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Media Releases |
Media Release - Department of Planning Sydney: 7 November 2008 NSW DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING'S CLIMATE CHANGE INNOVATION AWARD Sam Haddad, the Director-General of the NSW Department of Planning announced today that the NSW Department of Planning had won a major award at the NSW 2008 Coastal Conference for an important climate change mapping project.
The NSW Department of Planning managed the $500,000 project, which used airborne laser technology to identify low-lying areas on the Central and Hunter coasts at risk of sea level rise resulting from climate change.
On Thursday night, the project was announced as the winner in the Innovation award category at the 17th annual NSW Coastal Conference held in Wollongong.
The report was funded by the NSW Government’s Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Research Program and the Department.
It was also successful in attracting additional funds from Hunter Water Corporation and Lake Macquarie City Council.
Mr Haddad said the award illustrated the NSW Government’s strong work to plan for climate change along the NSW coast.
“The report proved the effectiveness of using airborne laser technology – known as Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology - to map low-lying coastal areas for the purpose of risk assessment associated with sea level rise,” he said.
“This award is recognition of the valuable contribution this project has made to long-term planning for climate change.”
The NSW Coastal Conference Awards are presented to publicly recognise and acknowledge the contributions of individuals, groups, organisations and agencies toward the ecologically sustainable management of the NSW coastal zone.
The conference’s Innovation award is presented to an individual, group, organisation or agency for initiation or development of innovative methods and techniques to address a coastal management issue.
Other planning-related climate change work by the NSW Government includes:
• The world-first Building Sustainability Index (BASIX), which has saved significant amounts of water and energy since its commencement in 2004." • Preparing regional strategies for high growth regions to guide sustainable future development, including recognition and adaptation to climate change risk, especially in low lying coastal areas; • Implementing the NSW Coastal Policy which has required consideration of climate change since 1997; • Including provisions to consider coastal processes, including sea level rise, in the standard template for local environmental plans; and • Involvement in collaborative work with other states and the Commonwealth in the context of the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework.
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