Innovative Island Development for Rising Sea Levels

One of the less controversial predictions about climate change is rising sea levels which put low lying land at risk on inundation.

The Maldives is low lying (only about 5 feet above sea level) so it's particularly at risk.  So, Dutch development company, Dutch Docklands, is proposing an innovative development there.

It involves a floating private island, a floating 18-hole golf course (complete with underwater, see-through tunnels between holes), a hotel and convention center, 185 villas, and a further 72 houses on four ringed islands.  The islands are attached to the seabed with flexible lines, or retractable mono-piles, which allow the structures to move gently up and down.

It's a good example of the kind of innovations climate change challenges will promote and you can read more about it here.

Enquiry about Electrical Infrastructure

When extreme weather like floods affect strata buildings the electrical supply systems are at risk.

Now the Queensland Department of Energy & Water Supply have produced a discussion paper addressing two of the recommendations from the Queensland Flood Insurance Commission's (QFCI) Final Report relating to improving the resilience of high rise buildings located in flood hazard areas specifically focusing on electricity distribution network systems inside an electricity customer’s premises. 

The QFCI noted that substations located in basements of high rise buildings in the Brisbane central business district flooded during the 2011 floods, ceased operating and remained inoperative for lengthy periods of time. This caused major expense and disruption for many building owners and tenants,” said the Department of Energy & Water Supply.

To view a more detailed discussion on each of these recommendations click here to view the full paper and submissions are due by 31 August 2012.

And thanks Chelsey Blount from StrataBlogger.com.au for finding this.

ACT Leads the Way in Strata Sustainability

One of the difficulties already identified in the strata climate change research are structural legal impediments to existing strata and community title corporations adapting their buildings to be more resilient and sustainable.

Since the adaptation work is likely to be an upgrade to common property structure and/or involve new structures it needs approval by special (sometimes unanimous) vote of owners.  That can be difficult to obtain and places extra hurdles in the way of those improvements.

But the Australian Capital Territory has fixed that in its latest version of their strata title laws, the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011.

They've introduced section 23 called 'Installation of sustainability and utility infrastructure on common property' that lowers the decision threshold for installing (or approving onwers installing) sustainability infrastructure and utlitiy infrastructure to an simple majority vote.  Sustainability infrastructure include things that improve the environmental sustainability or reduces environmental impacts of the strata corporation and the unit owners like solar panels, clothes lines, rainwater tanks, etc.  Utility infrastructure includes equipment necessary for, or related to, the provision of utility services.

It's a great initiative that we're likely to see incorporated into other parts of Australia.


Francesco ...

Climate Change Insurance Losses Force Improved Prediction Strategies

Whether or not extreme weather events are caused by climate change, they are having significant impacts on the insurance sector.  And since insurance has been the principal risk management strategy for weather induced damage for strata and community real estate for over 50 years that's important.

As this article by Nassim Khardem in BRW explains, 2011 was one of the costliest years ever for insurers with 820 natural disasters, an estimated $380 billion in losses and $105 billion in insurance payouts around the world.  Locally, the the Insurance Council of Australia estimates that insurers paid about 85% of the claims from the Queensland and Victorian floods and that the Melbourne hailstorm will involve $550 million in payouts.

That's caused insurers to look at making better predictions of weather impacts and potential risk and payouts.

One attempt to do that is the research centre, Risk Frontiers, based at Macquarie University.  They attempt to price the risk of natural disasters by using models to simulate large numbers of plausible natural hazard events like hailstorms, tropical cyclones, earthquakes and bush fires, and then estimate the losses to insurers' portfolios.

There's no doubt that this will help identify the risks to property and better price them for insurers.  

But how this also helps stakeholders better prepare for those risks, avoid them and.or limit the damage and loss is less clear.

Increasing Awareness of Housing Impacts of Climate Change

Awareness of the impact climate change can have on Australian housing (including strata and community title housing) keeps increasing a the following information the Climate Action Network Australia includes on its website demonstrates.


The apartments and houses in which Australians live will be at risk as climate change intensifies. A combination of more intense storms, more frequent bushfires and higher sea levels will not only threaten housing directly, it will also make homes more expensive to insure, to maintain, and to keep cool. And as Australians settle in increasing numbers near the coast and in the hotter outer suburbs of our major cities, their vulnerability will increase.


There's a lot more on the website too.