ReCrafting urban climate change resilience understandings – learning from Australian Indigenous cultures

Internationally a growing body of literature has interrogated the vulnerability, risk, resilience, and adaptation of Indigenous peoples to climate change. Key traits in this literature synthesis point to the impacts of climate change on sovereignty, culture, health, and economies that are currently being experienced by Indigenous (First Nations) communities globally. While knowledge and science of how climate change impacts are affecting Indigenous peoples can contribute to the formulation of policies, plans, designs and programs for climate change adaptation, settlement resilience planning and greenhouse gas emission reductions, little research has validated this knowledge as well as its potential. In Australia, climate change is expected to have social, economic and environmental impacts on urban Indigenous communities inhabiting coastal areas throughout south-eastern Australia. These impacts include a loss of community and environmental assets, cultural heritage sites, significant impacts on the quality of life of populations, and the establishment of favourable conditions for the spread of plant diseases, weeds and pests. Over most of south-eastern Australia, including southern Victoria and the Brisbane region, climate change is expected to lead to increased risk of heatwaves, longer drought periods, increased bushfire risk, increased risks of flood events and more frequent coastal inundation and associated impacts such as coastal erosion.