Climate Resilient Forests

Focusing on the foothill forests of the Otways, the Resilient Forests project seeks to develop a shared view on what healthy Forest Country looks like and how land managers can respond to the changing climate, developing alternative pathways to manage forests for multiple objectives into the future.

Beginning in 2024, the ‘Climate Resilient Forests – Adaptation Pathways Pilot’ was delivered in partnership with the Conservation Ecology Centre (CEC) and Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC), and in collaboration with key local and government stakeholders.

In this phase we piloted applying Adaptation Pathways to forests; conducted a Knowledge Review to establish the evidence base and identify key knowledge gaps around forest health in the Otways; and ran a series of workshops to bring local knowledge and diverse perspectives into the adaptation planning. 

The Otways Resilient Forests Network formed as a result, with the intention of continuing to work and learn together to “do better” for the foothills forests of the Otways. 

Phase 2 set out to develop more detailed Adaptation Pathways that could guide long-term planning for the Otways foothill forests. The aim was to incorporate Traditional Owner obligations, new ecological research, expert opinion, and insights from stakeholder engagement into a structured set of options for future management.  

Now, the work is structured across five interconnected workstreams:

• Adaptation Pathways – building on the foundations from Phase 1, further developing and refining the pathways framework and testing how it could be applied to foothill forest management. 

• Biocultural Landscapes – working with Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation to embed a biocultural approach to forest management – underpinned by Traditional Ecological Knowledge and obligations to Country – into adaptation planning. 

• Research & Monitoring – identifying and addressing key knowledge gaps through prioritised research, whilst designing and trialling a robust approach to forest monitoring. 

• Stakeholder Engagement – strengthening and extending the social learning and collaborative planning process established through the pilot phase to incorporate broader knowledge and perspectives into climate adaptation.  

• Leadership & Advocacy – building the case for place-based, biocultural approaches to forest and fire management and positioning the project within broader state and regional policy conversations.