Why a general approach to adaptation planning?

We developed this approach with recognition that there is a great deal of variation among Australian NRM groups; as such, it supports the integration of climate change adaptation into planning regardless of the current style or stage of planning.

By focusing on five general components of planning, this guide will be relevant regardless of the specific planning approach.

The five components of adaptation planning

The components reflect an iterative planning process that is also appropriate for planning for climate change. This is because the most effective responses to climate change risks may not be known and outcomes may only be achieved after trying a range of options, assessing the responses, and adjusting those responses.

It is designed to support self-assessment; NRM users can consider how well their current processes meet many of the challenges that will arise due to climate change, what adaptation might be required, and how some processes might need to be adjusted to incorporate adaptation into planning.

The table below summarises how each stage of planning might be different under an adaptation lens. For a more detailed look into the components of planning, including examples of how they have been applied in natural resource management, download The NRM Adaptation Checklist.

Why might assessment need to be different? to assess potential futures, not just current state to empower the community early in the planning process & build their capacity to effectively manage increasing quantities of information	Why might strategic planning need to be different? to plan for multiple possible futures to incorporate longer-term decision-making with short-term flexibility to facilitate solutions at a greater range of scales, especially larger cross-border scales to foster adaptive capacity through innovation and creativity	Why might implementation planning and action need to be different? to plan actions that are appropriate for multiple futures to consider different sequences of actions over time to explore the consequences of actions across domains to avoid perverse outcomes to build adaptive capacity through innovation, action and experimentation	Why might monitoring need to be different? to monitor which climate futures are eventuating to monitor trigger points for future decisions to more critically target monitoring of actions to build adaptive capacity through partnerships and helping people observe changes and success stories	Why might reflection need to be different? to reflect on success in terms of avoiding undesirable futures (rather than progress toward a single, desirable future) to decide whether it is time to address decisions that were previously delayed to reflect on adaptive capacity and ownership of the plan by your community