25-03-2003

Australian farmers and land managers will have access to better climate forecasts and improved risk management for extreme events such as the current drought, thanks to new research being funded through the Managing Climate Variability Programme.

Late last year the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry the Hon. Warren Truss announced a $500,000 commitment to the next phase of the Climate Programme which is managed by Land & Water Australia.

The funding will allow 11 new projects to be undertaken, focusing on sustainable land and water resource applications including new tools to manage across Australia's extremely variable conditions.

The Climate Programme's Interim Advisory Committee met in Canberra recently to discuss research priorities and project applications. The new research projects include:

The development of a credible, nationally accepted monitoring and forecasting model for extreme climatic events which recognises climate change;
Delivering to the grazing and cropping industries a series of potential management responses to likely climate change scenarios, to produce more resilient agricultural systems; and,
Assessing how climate-change projections could be factored into land use planning processes.
A number of other projects will be closely examining the 2002/03 drought event to identify lessons learnt and where improvements could be made in the climate outlook and information services.

Land & Water Australia Chair Ms Roberta Brazil said the projects that have been funded will provide valuable follow-on research from previous climate studies.

'During this century, the effects and implications of climate change will present Australia's farmers and resource managers even more challenges than they face currently with the most variable climate on earth,' Ms Brazil said.

'Many projections show rising temperatures, increased evaporation and less rainfall for much of Australia, meaning events like the current drought will be become more frequent and probably more severe.

'Australian farmers already manage extreme variability, and have to be better equipped than any of their international competitors to predict and manage climate risks. This program will help land and water managers to better anticipate extreme events, and also to be more opportunistic in responding to rainfall, thus reducing risk and improving profitability.'



ENDS

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