Jean S Renouf
As Extinction Rebellion protested peacefully in Mullumbimby recently to hold the Byron Shire Council accountable to its stated commitment to action on clime change (having declared a climate emergency in October 2018), I wonder what a climate resilient Byron Shire might look like.
David Attenborough recently slammed Australia for inaction on climate change at the British Parliament and recalled that ‘Australia is already facing some of the most extreme manifestations of climate change’. Given the 2018-2019 ‘angriest summer’ ever, when Australia was the hottest place on Earth and where more than 200 weather-event records were broken, this doesn’t come as a surprise.
On the east coast of Australia, from south of Sydney to north of Rockhampton, the projections for the coming years and decades by the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology are dire. They anticipate an increase of the average temperature in all seasons, meaning more hot days and longer warm spells; a decrease in winter rainfall but an increased intensity of extreme daily rainfall events; a harsher fire-generating climate; and a significant rise in sea-levels.
In other words, from Ocean Shores to Upper Main Arm, from Byron Bay to Mullumbimby to Federal we should brace for more floods, bushfires, heatwaves, droughts, coastal erosion, and more cyclones and storms. It would be a mistake to assume that the climate of the past will continue into the future as these climate hazards could occur simultaneously or in quick succession. Indeed, hotter temperatures can exacerbate prolonged droughts which increase the risk of wildfires, strengthen cyclones, and increase extreme rainfall.
A different future
This will mean increased food and water insecurity, more weather and climate related diseases ranging from heat stress to malaria and dengue, more extinction of our wildlife, and damage to infrastructure, as well as less productivity as people struggle to work in the heat. And of course, no one knows how people are going to react to such drastic changes, so social unrest may be possible too, especially if global and regional migrations of scales never seen before in history, are poorly planned for.
Which begs the question of what a climate resilient Byron shire would look like. What does it mean for a place to be ‘resilient’ to climate change anyway? Minimally, it refers to how well a place can adapt to, and recover from, the disruptive climactic events. We’re not simply talking about physical infrastructure here, but also the heart and soul of communities as they seek to contend with what is already unfolding. What’s required is a wholesale appraisal of our existing systems, networks and practices. Minimally, we require attention to the following:
- Social cohesion and consultation: a community which is well aware of the changing climate and consequences, cohesive and supportive of its most vulnerable members. A community where each household has planned for contingencies with the support of our institutions, and which is regularly consulted and informed by its leaders.
- Leadership, planning, and resources: elected and non-elected leaders, including politicians and emergency services, alongside community, business, youth, religious and spiritual leaders; an understanding of the risks associated with the climate crisis, promptly devised strategic plans to adapt for these alongside with the community and appropriate resource allocation.
- Resilient infrastructures: including protection and regeneration of natural infrastructures such as forests, mangroves, flood plains or sand dunes, and human-made infrastructures such as water tanks and drains, and an effective public transport system.
- Survival basics – such as shelter, access to water and sanitation, food, energy, and health services.
Innovative solutions
Above all, a resilient Byron shire would be guided by a shared understanding of the unprecedented scale of the challenge and unite around a common vision. Current gaps and needs need to be identified and local entrepreneurs and community leaders invited to develop innovative solutions, creating new livelihoods and income streams in the process.
A Climate Resilience Centre where the shire’s resilience efforts would be agreed, coordinated, overseen and supported should be created. It would also launch an assessment of the current efforts to tackle climate change, from emissions reductions (eg Zero Emissions Byron, COREM, etc) to community awareness raising and adaptation (e.g. Ngara Institute, Ocean Shores Community Association, etc.) as well as of the vulnerabilities of the different community members. The centre would also identity and support shelters for the community to gather in times of need, and provide training and equipment to help homes and businesses prepare for natural disasters, as well as first aid and basic life support.
The many emotional and spiritual dimensions of this wicked problem would have been given respectful attention. People would have been able to grieve the end of the world as we know it and offered means for coping.
Social cohesion would be further built through street or neighbourhood community activities, intergenerational sharing and learning, nature and arts projects, men’s (and women’s) shed style home retrofitting businesses as well as radical acts of kindness (where each of us decisively step out of our comfort zone to care for others) leading to a compassionate community. The farmers’ markets would host an annual Harvest Festival, which would draw the whole town together to cook and celebrate good locally-grown food.
Every household, business and institution would collect their own rainwater, have access to some shared ‘water banks’ or have off-grid, water condensers that create drinking water. They would also be energy independent using their own, or shared, locally-produced, renewable energies.
The shire would be self-sufficient in terms of basic food needs, with multiple community gardens, food forests, lawns transformed into veggie gardens, indoor vertical gardens, sustainable regenerative agriculture and fishing practices, and farm-to-plate type business models. A food hub would link local producers to local retailers, processors and other food markets and include a permanent market site, cafe, commercial kitchen and food processing facilities. It would also support multiple activities such as the sharing of knowledge in land management and production techniques as well as energy and nutrient recovery via composting and biogas generation.
The community would have assessed and decided what to do with flood-prone houses and buildings, including retrofitting or relocating them. For those properties needing relocation, an inclusive, sustainable retreat plan would have been devised and implemented together.
Ecological conservation and restoration would be the new normal, increasing biodiversity, afforestation and reforestation, bushfire reduction, green infrastructures (shade trees, green roofs, etc), ecological corridors, seed banks, community-based natural resource management, and more.
When it comes to the engineered and built environment, sea walls and coast protection structures, flood levees and culverts would have been considered and installed if necessary, alongside water storage, improved drainage and sewage works, flood and cyclone shelters, storm and waste management, transport and road infrastructure adaptation and floating house.
Reinvigorate the local economy
Public transport would be promoted and supported, and the city infrastructures would provide water, shade, cycling routes, resting spots and safety.
Non-violent community safety and security would be strengthened through a network of ethically driven and trained carers and protectors, who would focus in particular on supporting vulnerable people.
The local economy would be regenerative and organised as closed cycles, helping businesses increase profitability by reducing raw material and waste disposal cost, reducing carbon emission and making their by-products a source of revenue to be bought by other businesses. The Byron dollar would have been created as a local currency, helping to support the local economy and perhaps even designed in a way to support universal basic income.
Of course, all of this needs funding. To start with, existing global climate finance and impact investments could be sought to develop local-level resilience projects. Then, by orienting planning around resilience practices, the shire could uncover new efficiencies in investments to achieve multiple benefits.
I acknowledge that climate change remains a divisive issue in Australia and we need to create new ways of living and working in our community. I don’t have all the answers but I know there is no cavalry coming to the rescue. The good news is that a lot of inspiring projects are already happening. However, community education and engagement are vitally important. Creating a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice could be part of it as it would ensure genuine community ownership. The Byron Shire Council should now consider a series of public meetings to begin to address the specific challenges presented by the climate crisis. We are all in it together.
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