Agriculture Adaptation Roadmap August 2022 Progress Update
The past month has been busy for the project, with the first of five Technical Expert Group (TEG) workshops taking place on the 8th of July.
Thirty-two technical experts from across the agriculture sector joined the PwC facilitated virtual workshop. The purpose of this workshop was to collaboratively identify the top physical and transitional climate risks for the agriculture sector and its subsystems. The highlighted subsystems are dairy, sheep and beef, forestry, horticulture, and broad acre cropping.
It was great to see a diversity of experts from across the sector engaging in the discussion. The workshop generated a comprehensive list of transitional and physical risks, and these were voted on by the experts to prioritise the top risks in each category. The risks were also assessed through a regional and subsystem lens.
We then brought the synthesised outputs of the risk workshop to the Leadership Group (LG). The LG had the opportunity to debate the results and test the relevance of the risks identified. One example of a significant physical risk is the “inability for existing practices to maintain productivity and output.” A material transition risk that was discussed is the “inability for the sector to develop a whole system approach to build resilience for effective adaptation.”
The LG also discussed the scenarios where we will build the climate change scenario analysis at the upcoming TEG workshop on August 12th. The following scenarios are to be developed: disorderly (low physical and high transition risk); orderly (low transition and low physical risk - the ideal scenario); and hothouse (low transition and high physical risk). We then fed back the outcomes of these hui to the co-chairs for endorsement of the most significant risks identified for building the scenarios and the adaptation roadmap.
It has been great to witness the diversity of thinking across the working groups so far.
Our selected scenarios and priority physical and transitional risks for the agriculture sector
Development of a te ao Māori framework for the workstream
In co-designing an adaptation roadmap for the agriculture sector, it is critical to interweave a mātauranga Māori perspective into the decision-making. Co-chair Craig Ellison and the team at Ngāi Tahu have been developing the te ao Māori framework. The team have suggested the symbolism of transforming from manaia - passive guardians of the fruits of the land and labour of the people, to become taniwha - fierce protectors and advocates for what we do and the adoption of the changes we endorse.
The team have also suggested the following whakataukī to guide the project:
Toitū te ahu whenua Sustain the cultivation of the land
Pūmau ai te kākano Hold on to the seed
Toitū te ahu moana Sustain the cultivation of the oceans
Pūmau I te hua Hold on to the essence
Toitū te ahu ngākau Sustain human growth
Pūmau ai te aroha Hold on to the compassion
The Secretariat is looking forward to an exciting and busy month ahead - see below for key upcoming dates.
Friday 12th August: TEG workshop on scenario analysis
Thursday 18th August: Co-chairs meeting #4
Thursday 25th August: LG meeting #3
Thursday 1st September: Co-chairs meeting #5