DOC takes action to adapt to climate change
A new Department of Conservation (DOC) action plan tackles the impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biodiversity and DOC managed infrastructure including tracks, huts and cultural heritage.
DOC’s new climate change adaptation action plan sets out a long-term strategy to identify the best actions for adapting to climate change. This involves assessments of ecosystems and infrastructure vulnerable to climate change impacts and the extent of that vulnerability.
Adaptation options for biodiversity include pest control measures to take the pressure off threatened species and increase their resilience, avoiding translocating threatened species to areas vulnerable to climate change impacts, and protecting coastal species by restoring natural defences against coastal flooding.
Options to reduce the risk to recreational assets could involve redesigning them so they are suitable for future climate conditions and building new structures away from high-risk areas.