projects that have included identifying and assessing coastal hazards to seeking the community’s views on what they value about the coast. “We are also undergoing long term coastal monitoring across roughly 200km of coastal and estuarine areas so that we have a better understanding and capacity to respond to erosion and flooding hazards.” Over the 11 years, the partnership has secured more than $900,000 in funding to provide a strong voice to advocate for action on coastal climate change matters to both the State and Federal governments. Coastal adaptation co-ordinator Joanne Ludbrook said during her 10-year tenure with the organisation she has worked with each level of impact from the community to decision makers and technical experts. “When I started in this role 10 years ago it was exciting to be part of an establishing regional partnership focused on coastal climate change adaptation,” she said. “Climate change matters across our coastal communities are complex and increasingly important.”