Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: Preparing Australian Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the Future

Citation

Manolas, E. (2010), "Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: Preparing Australian Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the Future", International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Vol. 2 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijccsm.2010.41402cae.001

Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: Preparing Australian Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the Future

Article Type: Books and resources From: International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Volume 2, Issue 3

Edited by Chris Stokes and Mark HowdenCSIROCollingwoodJanuary 2010AU $59.95296 pp.ISBN 9780643095953

There can be little doubt that climate change currently is and will continue to be a matter of great international concern. Indeed, due to the scope of the problem it is possibly one of the central challenges to humankind has ever faced. Global temperature has increased approximately by 0.7°C since the middle of the nineteenth century. The last decade is the warmest ever recorded. According to recent IPCC reports most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations which are mainly produced from the burning of fossil fuels and from deforestation. If current trends in GHG emissions growth are not altered, global temperatures are expected to rise between 1.4 and 5.8°C (2.5 and 10.4F) by 2100.

Almost 40 scientists working in universities, research institutes, industry and government have contributed to Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: Preparing Australian Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the Future. The book describes the possible effects of climate change and discusses how primary industries can work towards adapting to the consequences of climate change and harnessing the opportunities.

The book is divided into 18 chapters, which can be loosely grouped into four main parts. Part I, comprising Chapters 1 and 2 is the introduction to subject of the book. Part II, covered by Chapters 3-13 (with the exception of Chapter 12) deals with the challenges climate change poses to Australia’s major agricultural industries. Part III, comprising, Chapters 14 and 15, deal with mitigation and adaptation efforts. Part IV, comprising Chapters 16-18, is the final statement of the book proving a summary, an informed speculation of what lies ahead and an attempt to answer frequently asked questions.

Chapter 1 is an introductory chapter that explicates the reasons as to why this book was written as well the general framework of the book. Chapter 2 is vital for understanding all the chapters which follow as it sets out the ways projected climate change will impact Australia, i.e. changes in temperature, extreme weather events, rainfall and its distribution. The book covers all the major agricultural industries in Australia: grains (Chapter 3), cotton (Chapter 4), rice (Chapter 5), sugarcane (Chapter 6), winegrapes (Chapter 7), horticulture and vegetables (Chapter 8), forestry (Chapter 9), broadacre grazing (Chapter 10), intensive livestock (Chapter 11) and fisheries and aquaculture (Chapter 13). The cross-cutting issue of water resources is dealt with in a separate chapter (Chapter 12). GHG emissions from agriculture and how to reduce those are dealt with in Chapter 14, and human dimensions of adaptation are covered in Chapter 15. Chapters 16 and 17 include a summary and an analysis of prospective ways ahead to make adaptation effective in a variable and changing climate. Chapter 18 identifies and answers 16 basic questions on the causes and effects of climate change and the necessary adaptation measures.

The book offers an elegant and inviting writing style and uses language which is easy to follow without sacrificing scientific accuracy. One of the most important features of this work is the engaging openings of each chapter. Instead of the traditional abstract, each chapter opens with presenting the key messages of the chapter in the form of short sentences or paragraphs. Important concepts and issues are illustrated with examples, tables and figures throughout the book. Hundreds of new studies inform this book and the vast majority of cited research has been published since 2005. Statistical data found throughout the text are the most recent available. The book includes an extensive index covering all the key concepts and issues used in the text.

The book addresses scientific, social, economic and political aspects of the efforts needed to prepare Australian agriculture, forestry and fisheries for the future. In this sense the book is interdisciplinary in nature. Given the complexity of climate change, approaching issues from an interdisciplinary perspective is vital in order to deal successfully with them. Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change provides a systematic and in-depth coverage of the issues it deals with making a consistent effort to help the reader think through the issues, not tell him or her what to think. It convinces the reader that the understanding of, and critical thinking about, the challenges of climate change to the primary industries discussed in the book is much more important that the mere presentation of facts and information.

The publication is certainly useful to industry professionals, land managers, policy makers, researchers, students and anyone who is seriously interested in preparing Australia’s primary industries for the challenges and opportunities of climate change. Finally, given that there is a lack of similar efforts in other countries or parts of the world this book can be seen as a useful model to be consulted by all authors interested in studying the challenges climate change may present in the area they live in.

Evangelos ManolasDepartment of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece