Values-based adaptation

Before we can truly adapt to climate change, we must recognise just how interconnected with nature we are. The condition of our land and water systems influences wellbeing, health, culture, livelihoods and economies. 

Healthy ecosystems and rich biodiversity underpin human survival. They provide countless services that make our Earth a habitable place.

- IPCC Sixth Assessment Report

When we care for nature, it cares for us by providing the social, cultural, ecological and economic values that we depend on. When nature is damaged, its ability to provide these values diminishes, and that's when crises hit – water quality and availability declines, recreational and cultural activities are impacted, agricultural soil is depleted. These are just some of the impacts we've seen caused by our actions against nature, including human-induced climate change. But we can turn things around to help protect nature – and the values it provides – into the future. 

Values-based adaptation is a flexible solution to protect both people and nature into the future

Values-based adaptation is a climate change management approach that recognises our interconnectedness with nature. By focusing on the ways we interact with and depend on NSW environments, we can be flexible in finding new ways to protect and restore the values they provide. This flexibility is the key to adapting to climate change, because preserving environments exactly as they are is often impossible under a changing climate.

To help land and water managers implement values-based adaptation, we have developed the 6As of Adaptation for environmental management – a framework that is underpinned by the true value of nature. This framework will help managers develop adaptation strategies that protect the values that matter most, rather than investing in maintaining or restoring a site to a state that is not suited to a changed climate. 

Traditional environmental management has its limits 

Historically, land and water management has often been based on a worldview that places humans above nature, treating environments primarily as resources to be controlled, extracted or optimised for human use. While these approaches have delivered benefits in some contexts, they have also contributed to ecosystem degradation, loss of biodiversity and reduced resilience. 

Climate change has exposed the limits of this approach. Management strategies that focus narrowly on maintaining current conditions or maximising short-term benefits are increasingly unable to respond to rapid environmental change. In many cases, continuing with existing practices alone will increase long-term risk. 

Nature's role in protecting us from climate change is more important than ever

As the climate warms, the role of nature in supporting adaptation and mitigation is more critical. Healthy ecosystems help regulate temperature, store carbon, manage water, reduce disaster risk and support recovery after extreme events. Degraded systems can't perform these functions to the same level.

The role of nature in our response to climate change is being recognised in policy and economic attention to nature repair, emissions reduction and climate risk disclosure. Significant developments include:

• the global Nature Positive Initiative – the initiative aims to stop and reverse nature loss by 2030, which will also help to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 through the carbon captured by restored vegetation
• the NetZero Commission 2024 Annual Report – the independent report highlights the importance of the land sector to local emissions reductions, noting that carbon stored in the land sector has been a major contributor to NSW’s progress towards net zero – however, it also emphasises that future carbon storage is uncertain, particularly under a changing climate
• the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) – the taskforce provides disclosure recommendations and guidance to help business and finance shift away from nature-negative outcomes and towards nature-positive outcomes
• carbon offset and credit schemes – these have also expanded to help achieve net zero emissions and support nature.

These developments highlight that environmental condition is not only an ecological concern, but also a climate, economic and risk management issue. 

Our understanding of nature’s values is increasing 

To support the shifting focus towards nature, frameworks have emerged that better reflect the full range of values provided by land and water systems. These values-based frameworks focus on things like ecosystem services, cultural ecosystem services and nature restoration.

Values-based approaches recognise that environments provide more than economic benefits alone. These benefits can be described under 4 categories of values:

• social values such as sense of place and wellbeing
• cultural values such as connections to Country and heritage
• ecological values such as biodiversity and ecosystem function
• economic values such as livelihoods and services.

Understanding these values helps decision-makers move beyond a narrow focus on financial outcomes only, and supports more transparent discussions about priorities, trade-offs and long-term outcomes.

To identify and understand nature and its benefits, it is helpful to explore different types of values. Values can be categorised in different ways, and there are a few frameworks you can use to do this. The 6A's of Adaptation Framework uses the categories below, which have been adapted from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment concept of ecosystem services. It has been tailored to the NSW land and water management context to help you consider NSW’s unique environments and support respectful engagement with Aboriginal peoples. 

Ecosystems have many values – considered prioritisation ensures the best outcomes

Many values might be identified at an environmental management site. These values might be in competition with each other – it's important to know how to prioritise and make appropriate trade-offs.

When prioritising values, and the possible actions to protect them, consider the guiding principles of the Climate Change (Net Zero Future) Act 2023 No 48, Part 2, Section 8. These principles will help you achieve outcomes that:

• support the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
• are ecologically sustainable
• consider the
  • knowledge and perspectives of Aboriginal communities
  • best available science
  • knowledge of rural, regional and remote communities in NSW
  • need to support local communities, including Aboriginal communities, who may be affected by the value and actions
• reduce the risk climate change poses to the survival of all species
• reduce the impact of actions on animals.