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This paper is about the identification of the changing world climate drivers and speculation concerning the future impact such drivers will have on countries in the southern hemisphere, especially Australia and New Zealand. A focus for the above is a case study of climate change which has induced severe hardships in the Bendigo region of Victoria, Australia. The authors are of the opinion this experience, in this extremely climate sensitive agricultural area, is a forerunner to what could occur to many regions in the southern hemisphere. The case study shows the vulnerability of communities to instruments of governance established during periods of stability and urges the urgent need for modified governance instruments during periods of rapid climatic change. The paper commences the discussion about the meaning, relevance and reality of sustainability for communities during times of climatic uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism in ski resorts depends on snow cover which is expected to decline with climate change. This paper explores hypotheses about demand side responses to climatic change by analyzing patterns of visitation in recent years with differing snow cover. Snow cover and visitation patterns to six resorts which differ in altitude and size in Victoria, Australia, were compared between a slightly warm and much drier year (2006, +0.6°C and -50% precipitation to longer-term averages) to a more typical year (2007) and to nine earlier years. Snowmaking partly offset declines in natural snow cover in 2006, although there were still fewer days with snow on the ground. The number of visitor days was much lower in 2006 than the previous nine years for the three lowest-altitude resorts (-69%), while it actually increased (+10%) in the highest altitude resort where there were fewer visitors (-17%), but they stayed longer. Snowmaking is already critical for ski resorts in low snow years. With warmer conditions, lower-altitude resorts may not receive enough income due to reduced visitation to offset snowmaking costs, while higher-altitude resorts may have a short-term gain, but become uneconomical in the longer term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]