FACTBOX-Impacts for Australia, NZ of climate change

(Reuters) - Following are impacts of climate change for Australia and New Zealand outlined in a draft U.N. climate report due to be released in Brussels on April 6.

The draft, to be discussed by scientists and government experts in the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting from Monday, is looking at the regional effects of warming:

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

-- Many ecosystems are likely to be altered by 2020. Among the most vulnerable are the Great Barrier Reef, south-western Australia, Kakadu wetlands, rainforests and mountain areas.

-- Water security problems are very likely to increase by 2030 in southern and eastern Australia, and parts of eastern New Zealand away from major rivers. In Australia, there could be a 10-25 percent reduction in river flow in the Murray-Darling basin by 2050.

-- Development of coastal regions could lead to property coming under threat from rising sea levels. By 2050 there is likely to be loss of high-value land, faster road deterioration and degraded beaches.

-- In south-east Australia, the frequency of days when bush fires threaten is likely to rise by between 4 and 25 percent by 2020.

-- Increased temperatures and demographic changes are likely to increase peak energy demand in summer which could lead to black-outs.

-- Farm production is likely to decline over much of southern and eastern Australia and parts of eastern New Zealand due to increased drought and fire. If enough water is available, longer growing seasons and less risk of frost are likely to aid farming in much of New Zealand and parts of southern Australia.