Indian Ocean Climate Initiative - Western Australia

What is IOCI?

The Indian Ocean Climate Initiative (IOCI) is a research partnership between the WA State Government, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and Bureau of Meteorology. The IOCI research program, formed in 1997, investigates the causes of the changing climate in WA and develops projections of the future climate in WA. IOCI formally began its Stage 1 programs in January 1998, while Stage 2 started in July 2003.

The IOCI Seminar and Workshop ‘Living in our Changing Climate’, held in August 2005, laid the foundation for the proposed climate research programme of IOCI Stage 3. Priorities were further developed in a workshop held in April 2006 which identified the core focus and the outcomes that would be sought for decision support and capacity building in Western Australia.

Consequently, the economically important north west region of the State will be a major focus of the research programme for IOCI 3. Work will continue on the south west to infill outstanding knowledge and data gaps identified by the State. For example, the programme will draw heavily on the extensive modelling studies carried out as a part of the recently released Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC, and will produce climate change scenarios for both the south west and north west at spatial and temporal resolutions that are useful for adaptation decision-making purposes.

In March 2008, the three parties to the IOCI partnership signed the research agreement which indicated the formal start of Stage 3 of IOCI. Research work is carried out in the CSIRO and BoM facilities both in Perth and in Melbourne. Results from this research effort will be delivered in ways that will readily inform decision-making by the State Government, Local Governments, industry and the community.