5
1.2 Affinity to Water: An Increased Risk
Our human species affinity to water in the landscape, more specifically the attraction to the sea and the
resources it can offer, drew people to settle along the coastal areas of Australia more than 50,000 to
60,000 years ago (Nunn & Reid, 2016; Powell, Tournier, Jones, & Roös, 2019; Roberts, 1994). For
centuries Aboriginal people have been confronted by climate, ecological and geological changes as
well as annual seasonal variations. Weather patterns and climate change were gauged by the occurrence
of natural events. Migrations of people along the Australian coast are captured in Dreaming Stories
4
of
the Sea Country.
5
People lived in harmony with nature and practiced sustainable behaviours to adapt
for survival. This was the scenario across the world, where Indigenous people settled along coastal
areas to sustain generation upon generation living closely connected to their natural environments.
However, now in the twenty-first century people flock to coastal areas in ever-increasing numbers
at a global scale, wanting a change in lifestyle from city life, seeking the pleasures, amenities and
attributes that coastal settlements can offer. Contradictory to sustainable behaviours of the Indigenous
people of the past, living with nature and understanding the patterns of the biophysical environment,
today this predilection for the coast equates to an increased unsustainable development in the destination communities. The environmental changes associated with these land developments threaten the
very qualities that make these places unique and attractive (Green, 2010).
Changes in the climate and rising sea levels make the coastal area more vulnerable and bring
change to the coastal zone impacting beaches, marine environments, estuaries, wetlands and lowlying human settlements (DCC, 2009). Globally, the coastal areas are in peril. We know enough about
how human actions are impacting the environment through the role we play. However, even with this
knowledge, unsustainable behaviours of intense land development continue in the coastal areas.
Graphic displays of the vulnerability of our species is right in front of us, demonstrated visually in
events such as the 2005 Asian tsunami, the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch (Fig. 1.2), the large-scale
disaster impacts of Hurricane Sandy in north-eastern United States (the largest Atlantic hurricane on
record causing an estimated damage of around USD $ 50 billion), and in Australia the devastating
2010/11 Queensland floods, as well as the unprecedented floods in Queensland and Northern New
South Wales in 2017 following the path of distraction by Cyclone Debbie.
6
It seems that disasters due to a changing environment and climate are just getting worse and escalating, as it is especially noticeable in Indonesia and the Pacific. During 2018, Indonesia’s National
Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recorded approximately 2000 natural disasters that claimed
nearly 4000 lives and displaced around 3 million people (Renaldi & Shelton, 2018). Undoubtedly, we
are drawn to the coast, and human settlements continue to grow at a rapid rate in coastal areas. It is
the coastal inhabited areas that are the most vulnerable to natural disasters, more so with the threats
and risks as a result of a changing climate. For this reason, the case study area chosen for applying the
regenerative-adaptive pattern language is the coastal town of Anglesea in a coastal area along the
Great Ocean Road in Australia.
4 Dreamtime or the Dreaming for Australian Indigenous people (sometimes referred to as the Dreamtime or Dreamtimes)
is when the Ancestral Beings moved across the land and created life and significant geographic features. The Dreaming
also means to have insight, and to see creation. Dreaming Stories pass on important knowledge and belief systems of
the Aboriginal people from one generation to the next (Australian Government, 2008).
5 Sea Country: Aboriginal people make no distinction between the sea and the land; the sea is part of Country. Sea
Country is a term used to differentiate between land and sea. Sea Country includes the coastal land and the sea with
everything connected to it. Sea Country includes the submerged lands that bear the footprints of the Aboriginal ancestors (Smyth, 2004).
6 Cyclone Debbie made landfall along the Queensland coastline near Airlie Beach on Tuesday the 28 March 2017 (ABC
News, 2017).
1.2 Affinity to Water: An Increased Risk
1.2 Affinity to Water: An Increased Risk
Our human species affinity to water in the landscape, more specifically the attraction to the sea and the
resources it can offer, drew people to settle along the coastal areas of Australia more than 50,000 to
60,000 years ago (Nunn & Reid, 2016; Powell, Tournier, Jones, & Roös, 2019; Roberts, 1994). For
centuries Aboriginal people have been confronted by climate, ecological and geological changes as
well as annual seasonal variations. Weather patterns and climate change were gauged by the occurrence
of natural events. Migrations of people along the Australian coast are captured in Dreaming Stories
4
of
the Sea Country.
5
People lived in harmony with nature and practiced sustainable behaviours to adapt
for survival. This was the scenario across the world, where Indigenous people settled along coastal
areas to sustain generation upon generation living closely connected to their natural environments.
However, now in the twenty-first century people flock to coastal areas in ever-increasing numbers
at a global scale, wanting a change in lifestyle from city life, seeking the pleasures, amenities and
attributes that coastal settlements can offer. Contradictory to sustainable behaviours of the Indigenous
people of the past, living with nature and understanding the patterns of the biophysical environment,
today this predilection for the coast equates to an increased unsustainable development in the destination communities. The environmental changes associated with these land developments threaten the
very qualities that make these places unique and attractive (Green, 2010).
Changes in the climate and rising sea levels make the coastal area more vulnerable and bring
change to the coastal zone impacting beaches, marine environments, estuaries, wetlands and lowlying human settlements (DCC, 2009). Globally, the coastal areas are in peril. We know enough about
how human actions are impacting the environment through the role we play. However, even with this
knowledge, unsustainable behaviours of intense land development continue in the coastal areas.
Graphic displays of the vulnerability of our species is right in front of us, demonstrated visually in
events such as the 2005 Asian tsunami, the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch (Fig. 1.2), the large-scale
disaster impacts of Hurricane Sandy in north-eastern United States (the largest Atlantic hurricane on
record causing an estimated damage of around USD $ 50 billion), and in Australia the devastating
2010/11 Queensland floods, as well as the unprecedented floods in Queensland and Northern New
South Wales in 2017 following the path of distraction by Cyclone Debbie.
6
It seems that disasters due to a changing environment and climate are just getting worse and escalating, as it is especially noticeable in Indonesia and the Pacific. During 2018, Indonesia’s National
Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recorded approximately 2000 natural disasters that claimed
nearly 4000 lives and displaced around 3 million people (Renaldi & Shelton, 2018). Undoubtedly, we
are drawn to the coast, and human settlements continue to grow at a rapid rate in coastal areas. It is
the coastal inhabited areas that are the most vulnerable to natural disasters, more so with the threats
and risks as a result of a changing climate. For this reason, the case study area chosen for applying the
regenerative-adaptive pattern language is the coastal town of Anglesea in a coastal area along the
Great Ocean Road in Australia.
4 Dreamtime or the Dreaming for Australian Indigenous people (sometimes referred to as the Dreamtime or Dreamtimes)
is when the Ancestral Beings moved across the land and created life and significant geographic features. The Dreaming
also means to have insight, and to see creation. Dreaming Stories pass on important knowledge and belief systems of
the Aboriginal people from one generation to the next (Australian Government, 2008).
5 Sea Country: Aboriginal people make no distinction between the sea and the land; the sea is part of Country. Sea
Country is a term used to differentiate between land and sea. Sea Country includes the coastal land and the sea with
everything connected to it. Sea Country includes the submerged lands that bear the footprints of the Aboriginal ancestors (Smyth, 2004).
6 Cyclone Debbie made landfall along the Queensland coastline near Airlie Beach on Tuesday the 28 March 2017 (ABC
News, 2017).
1.2 Affinity to Water: An Increased Risk