Community Resilience to Climate Change: Theory, Research and Practice

191 These data were recorded in printed A3-sized templates by a facilitator assigned to each discussion group. The qualitative information collected about each stage of the emergency management cycle was coded for workshop location and extreme event type. This information was subjected to qualitative meta-synthesis [38] to identify emergent themes and provide deeper insights than might be possible from studies of a single location or event type [39]. 4.2. South East NSW Climate Drivers To inform the workshops an analysis of the climate drivers and potential hazards faced by communities in the South East was conducted. Information was drawn from historical climate analyses (Australian Bureau of Meteorology) of temperature trends, rainfall trends, anomalies and seasonality, and the occurrence of severe low-pressure systems; and, a climate summary for SE NSW prepared for the SE Integrated Regional Vulnerability Assessment [40] (Table 2). Table 2. A summary of the major climate impacts for the South East NSW. 4.3. Regional Hazard Mapping A series of maps were developed, using existing state-wide land, soil vegetation and land use data to identify areas that are vulnerable to the impacts of extreme climatic events (Figure 1). Details of the preparation of the maps are provided in Chapman and Barrett [42]. The bushfire hazard map accounted for topographic wind exposure and relative fuel load according to native vegetation formation. The flood hazard map identified flat areas that pool water, soil drainage, rainfall, topographic slope, position and propensity for water logging. The drought map combined dryness/moisture loss with bare soil vulnerability. Bare soil vulnerability was determined as the highest level of bare soil recorded from annual satellite imagery for the 2000–2012 period. This level was used as an indicator of ground cover which would be experienced during an extreme drought under modelled conditions. These maps were then used to initiate discussions with communities, based upon the event or events (drought, bushfire and flooding) that were most likely to affect them.