A pilot program will be carried out by the territory government and the University of Queensland to develop a climate change management plan for the gang-gang cockatoo and the glossy-black cockatoo.

The plan will be used to develop strategies on how best to protect numbers of the species from rising temperatures, increasing natural disasters such as bushfires, as well as habitat loss.

If successful, the climate change management plan could be extended to other animal or plant species in the ACT, or even entire ecosystems that are endangered.

Work on the program began last week and is expected to run until the end of the year, when the findings will be presented.

ACT senior director of conservation research Rosie Cooney said the cockatoo species were chosen as the first for the climate change management plan due to their susceptibility.

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"Climate change is likely to impact upon the glossy-black cockatoo species and we want to see what that threat would look like," Ms Cooney said.

"Gang-gangs are not threatened yet by climate change, but they are going to be impacted."

It's estimated the management plan work will cost $66,000, according to contract documents seen by The Canberra Times.

Part of the research will focus on how the environment and habitat of the cockatoo species would change under a warmer climate.

"Identifying other important factors in species persistence and estimating how climate change will impact these is an important step during the conceptual model development," the contract documents said.

"Projections may be useful for informing changes in risk of extreme and catastrophic fire weather across the cockatoos' ranges."

University of Queensland lecturer April Reside is one of the researchers carrying out work on developing the management plan.

She said work to help protect the species was critical, given birds experience some of the more noticeable effects of climate change.

"Climate change could mean that food species for the birds, like trees, might not survive, or that there will be lots of drought or heat stress on the environment," Dr Reside said.

"Those that live in dry environments are vulnerable to fire events and there will be little habitat left."

Work on developing a plan for the two cockatoo species will take the next six months, and Ms Cooney said it would go a long way to help other management plans for a broader range of species.

"We want this to be tested and understood well so it can be adapted and used for others," she said.

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