Climate Change

An excellent report on options for using cement concrete pavements the benefits they offer in a time of climate change. Covers a range of pavement types, and gives guidance on considerations for how to select the appropriate solution. But I'm biased ... I designed the project and helped the team!

Keynote address to the 2018 New Zealand Road Infrastructure Management conference on incorporating climate change considerations to asset management.

Presentation to the 2018 NZ NAMS Conference on how we need to adapt our approach to asset management because of the changing environment due to climate change.

The road sector represents a significant asset to any country – both in terms of the physical cost to build it, and the social and economic benefits that it facilitates. Internationally accepted good practice is that the road asset should be appropriately managed through formal asset management techniques such as those laid out under the ISO55000 standard, the International Infrastructure Management Manual, or similar guidelines   While these standards and guidelines all permit the inclusion of climate change impacts into the asset management practices, there is little specific guidance on how to do so with the result being that many road authorities are still working in a business-as-usual mode.

Climate change, for whatever the cause, has the potential to be a serious disruptor to business-as-usual thinking for many of the most vulnerable countries in the world. The impacts of climate change are two-fold, with medium-long term changes in the average indicators (rainfall, temperature etc.) along with an increase in the occurrence of shock events such as large floods. With the past not being a good indicator of the future with regard to climate change, many of the asset management practices need to be refined to ready road authorities in advance of; during; and after climate change events.

This report describes asset management practices should be modified to prepare a road authority for climate change – ranging from modifications of high level policy statements; through to the maintenance of key assets. The key finding is that climate change is best integrated to asset management by being prepared for climate events, rather than through response plans. Not all of the recommended changes are applicable to all road authorities, and for some of the most vulnerable road networks it may be necessary to go beyond the level of effort recommended. However, application of the principles advocated here will ensure road authorities are prepared to address the challenges of climate change in managing their infrastructure.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a group of countries located across the world in the Caribbean, Pacific, Africa, and Indian Ocean regions. They are all small in size, sparsely populated and geographically isolated, and their small economies are typically based on tourism, fisheries, agriculture, and small-scale manufacturing activities.

SIDS are among the most exposed and vulnerable countries to natural disasters in the world, and climate change is expected to exacerbate future risks, threatening development progress. Because of their location, small size, and topography, SIDS are exposed to severe hazards, including cyclones, extreme winds, storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. Compared to other countries, SIDS also suffer very high economic losses when extreme events strike, with average annual losses ranging between 1 and 10 percent of gross domestic product (Figure 1). Climate change will not only exacerbate disaster risks, but also have long-term impacts such as sea level rise, changes in rainfall patterns, and more extreme temperatures, which also require adapted management.

This report describes issues challenging SIDS, and how they can be addressed through asset management.

Presentation to the 2017 Transportation Research Board on the challenges and opportunities for low volume roads due to climate change.

Presentation showing challenges for coastal protection of transport infrastructure in Kiribati.

Short presentation from 2014 World Bank forum on climate adaptation and roads. Emphasizes that you need to look at things with a network vulnerability perspective and that it is no use doing major improvements to drainage without routine maintenance.