This comes after two information evenings were held at the beginning of the month aimed at setting the scene for the development of the Waimate district’s climate resilience strategy.
Waimate District Council climate change officer Andrew Oliver said the forums aimed to help the community make informed decisions before the seven action plan workshops the council had scheduled throughout the year.
Mr Oliver said it was pleasing to see such a wide range of speakers share their time and knowledge.
"People are beginning to realise climate change is more than just the science.
"We are already starting to see businesses account for climate change in their future forecasting.
"In terms of the economic perspectives, the presenters were from key economic players in the district.
"The way they adapt to climate change will have a very real impact on our lives."
He said the meetings were about getting as many locals together as possible to make sure the strategy they developed was the best fit for the Waimate district.
At one of the two nights held, Mr Oliver gave an overview of the science behind climate change and climate resilience.
The night included a presentation by the local fire chief on the fire dangers presented by climate change, and later on, areas vulnerable to flooding were discussed.
"We have a lot of low-lying areas vulnerable to heavy rainfall and flooding near the coast, but it’s not highly populated, so there’s not a lot of people at risk," Mr Oliver said.
"But we need to make sure that infrastructure is up to scratch and that river channels are kept clear of debris for flood events.
"We saw in Cyclone Gabrielle how debris built up on bridges, causing under-scouring of bridges."
Mayor Craig Rowley said the information meetings were aimed at working out what the Waimate district could do as a community, rather than high-level stuff.
"People have a good understanding of climate change, but we want to know what we can do as a community ourselves, and how resilient we can be, that our infrastructure is as good as it can be and that our civil defence is up to scratch.
"We want the community to know if we need to evacuate, everybody knows where we evacuate to, to be safe. It’s as much about resilience as it is about climate change."
