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Environment, news, culture from the Australian Alps

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Cam Walker

I work with Friends of the Earth, and live in Castlemaine in Central Victoria, Australia. Activist, mountain enthusiast, telemark skier, volunteer firefighter.

getting ready for climate change in the North East

As the Alpine Shire of Victoria’s north east continues with its bizarre ‘cart before horse’ approach to getting a major development going within the Buffalo National Park, it is also doing some useful and considered work on climate change.

Buffalo Plateau from near Mt Hotham

Just this week, Council accepted the final report of a study into the viability of a ‘skyways’ system on Mt Buffalo. Last year Council offered its active support for the proposal, with a community study which was conducted by the Buffalo Skyways Taskforce arm of the Great Alpine Valley Tourism Board.

Unsurprisngly, the study found 64% ‘support’ for the project.

See here for some of the issues associated with developing a major gondola/ skyway project within one of our most significant national parks.

Climate change and the North East

Meanwhile, Council has been working with the adjacent Towong Shire to consider what the expected rise in average temperatures, days of extreme fire-weather risk, drought conditions and a decrease in rainfall and snow will mean for the region, and how to best plan for these conditions.

According to the Alpine Council website:

“The councils assessed how their services and assets would be affected by predicted climate change, including increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather and reduced water availability”.

The CSIRO predicts that temperatures in north-eastern Victoria could be, on average, up to 1.6 degrees warmer by 2030 and up to five degrees warmer by 2070.

Snow fall is expected to be reduced by between 10 and 40 per cent by 2030 and between 22 and 85 per cent by 2050.

The number of very-high and extreme fire-weather risk days is also expected to climb by between four and 25 percent by 2020 and 15 to 70 per cent by 2050.

Alpine Shire Council’s Manager Planning and Environment Services, Heather Green said the findings did not recommend that councils fundamentally change the way they operate. This means that, sadly, there are no real mitigation measures included in Councils response – that is proposals to reduce the emissions of Council operations. Council has taken a  simple  ‘adaptation’ approach, which is generally seen as being insufficient as a strategy for dealing with global warming.

What is suggested is for Council to consider the likely future impacts of climate change on new developments within the Shire’s area. “For example, factoring predicted increases in flooding and storm events when upgrading urban storm-water systems will minimise the need to replace damaged infrastructure and reduce the risk to the community”.

The climate change risk assessments undertaken by both councils will result in the development of specific service area action plans to enable current services, assets and policies to adapt to the predicted climate variability.

The project has been delivered in partnership with the North East Greenhouse Alliance and funded with the assistance of the Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

For further information on the Councils response and details on expected climate change impacts, see here.

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Geoff Mosley

Geoff Mosley has worked for decades to protect wild places in Australia. He helped establish wilderness zones and parks across the south east of the mainland and Tasmania, and has recently released a book on Antarctica. He is active in the field of steady state economics, a keen walker, and widely published activist and thinker.

Perhaps he is best known for his efforts to see a major national park established across the Australian Alps. Much of this vision has now been realised, although he continues to work to see an extension of the Western section of the Alpine National Park and to get World Heritage listing for the forest ecosystems of the south east corner of the country, where Gippsland and NSW meet.

Check here for an interview with Geoff.

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The remarkable shrinking Alps plan!

near Wire Plain, VIC

According to Phil Ingamells, of the Victorian National Parks Association, “there has never been more hoo-haa from Parks Victoria over the development of a management plan, and never such an unpromising result, as their draft of their alpine parks management plan”.

He says that the new plan is a “new low”, delivering very little that will enhance environmental protection, despite starting the process well.

You can read his analysis here.

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winter is back (finally!)

Well, for everyone who has been suffering with all this dwindling snow, rainy days and warm weather, the front that’s passing over the Australian Alps this weekend is definitely a sight for sore eyes.

Wire Plain, VIC

With a good start to the season back in June that then faded off, backcountry skiing has been exceptionally sketchy over the past week or so, and even in resorts most have only about 30 per cent of their trails open. That situation will change this week….

For full reports, check Mountain Watch.

These are a few pics from the Mt Hotham area over the weekend.

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Take action to protect our winters!

A classic image from the Victorian Alps: Mt Feathertop from Hotham. But without serious action on climate change now, our alpine areas are at grave risk.

First Protect our Winters (POW) Australia action alert

The Victorian government is in the final stages of deciding what type of Climate Bill it will deliver as part of it’s election commitments.

Similar Bills in other places – for instance, the UK and Scotland – have set ambitious greenhouse emissions reductions targets (Scotland has committed to 42% reductions by 2020).

We must urge the Victorian government to deliver a strong, world leading Bill. The final decision about the Bill is being taken now. And a strong Bill will greatly reduce Victoria’s contribution to climate change through driving a shift away from our reliance on polluting brown coal power.

POW Australia has issued its first action alert, asking people to email the Premier, John Brumby. It is available here.

We hope POW supporters, skiers and boarders from across Australia will support this on line campaign. Lets get the Australian winter sports community mobilised to protect our winters.

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Everest women’s seven summits eco-action tour

In July 2010 a team of nine Nepali women have begin the first international leg of a tour that will see them climb seven of the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. On successfully climbing all seven summits they will be setting a world record for being the largest team to do so.

The team will be using their expedition to highlight the urgent issue of climate change, and they are currently in Australia.

Check here for extra information and itinerary.

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Alpine Traditional Owners re-asserting their rights

If you walk into the town square in the Victorian ski village of Mt Buller, you will be greeted by a sculpture of a mountain cattleman on his horse. In all of the ‘high country’ towns of south eastern Australia and throughout the ski resorts, there is a pre-occupation with the history of the cattle families that, for generations, drove their stock into the mountains.

Clouds over Rocky Ridge, Taungurung country, VIC

There are roads, buildings, and events all named after these pioneers, stickers on cars, photos and sculptures, and endless homage to these tough people and their way of life.

But where are the images or mention of the Indigenous people who lived in this country for perhaps 1,000 generations?

The Australian Alps have been inhabited by indigenous nations for millennia. But as Taungurung man Mick Harding said recently “we were removed from our lands” by the invaders and “scattered to the four winds”. But over the past decade or so, a growing number of people and communities have been re-establishing connection to their country.

There is a story of this process here.

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review – Winter Dreaming

Graham Hammond trips through a self-induced fantasy. Stephen Curtain collection

‘Winter Dreaming: an Australian Alps freeheel film’ (released in 2008) is both a telemark ski film and a celebration of the fleeting miracle of cold and snow on our old, flat continent. As was noted by Barry Park, in the Age newspaper, it is “part documentary and part eye-candy”.

What makes Winter Dreaming stand-out for me is Stephen’s eye for detail and the often fleeting beauty in the landscape, rather than simply going for the ‘rush’ shots of people ripping down big slopes.

You can find a review of the film here.

You can find a profile on Stephen here.

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Hotham re-development quietly shelved

The much lauded but controversial major re-development of the Mount Hotham alpine village was quietly shelved last month. This long awaited $500 million major restructure of the village would have seen the Great Alpine Road re-routed through the village and was predicated on the major ‘Bale’ re development proceeding. Bale was expected to deliver another 1,414 beds to the village. The global financial crisis was billed as being the main reason the project is not proceeding.

Hotham Village

This marks the end of a long running and concerted plan by big business to damage the mountain resort, and the lapse of the current proposal is good news for any one who wants to see our alpine resorts remain (relatively) diverse and accessible to a range of people.

This is most welcome news. For a full report check here.

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Melbourne, 10 June, 2010.  Protect Our Winters (POW), the global environmental foundation founded in 2007 by legendary pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones, is broadening their reach this winter by opening a local chapter in Australia.
Protect Our Winters (POW) is a US-based non-profit organisation dedicated to reversing the global warming crisis by uniting and mobilising the global winter sports community. Jeremy has witnessed first-hand the impact of climate change on our mountains.

“POW was founded on the idea that if we harness our collective energy and put forth a focused effort, the winter sports community can have a direct influence on minimizing the damage that’s been done and ensure that winters are here for generations behind us”, said Jones.

Full report here.

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the Monaro tablelands

Image: Andrew Stanger

Andrew Stanger lives on the Monaro tablelands in south eastern NSW.

As a recent arrival to the region, he is, as he puts it “taking some time to acclimatise” because of the often harse nature of the environment. But equally, “there is something distinctive about this place and the landscape and the people” that has him captivated and intrigued.

You can find his writing on adapting to life on the Monaro here.

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Elizabeth MacPhee, Tumut, NSW

Liz at Deep Creek, a rehab site near the Tooma dam in Kosciuszko National Park

Elizabeth MacPhee has been working across the Australian Alps for two decades, and has a life long commitment to helping repair degraded ecosystems in the Alps. She is Rehabilitation Officer with the Department of Environment, Climate Change & Water, in NSW.

The Parks Service are doing great work on rehabilitation in the Kosciuszko National Park, and her work has been pivotal in this. For the past 5 years she has been working on the former construction sites of the Snowy Hydro-electric scheme.

Check here for a profile and interview on her work

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