This presentation will give reflections from experienced climate adaptation planners based on their experiences, reading and conversations. It will summarise some features of climate adaption planning particularly in an NRM regional context, it will present learnings from early attempts to put theory into practice, and it will suggest priorities for future efforts.

Planning for the future is always uncertain and often complex. Planning for adaptation to climate change is no different in that sense, but it has some additional characteristics to manage as well. The most important characteristics include the uncertainty about how mankind will influence emissions or mitigation, the uncertain consequences of any given future climates for societies, economies and the environment and the fickleness of public attitudes, values and beliefs about climate change.

Effective planning for adaptation to a changing climate requires a suite of traditional, modified and new approaches. Foundation recommendations include the need to consider a range of different futures and plan a number of alternative pathways, the need to be clear on what to monitor to determine when key decision points are approaching, and take action now on matters requiring an immediate response.  Ancillary recommendations include:

• build the capacity to make transformational changes, if and when required,
• understand the limited role of climate vulnerability assessments,
• focus engagement on key decision-makers and their advisers,
• focus the scope on strategic responses for high-priority themes, within a triple bottom-line, regional landscape context, and
• ensure plans are rooted in the values of regional communities.