This blog details the question and answer period from the seminar given by Michael Douglas of the Charles Darwin University, at the IAN Seminar Series on September 27, 2012.

• What is being done to prepare for the projected 7mm sea level rise per year?
  • People are very concerned about the floodplain areas. There are many case studies already, which allow us to show the public the need to act now.
  • Kakadu National Park
    • Many freshwater wetlands. Some models predict that in 70 years 50% of these freshwater wetlands will be gone.
    • In some catchments, there are as many as 200 small dams.
    • Hard to determine the future effectiveness of engineering efforts.
    • Must prioritize critical habitats from ecological and cultural viewpoints.
    • Must research the weeds and other threats.

• Developing management tools – Is the management community receptive?
  • Yes, Kakadu is an iconic area and very important to the public. The Federal Environment
  • Administrator listed the flood plains of Kakadu as a high priority and the Kakadu Managers have an obligation to respond to this.
  • In the past, Kakadu managers have focused on one value (grazing purposes, biodiversity, etc.), but currently they are working towards focusing on many values to increase the stakeholders.

• More on water issues
  • There are de-salinization plants in South and some cities in Western Australia.
  • Often, there are plans proposed to build a canal to move water from the north to the south, but the cost is currently much too high.

• USFWS National Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is currently experimenting on management techniques for adapting to sea level rise.

• What amount of weight do the indigenous people have?
  • Often politically overlooked.
  • Very strong percentage of land ownership across the region, so they are important landowners and stakeholders from that sense.
  • The water that flows through their land is potentially very valuable, but it is owned by the Crown. They are currently pushing for water rights and planning.
  • Many of the indigenous people suffer from poverty, so there are a lot of social issues and the environmental concerns are often overlooked.
  • Started pushing their rights in the federal initiative of carbon farming.
  • Indigenous rangers employment effort.

• Economic Research
  • Economic models are very valuable for persuading politicians and managers.
  • Must be careful – Difficult to put a value on the cultural, social, ecological, and health benefits.

• Climate change
  • Extremely difficult to predict.
  • Certain: Temperature, water quality, dissolved oxygen, and sea level rise.
  • Not as certain about whether it will become wetter or drier.