Learning from cross-border arrangements to support climate change adaptation in Australia

Abstract

This paper focuses on learning from existing cross-border governance arrangements with a view to strengthening and improving climate change adaptation within the Australian context. Using an institutional learning framework, the research offers a critical analysis of two Australian cross-border cases: (1) the Murray-Darling Basin, and (2) the Australian Alps. The research findings focus on the issues of geographic (place), administrative (space) and political (territory) fragmentation as key concepts that underpin integrated environmental planning and management in practice. There are significant implications for climate change adaptation in evolving cross-border regions at scale that this paper highlights.

Keywords:

• cross-border governance
• institutional learning
• climate change adaptation
• water security
• Australia

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the anonymous peer reviewers for their constructive comments, and acknowledge the research assistance of Anne-Sophie Iotti and Peter Tangney of the Urban Research Programme Griffith University.

This work was carried out with financial support from the Australian Government (Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Commonwealth or NCCARF, and neither the Commonwealth nor NCCARF accept responsibility for information or advice contained herein.