Climate change adaptation in the Primary Health and Community Welfare Sector: A literature and analysis of institutional context and organisational needs for adaptation Final Report

Abstract

This report is a major research output of a project entitled 'Implementing tools to increase adaptive capacity in the community and natural resource management sectors', funded by the Victorian Government through the Victorian Centre for Climate Change Adaptation Research (VCCCAR). The project consists of several phases of desktop-based and empirical and action research. The main goal of the research phase that led to this review was to gain a better understanding of the climate change adaptation capabilities and needs of three types of service providers funded by the Victorian Government: catchment management authorities (CMAs), community service organisations (CSOs), and primary care partnerships (PCPs). This document focuses on the primary health and community welfare sector, in particular community service organisations (CSOs) and primary care partnerships (PCP) in Victoria. It reviews existing academic and grey literatures on climate change adaptation in the context of the primary health and community services sector and analyses the institutional context for climate change adaptation. In includes a review of international, Australian and Victorian published material on adaptation in the primary health and community welfare sectors, to determine the current status of planning for and responding to climate change impacts. As part of the review, the policy framing and governance arrangements surrounding climate change impacts and adaptation were also investigated. The analysis of interviews conducted among CSOs and PCPs across Victoria identified a range of sectoral and organisational adaptation barriers, needs and capacities