Leaked Secret Australian Gvn. Report Warns Of Climate Devastation In NSW, Calls For Planning

[hatrack]

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Forbes, in the Central West, was celebrating after a lake in the town centre that had been reduced to a baked mud pan began filling up for the first time in three months after a 6.6mm fall. Thirsty farms surrounding the town recorded 20mm.

But the rainfall came as the NSW Department of Environment and Conservation warned that extreme climate change could decimate the state's wildlife, devastate the Snowy Mountains and cause extreme bushfires that could threaten Sydney's air and water supply.

A confidential draft of the department's first-ever climate change action plan, obtained by The Daily Telegraph under Freedom of Information, says there is a "vital need" to start factoring climate change into the future management of the state's natural resources. It warns that the impact of increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns is already being seen and outlines a seven-point plan to reduce future "inevitable" damage. "An increasing number of species will be at risk of extinction in the wild during this century," the report states.

The Snowy Mountains, the fragile Macquarie Marshes and broad stretches of coastline are listed as particularly vulnerable.

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http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21003227-5006009,00.html