ABSTRACT
The buffering of natural habitats and areas subject to the impacts of global climate change, including predicted sea level changes, will enable plant and animal species to track environmental gradients and hence adapt to predicted spatial changes in habitat. In coastal environments, where the impacts of climate change may be severe, the provision of adequate buffers will enable the dynamic processes of coasts to continue, while minimising negative impacts such as erosion and the adverse impacts of flooding associated with storm tide events on coastal communities. As well as identifying external processes that threaten environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs), the buffer methodology should examine any negative impacts that the ESA may have on its surrounding environment, including its human communities. The results of the evaluation indicate that almost all buffers for ESAs attempt to assess external threats to the core area. It also incorporates the elements of good buffer design, derived from an evaluation of existing buffer approaches.
