The Australian Alps are under serious threat from climate change, with escalating temperatures and reduced rainfall already impacting on annual catchment flows worth $9.6billion to the national economy.
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The Caring for our Australian Alps Catchments summary report, commissioned by the Australian Government and to be issued today, paints a bleak picture of an alpine region in dramatic decline.
The report warns policy makers that without urgent intervention, the situation will worsen.
Sixty per cent of the Alps' 235 catchments in Victoria, NSW and the ACT are in poor to moderate condition, and the majority are declining.
Report authors Graeme Worboys, Andy Spate and Roger Good predict the region will experience average temperature increases of up to 2.9degrees and a 24 per cent reduction in precipitation by 2050.
''The high quality and reliable waters from the Australian Alps are of national economic, social and environmental importance,'' the report says.
''The integrity of this high-quality Alps water however is vulnerable.''
A significant reduction in snow cover, more severe fires, droughts and storms, soil erosion and pests will also lead to harsher conditions in the catchment.
Water in the Alps represents 29 per cent of average inflows into the Murray-Darling Basin, and helps generate $15billion worth of agricultural produce.
The high-quality, sediment-free water also benefits the Snowy and Kiewa hydro-electric scheme, which generates power worth about $300million annually.
Mr Worboys said climate change was impacting alpine regions at a much faster rate than other parts of Australia.
''In many locations the threats are urgent and real,'' he said.
''There is work that is being undertaken, but the degree of work that is needed is larger than the resources currently available, there's a need for increased attention, without that attention the Alps will be impacted.''
It calls for six ''priority actions'' including halting catchment degradation caused by weeds and feral animals, building a resilient ecosystem with better erosion control, researching better catchments and engaging local communities and volunteers.
These actions would cost $105million over 15 years - ''a small percentage of the annual economic benefits provided by the water yields flowing from the Alps catchment''.
Feral horses and deer also pose a threat to the alpine ecosystem, with introduced species causing erosion on 17 per cent of catchment areas.
Climate change is also threatening the habitats of animal species such as the mountain pygmy possum and the broadtoothed rat, who rely on winter snow for their survival. The report predicts that by 2050 there will be no areas of snow in Alps that last longer than 60 days - a figure that undoubtedly comes as unwelcome news to the $280million-a-year ski industry.
Spring thaw is expected to occur on average two days earlier per decade and higher temperatures will mean ''any precipitation falling in the Alps will fall increasingly as rain rather than snow''.
The summary report provides policy makers with an overview of a longer technical report issued in June 2010. It builds on work done by the Australian Academy of Science in 1957 and is the second catchment condition assessment completed for the Alps.
