LIFE and Climate Change Adaptation
Content
LIFE and
Climate change
adaptation
LIFE
Environment
& Climate
Action
Environment
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION
ENVIRONMENT DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
LIFE (“The Financial Instrument for the Environment and Climate Action”) is a programme launched by the European
Commission and coordinated by the Environment and Climate Action Directorates-General. The Commission has
delegated the implementation of many components of the LIFE programme to the Executive Agency for Small and
Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).
The contents of the publication “LIFE and Climate change adaptation” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the
institutions of the European Union.
Authors: Gabriella Camarsa (Environment expert), Justin Toland, Jon Eldridge, Stephen Nottingham, Tim Hudson,
Wendy Jones, Kirsten Heppner, João Silva (NEEMO GEIE), Christophe Thévignot (NEEMO GEIE, Communications Team
Coordinator). Managing Editor: Hervé Martin (European Commission, Environment DG, LIFE Environment Unit).
LIFE Focus series coordination: Simon Goss (LIFE Communications Coordinator), Valerie O’Brien (Environment DG,
Publications Coordinator). Technical assistance: Iva Rossi, Inta Duce, Laura Nocentini, Anastasia Koutsolioutsou,
Aixa Sopeña, Christina Marouli (NEEMO GEIE). The following people also worked on this issue: Humberto Delgado Rosa (DG-CLIMA Director of Mainstreaming Adaptation & Low Carbon Technology Directorate), Juan Pérez Lorenzo (DG-CLIMA - Policy Officer – Adaptation Unit) Jelena Miloš (DG-CLIMA – Policy Officer - Adaptation Unit), Nancy
Saich (EIB - Senior climate adviser - Environment, Climate and Social Office), James Ranaivoson (EIB - Managerial
advisor – Structured Finance for Climate Action & Environment), Santiago Urquijo-Zamora, Alexis Tsalas, François
Delcueillerie, (Environment DG, LIFE Environment Unit). Production: Monique Braem (NEEMO GEIE). Graphic design:
Daniel Renders, Anita Cortés (NEEMO GEIE). Photos database: Sophie Brynart (NEEMO GEIE). Acknowledgements:
Thanks to all LIFE project beneficiaries who contributed comments, photos and other useful material for this report.
Photos: Unless otherwise specified; photos are from the respective projects. Cover photo: LIFE08 ENV/LV/000451.
Photos banners inside: p.18: LIFE11 ENV/ES/000615/Quintas Fotografos, LIFE09 ENV/DK/000366/Kenneth Lovholt,
p.30: LIFE10 ENV/FR/000215, p.44: LIFE09 ENV/ES/000441, LIFE08 ENV/GR/000570/S.Stamatiadis, p.58: LIFE13
BIO/ES/000094/Toni Llobet, LIFE13 ENV/ES/000255, p.71: LIFE06 ENV/DK/000229, LIFE02 ENV/A/000282, p.90:
LIFE13 NAT/IT/001013, LIFE04 NAT/E/000031/NEEMO EEIG/A. Darquistade, p.100: LIFE04 NAT/DE/000028/DREWS
Hauke, LIFE07 NAT/P/000654/CUNHA Rui.
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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015
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ISSN 2314-9329
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Foreword
T
he new global climate deal to be agreed in Paris is a unique opportunity to accelerate the transition
to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies worldwide. This requires ambitious action to both reduce
emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
ADA P TAT I O N
Photo: European Commission
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Miguel Arias Cañete
EU Commissioner for
Climate Action and Energy
The EU has made a clear pledge to contribute to the global effort. We are committed to a binding, economywide greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
We also want the Paris Agreement to provide a long-term vision to enhance climate-resilient sustainable
development. The impacts of climate change are already widespread and are likely to increase. In Europe, key
climate risks include increased economic losses and a growing number of people affected by flooding, heat
waves, droughts or forest fires.
Adaptation action can address many of these risks. For instance, it has been estimated that each euro spent
on flood protection could save six euros in damage costs.
Adaptation also means taking advantage of opportunities that may arise. As these pages show, this relatively
new field offers room for creativity and for developing innovative approaches and technologies, which often
bring co-benefits.
As President Juncker recently noted in his State of the Union 2015 speech, the battle against climate change
will be won or lost on the ground and in the cities where most Europeans live and work. Adaptation measures
will play an important role in this.
Action is needed at all levels – from local to international. The EU Adaptation Strategy, adopted in 2013, promotes adaptation action in all Member States to contribute to a more climate-resilient Europe. The strategy
focuses on three key objectives: promoting action by Member States; ‘climate-proofing’ action at EU level; and
better informed decision-making.
We are already making good progress. For instance, the number of Member States with a national adaptation
strategy has risen from 13 in 2013 to 20 today. The Mayors Adapt initiative is helping cities and towns across
the EU develop adaptation plans at the local level. The Climate-ADAPT platform is informing users about climate change adaptation, and work is progressing on knowledge gaps related to adaptation.
Adaptation to climate change, together with mitigation, has been included in all relevant EU funding programmes for 2014-2020, in line with our objective of spending at least 20% of the EU budget - as much as
€180 billion - on climate-related action.
This funding includes €864 million available through the LIFE sub-programme for Climate Action for projects
targeting both mitigation and adaptation efforts. The new round of funding builds on the €307 million that
the LIFE programme has already mobilised to advance climate change adaptation. This has supported actions
that range from strategic planning to specific measures in sectors such as agriculture, water management
and forestry.
The European Commission will report to the European Parliament and Council in 2017 on the implementation of the EU adaptation strategy. The potential revision of the strategy offers the opportunity to reinforce
certain aspects of key importance for the future. Lessons from LIFE projects included in this publication can
contribute to that process.
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CONTENTS
Foreword.............................................................................................1
3
I ntroduction
Adapting to climate change: EU action for a global
problem..................................................................................................3
58
forests
Looking after the long-term future of EU forest
resources............................................................................................58
LIFE helps Greek forests to cope
in a changing climate..................................................................67
LIFE and climate change adaptation.....................................7
Meeting adaptation challenges:
DG CLIMA’s perspective..............................................................12
Meeting adaptation challenges:
the EIB’s perspective....................................................................14
LIFE’s impact on adaptation....................................................16
P lanning
18
water
71
An introduction to water and climate change
adaptation..........................................................................................71
Implementing adaptive water management..................73
Here comes the flood..................................................................80
LIFE helps Riga plan for increased
flood risk.............................................................................................87
LIFE helps roll out adaptation plans and strategies...18
Developing an adaptation strategy for Cyprus............26
urban
30
Making cities and towns more climate resilient ..........30
Developing eco-corridors for improved
environmental resilience............................................................41
coastal
90
Stepping up to the climate change challenge...............90
biodiversity
100
Enabling biodiversity to adapt.............................................100
Project list...................................................................107
agriculture
44
Adapting agriculture for a sustainable future...............44
Demonstrating good practice
to farmers and policy-makers................................................56
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Available LIFE Environment publications.........113
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Adapting to climate change:
EU action for a global problem
Photo: LIFE04 NAT/DE/000028
The success of EU climate policy requires an integrated approach to climate adaptation.
Mainstreaming adaptation into all relevant sectors is vital to this.
LIFE has shown how nature-based approaches to adaptation strengthen the resilience of ecosystems whilst increasing biodiversity
I
n his first State of the Union address, President
Juncker highlighted the need for the European
Union to push for an “ambitious, robust and binding” climate deal at the global COP21 summit in
Paris this December (see box - “The road to Paris”).
“My Commission will work to ensure Europe keeps
leading in the fight against climate change,” he
said.
covered EU policy on climate change mitigation
and the work of the LIFE programme in its implementation in a LIFE Focus brochure published at
the beginning of 2015. In this latest brochure, we
focus on LIFE and climate change adaptation.
The European Union is devoting at least 20% of its
budget from 2014-2020 to climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. We have already
The delayed impacts of past and current greenhouse gas emissions mean that even if global warming targets are achieved, adaptation
The EU climate change Adaptation
Strategy
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A global agreement to tackle climate change
The EU stresses that an increase in the global average temperature needs
to be kept below 2°C above the pre-industrial level in order to prevent the
worst impacts of climate change. Therefore, the EU supports a global, fair,
ambitious and legally-binding international treaty that will prevent global
warming from reaching dangerous levels. Ambitious action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and a clear pathway to achieving the below 2° objective will have to play a key role in the new agreement.
The EU further stresses that adaptation needs to be addressed with the
same priority and urgency as mitigation in a balanced agreement. This
agreement offers a unique opportunity to provide for renewed visibility on
the importance of adaptation and gives all parties a long-term vision on
adaptation.
The Environment Council conclusions adopted in September 2015 support
a balanced Paris Agreement including strong action to cut greenhouse gas
emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change as well as adequate
support for financing climate action.
measures will be necessary. The central plank of
EU policy in this area is the EU strategy on adaptation to climate change, which was adopted by the
European Commission in April 2013.
The Strategy aims to make Europe more climateresilient and takes a coherent approach by complementing the activities of Member States.
Environmental sensitivity to climate change
promotes adaptation action across the EU, enIt
suring that adaptation considerations are addressed in all relevant EU policies (mainstreaming), promoting greater coordination, coherence
and information-sharing.
The EU is promoting action by encouraging all
Member States to adopt a comprehensive national adaptation strategy. Through Mayors Adapt,
now incorporated into the New Covenant of Mayors for integrated climate and energy action, the
EU is encouraging a voluntary commitment for
cities (see pp. 30-39). The Strategy also outlines
the EU’s commitment to provide financial support
for adaptation through LIFE.
Member States are increasingly recognising that
adaptation is an iterative process and that learning from existing practices and new information
from research helps to improve adaptation interventions. Challenges in this regard include addressing knowledge gaps, such as on costs and
benefits of adaptation, local-level analyses and
risk assessments. The Strategy addresses key
knowledge gaps and also aims to refine and identify ways to address them. LIFE is recognised as
one of the relevant tools in this regard as well.
In addition, the European Commission and the
European Environment Agency (EEA) are improving access to information through Climate-ADAPT,
the European Climate Adaptation Platform that
serves as a ‘one-stop shop’ for adaptation information in Europe1.
Promoting adaptation in key vulnerable areas will
be achieved through mainstreaming adaptation
measures into EU policies and programmes, as a
way of ‘climate-proofing’ EU action. This includes
integrating adaptation under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Cohesion Policy and
ensuring more resilient infrastructure.
Implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy is
based on eight actions (see box).
How implementation is proceeding
Work is ongoing on all eight actions of the Strategy,
and results are beginning to show. To give a couple of examples, as part of the Adaptation Strategy
package the Commission provided guidelines to help
Member States formulate adaptation
strategies.
Copyright: European Environment Agency (EEA).
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Source: ESPON Climate, 2011
1 http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/
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Eight actions to implement the EU Adaptation Strategy
5. F urther develop Climate-ADAPT as the ‘onestop shop’ for adaptation information in
Europe
6. F acilitate the climate-proofing of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Cohesion
Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)
7. E
nsure more resilient infrastructure
8. P
romote insurance and other financial products
for resilient investment and business decisions
1. Encourage all Member States to adopt comprehensive adaptation strategies
2. P
rovide LIFE funding to support capacity
building and step up adaptation action in Europe (2014-2020)
3. Introduce adaptation in the Covenant of Mayors framework (2013/2014) (Mayors Adapt
and the New Covenant of Mayors))
4. B
ridge the knowledge gap
The EU Adaptation Strategy also proposes monitoring and evaluating the status and progress of climate
change adaptation in the EU. In 2017, the European
Commission will report to the European Parliament
and the Council on the state of implementation of
the EU Adaptation Strategy, and propose its review,
if needed.
Mainstreaming adaptation
The scale of the challenge presented by climate
change makes it imperative to mainstream climate
adaptation across sectors and funding mechanisms.
The AQUOR project aims to develop an adaptive strategy to support the sustainable
governance of upper Vicenza’s groundwater
Photo: LIFE10 ENV/IT/000380
To date, 20 Member States have developed a national adaptation strategy (compared with 13 NAS
in 2013), and several more are under preparation.
Mayors Adapt – the Covenant of Mayors Initiative
on Adaptation to Climate Change was launched in
March 2014. Cities signing up to the initiative commit to contribute to a more climate-resilient Europe
(i.e. the overall aim of the EU Adaptation Strategy),
to develop local adaptation strategies or to mainstream adaptation into relevant existing plans within
the first two years of signing and review the outcomes on a biannual basis.
In April 2014, the EEA published a report on National
adaptation policy processes in European Countries2.
This report found that adaptation has most often
been implemented by applying ‘soft measures’ (e.g.
mainstreaming); that project-based support has
been the most important financing mechanism for
implementing adaptation; and funds from government budgets for adaptation have been allocated
mainly to the water and agriculture sectors.
Water, agriculture and forestry are the sectors most
advanced in terms of implementing portfolios of adaptation measures at all administrative levels, notes
the EEA report, with biodiversity a sector where options were being identified at national level.
2 http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/national-adaptationpolicy-processes
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Mainstreaming adaptation through ESIF
There are opportunities to mainstream climate adaptation into all five European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF):
European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) - at least 5% of national
ERDF resources should be allocated to integrated actions for sustainable urban
development. This could help tackle climate challenges affecting urban areas.
Manchester City Council‘s ‘City Green Infrastructure Plan’ is one mainstreaming
example supported by ERDF under the 2007-2013 financial framework.
European Social Fund (ESF) - The ESF can support the labour force in
shifting to a low-carbon economy through training for the workforce and
the unemployed, creating networks of skilled advisers, supporting social
enterprises and devising curricula for green skills in vocational training.
The Cohesion Fund (CF) - The CF could be used to support a number of
climate adaptation measures, including ‘blue infrastructure’ to provide additional flood storage capacity and reduce overheating risks in urban areas.
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) - Climate adaptation can be mainstreamed into agriculture through Rural Development Programme (RDP) measures. In Austria, for instance, adaptation
has been addressed through the protection of biodiversity by conserving
hedgerows, environmentally sustainable farm operation through adapted
plant selection, and reduced pesticide inputs; in Scotland, the RDP includes
support for investments to improve the resilience of forest ecosystems.
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) - Support for planning
initiatives such as Marine Spatial Planning, Integrated Coastal Zone Management and sea-basin strategies can help to improve the climate change
resilience of fishing communities. EMFF can also support community-led local development that involves local approaches to adaptation. For instance,
where climate change impacts will lead to changes in fish stocks, local
development strategies could encourage diversification of fisheries and
aquaculture and the diversification of the local economy into other sectors.
Further examples of mainstreaming climate action into ESIF can be found
in a series of fact sheets 1.
1 Mainstreaming of climate action in the European Structural and Investment Funds
2014-2020; available at: http://ec.europa.eu/clima/publications/index_en.htm
Many mainstreaming initiatives in national sector
legislation are driven by EU legislation that recognises adaptation. For example the Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive have led to EU Member
States making legislative changes that have taken
into account the need to adapt to climate change.
As part of the Adaptation Strategy package the Commission has provided guidance on how to further
integrate adaptation into the CAP, Cohesion Policy
and the CFP. This guidance aims to help managing authorities and other stakeholders involved in
programme design, development and implementation during the 2014-2020 budget period. Member
States and regions can also use funding under the
2014-2020 Cohesion Policy and CAP to address
knowledge gaps, to invest in the necessary analyses,
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risk assessments and tools, and to build up capacities for adaptation.
In February 2013, based on a Commission proposal,
the European Council concluded that “climate action
objectives will represent at least 20% of EU spending
in the period 2014-2020 and therefore be reflected
in the appropriate instruments to ensure that they
contribute to strengthen energy security, building a
low-carbon, resource-efficient and climate-resilient
economy that will enhance Europe’s competitiveness
and create more and greener jobs.”
The European Structural and Investment Funds
(ESIF)3 represent more than 43% of the EU budget in
the period 2014-2020. ESIF thus have a significant
role to play in reaching the “at least 20%” overall
target for climate related expenditure and contributing to Europe’s transition to a low-carbon and
climate-resilient economy. To make this happen, climate action has been included in the relevant legal
basis for ESIF, such as the Common Provisions Regulation4 (CPR), a number of fund-specific regulations,
implementing regulations and acts.
There is scope for a wide range of climate action,
both mitigation and adaptation, across all the 11
thematic objectives and the corresponding investment and Union priorities. More importantly, there
are two thematic objectives that are exclusively
dedicated to contributing towards the achievement of climate change objectives i.e. thematic
objective 4 supporting the shift towards a lowcarbon economy in all sectors and thematic objective 5 promoting climate change adaptation, risk
prevention and management.
Preliminary data indicates that the overall share
of climate-related expenditure in the indicative
ESIF budget for 2014-2020 will be about 25%. This
money will support such climate change-related actions as development of renewable energy sources,
energy efficiency, sustainable urban mobility, climate
adaptation measures, green infrastructure, ecosystem services, sustainable agriculture and forestry,
climate-related innovation, business development
and green jobs.
3 include five funds: the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), Cohesion Fund (CF), European Social Fund (ESF), European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and
the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
4 Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament
and the Council of 17 December 2013.
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LIFE and climate change
adaptation
LIFE has been one of the main funding sources for demonstration projects that have
facilitated the implementation and enforcement of EU climate adaptation policy and mainstreamed adaptation in many other policy areas.
S
ince 2000, the LIFE programme has cofunded nearly 150 projects that focus –
in whole or part - on climate change adaptation.
These have mobilised some €307 million for climate change adaptation (with an EU contribution
of €152 million), a figure that excludes the many
millions spent, for instance, on agri-environmental
measures relevant to adaptation but not branded
as such, or on green infrastructure to increase ecosystem resilience.
LIFE has helped mainstream adaptation in many
policy areas, bringing stakeholders together to
work on common objectives and raising awareness
on adaptation issues. The programme has been
most active in mainstreaming climate adaptation
in water policy (43 projects), including a strong
f ocus on water scarcity and floods; in agriculture
(25 projects); and in creating resilient urban and
peri-urban areas (22 projects).
Adaptation projects have been led mainly by NGOs,
universities and local and regional authorities,
and they have involved as stakeholders farmers,
agronomists, forest managers, citizens, businesses
and public authorities.
There has been a significant increase in the number of
LIFE climate change adaptation projects since climate
change became a policy priority under the LIFE+ programme (2007-2013). The first LIFE+ projects mainly
tested single solutions and defined best practice for
adaptation. More recent projects have tended to adopt
integrated or ecosystem-based approaches to flood
Photo: LIFE10 NAT/IT/000241
LIFE is adopting nature-based solutions to increase resilience
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management, agriculture and urban resilience. There
have been fewer LIFE Nature & Biodiversity projects
than LIFE Environment projects that have directly targeted climate adaptation.
Integrated Projects (see box) and the Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF – see. pp. 13-14).
The implementation of adaptation policies and
measures is still at a relatively early stage. This,
together with the need to maintain political commitment to adaptation and related expenditure,
makes it imperative to understand which adaptation actions work in which contexts and to know the
reasons why. LIFE 2014-2020 funding can support
projects that help monitoring and assess the progress of adaptation measures. To do this, proxies
for measuring ‘reduced vulnerability’ or ‘increased
resilience’ will have to be developed. Projects can
also help in developing indicators that provide evidence that a certain condition exists or certain results have or have not been achieved.
Since 2007, nine LIFE projects have supported the
development of climate adaptation strategies or
plans (total budget: €16 million), including one project to develop a national adaptation strategy (for
Cyprus – see pp. 26-29). The majority of projects
have worked at sub-national level, helping to turn
strategies into action plans at regional or local level.
The current funding period offers significant scope
to finance projects that improve or extend best
practices developed by earlier LIFE projects in areas such as adaptation planning, forestry practices
or green/blue infrastructure. It can also address
the opportunities presented by newer developments such as nature-based approaches, ecosystem services, monitoring and measuring resilience.
Importantly, action grants for ‘traditional’ projects
are now supplemented by newer tools such as
LIFE projects have also focused on capacity building and providing tools for risk and vulnerability
assessments, modelling and monitoring. Adaptation planning should integrate mitigation and adaptation measures, rather than treating them as
distinct issues.
Strategies and planning
An important aspect of these LIFE projects has
been the involvement of stakeholders, which
should increase acceptance and implementation
of proposed adaptation measures. Future projects
could also involve stakeholders in monitoring and
reviewing measures.
In the current funding period, the LIFE sub-programme
for Climate Action can continue to support adaptation
planning at national, regional and local level.
Urban resilience
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/UK/000936/NEEMO EEIG/Donald Lunan
LIFE has trialled green roofs in Mediterranean and northern European countries
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The LIFE programme has co-funded 22 urban resilience projects since 2000 to the tune of €44
million. Spain, Italy, and France have been the recipients of most of this support. Beneficiaries in
Member States across the EU also could use LIFE
co-funding to demonstrate best practices and solutions for urban areas.
Since 1998 a small cluster of projects have demonstrated the adaptive potential of ‘green infrastructure’, including the ability of green roofs to
reduce storm water run-off and the positive effects
of requalifying green areas and creating green
belts and corridors in peri-urban areas. In recent
years, there has been a noticeable evolution in
the scope of LIFE projects funded, moving beyond
single solutions (e.g. a green roof or a sustainable
urban drainage system – SUDS) to integrated, ecosystem-based solutions for whole districts or even
whole cities. This has been achieved by integrating green and blue infrastructure in local planning,
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by creating collective participation and a sense of
responsibility, and by getting businesses on board.
With urban resilience as a funding priority for the
current period, there is an opportunity for new projects to build on these achievements by developing
and deploying innovative adaptation technologies
within the water, energy and construction sectors,
and increasing the focus on health-related issues.
There is also scope for capacity-building and increased stakeholder collaboration.
LIFE has supported the development of best practices in agriculture that help to increase resilience.
Since 2004, there have been nearly 30 adaptation projects in this sector, with a total budget of
€54 million. Many of these projects, particularly
those in Spain and Italy, have been closely linked
to the implementation of EU water policy. In tackling water scarcity issues, they have implemented
sustainable irrigation techniques that avoid overabstraction of groundwater and increase water
availability during the droughts and dry spells that
will be more frequent because of climate change.
A sizable cluster of projects have focused on demonstrating and disseminating resilient agricultural
practices such as no-tillage, crop rotation, use of
cover crops, afforestation and reduced grazing.
These methods increase soil fertility and reduce
soil erosion, thus increasing resilience. Some projects have even helped influence policy and led to
measures being included in Rural Development
Programmes. A great strength of LIFE is that projects actively engage with farmers; those featured
in this publication have provided training in climate
resilient agricultural techniques and built support
networks involving agronomists and farmers. The
demonstration effect has been visible in the use
of the same techniques elsewhere on participating farms or on neighbouring farms, even after the
projects have ended.
Despite these successes, more can be done in
other areas of agricultural practice. Few LIFE projects have explored pest control, intercropping or
the use of adapted crops, for example. Moreover,
LIFE projects have yet to focus on animal rearing
conditions or livestock diversification in the context
of climate change adaptation. LIFE could also apply research done by other programmes into the
effects of climate change on certain crops.
Photo: LIFE 08/ENV/GR/000554/EKBY Photo Archive/L. Logothetis
Agriculture
Climate change can increase the damage caused by domestic forest pathogens and pests
Forests
The LIFE programme has been an important source
of support for implementing forest adaptation actions. It has been involved in co-financing some of
the EU’s earliest forest adaptation work (some 20
projects in all) with a combined budget of €38 million. Projects have tackled the impacts of warmer
temperatures, especially forest fires in the Mediterranean region, changes in tree species composition, and biotic disturbance such as the spread of
pests and pathogens. They have also built capacity to adapt to climate change and raised awareness of the issue amongst specialist audiences
and the general public. Completed LIFE projects
have helped Member States to adopt forest management techniques that enable climate change
adaptation.
With its greater focus on climate action, the LIFE
Programme for 2014-2020 provides additional
opportunities for forest-related projects. The new
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eneration of projects could focus on tackling the
g
effects of atmospheric pollution, promoting adapted species compositions within forests and promoting advanced forest management to decrease
threats and improve responses. In addition to climate action grants for adaptation actions, the programme now has the potential to increase its impact via the NCFF, which could be used to support
projects that adopt ecosystem-based approaches
that enable forest managers to address identified
risks associated with current and projected impacts of climate change.
Water management and flooding
The impact of the Water Framework Directive, the
Floods Directive and the Water Blueprint Initiative,
policies that seek to mainstream climate adaptation, means that there have been more LIFE climate adaptation projects related to water than to
any other sector: 43 projects with a total budget of
€93 million. These projects are helping overcome
barriers to the implementation of EU water policy
where climate change adaptation has been mainstreamed.
Regarding water management, LIFE has been particularly good at funding projects that concern water scarcity issues, by developing modelling tools
or exploring different managed aquifer recharge
methods. It has also addressed water quality and
eutrophication issues and has been at the forefront
of promoting a water saving culture. More could be
achieved on determining variations in river flows.
Additional attention could be paid to identifying
and finding solutions for the effects that poorer
water quality exacerbated by climate change can
have on species composition, organism abundance
and productivity, and phenological shifts in some
freshwater ecosystems.
More LIFE projects have targeted flooding than any
other climate adaptation theme: 26 projects with a
budget of €63 million. LIFE has helped map flood
risks, provide early flood warnings and reduce the
impact of inundations through river and wetland
restoration. It has demonstrated the practical value and cost effectiveness of natural water retention measures. In so doing, projects have shown
ways of cost effectively implementing the Water
Framework and Floods Directives. In the future
more emphasis should be given to projects that
use ecosystem-based approaches and to increasing cross-border cooperation amongst Member
States (again possibly through Integrated Projects
and the NCFF).
Coastal areas
Europe’s coasts are amongst the areas most vulnerable to climate change and thus mainstreaming
adaptation measures is of particular importance,
especially considering the ecosystem services
that coastal areas provide. To date, 16 LIFE projects (budget: €35 million) have addressed climate
adaptation issues, including higher sea temperatures, sea level rise, coastal erosion and loss of
ecosystem services. Projects have demonstrated
risk mapping and modelling tools for assessing the
full extent of those impacts and ways of increasing
Photo: LIFE02 NAT/D/008456
LIFE has helped restore wetlands thus helping to regulate floods and droughts
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Future LIFE projects should focus on addressing
climate change needs through integrated coastal
management, maritime spatial planning and ecosystem-based approaches. The latter is of particular importance to those responsible for establishing priorities for coastal management.
Biodiversity
A small percentage of LIFE Nature & Biodiversity
funding has directly targeted climate change adaptation (15 projects with direct actions, with a total
budget of €41 million). Many more projects have
indirectly increased climate resilience by applying restoration measures, reducing fragmentation
and increasing connectivity in ecological networks
through the development of green infrastructure.
Habitat restoration actions have also made landscapes more permeable for species dispersion and
water flow, increased landscape diversity and restored the range of functions, services and goods
provided by ecosystems. This makes them more
resilient and more likely to withstand risks and vulnerabilities such as fires, droughts, floods and alien
species invasions.
Projects have increased spatial connectivity by
linking the habitats of threatened species (e.g.
brown bears, European mink, migratory fish and
amphibians) to strengthen populations through genetic exchange.
Other defragmentation actions have focused on
habitat types listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive. Projects have reconnected prime core habitats or linked core areas with newly restored sites
through green corridors and ecological stepping
stones. Examples include: reconnecting rivers with
floodplains; continuous grasslands; coastal meadows; networks of bogs and mires; old growth and
boreal forests.
To further help biodiversity adapt to climate change,
LIFE could in future fund more projects that trial
ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation and, in
particular, projects that trial methods that experts
can subsequently use to measure their impact on
Photo: LIFE98 NAT/S/005371/Alf Kjellström
the resilience of Europe’s coastal ecosystems. The
greatest strength of the programme has been to
fund projects that have tackled coastal erosion
and that have increased coastal resilience through
the restoration of coastal lagoons and wetlands
through the LIFE Nature strand.
LIFE has aimed to halt the Arctic fox’s decline and increase its
breeding population
increasing resilience. Aside from traditional LIFE
Nature and LIFE Climate Action projects, the NCFF
could be used for this end. The new funding facility can finance projects that use new approaches
to ecological restoration and/or conservation or innovative business models to protect biodiversity or
increase the resilience of communities.
Integrated Projects (IPs)
LIFE Climate Action Integrated Projects are jointly funded projects operating on a large territorial scale that aim to implement climate policy into
other policy areas. The first Climate Action Integrated Projects will be chosen from applications submitted in the 2015 LIFE call for proposals. There
is scope for Integrated Projects to address climate adaptation challenges
in all the thematic areas covered in this brochure. Some specific examples
are presented below:
Strategies and planning: IPs could potentially address transboundary issues relating to adaptation (e.g. relating to shared water basins).
Urban resilience: IPs could contribute to the goals of building capacity
and increasing stakeholder collaboration, as well as helping local and regional authorities to take an integrated approach to mitigation and adaptation action that starts at the planning phase.
Water management and flooding: Member States could propose Integrated Projects that address flood management in a cross-border river/
coastal area, thus creating synergies with the water, coastal and urban
policies.
Coastal areas: IPs could be a tool to enable Member States to address
transboundary hazards (disaster risk reduction) and to ensure coastal management is able to adapt effectively to climate change impacts.
Biodiversity: IPs could be used to implement climate change adaptation
strategies, plans or address specific climate change vulnerabilities and synergies with other environmental policies such as biodiversity.
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Meeting adaptation challenges:
DG CLIMA’s perspective
Humberto Delgado Rosa is Director responsible for Mainstreaming Adaptation & Low Carbon
Technology, DG CLIMA. In this interview, he talks about adaptation at Member State and
local level and his expectations of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris
in December 2015.
ational adaptation strategies are key
to improving the coherence of Member
States’ adaptation planning activities, policies and
measures. When the EU strategy on adaptation to
climate change was adopted in 2013, 15 Member
States had adopted national adaptation strategies.
Now 20 have done so, and there are more strategies in the pipeline. Due to the relative novelty of
the field, these strategies are quite heterogeneous
and some are already in the process of being revised and improved.
These achievements demonstrate Member States’
commitment to adaptation despite the challenges
existing in this sector. We are making progress in the
implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy as a
whole and getting closer to our goal of having national adaptation strategies in all EU Member States
by 2017.
There are numerous tools that are used to achieve
this goal. They include the upgraded European Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-ADAPT), the
highly successful urban initiative on adaptation
Mayors Adapt, and the LIFE Programme, of course,
for which two calls for proposals have already
been published under the new Climate Action subprogramme. Work is also being done as part of the
research framework programme Horizon 2020: climate-related expenditure should exceed 35% of the
programme’s total budget. In addition, a large share
of the European Structural and Investment Funds
(ESIF) are being invested in climate change mitigation and adaptation. At least 20% of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 must be
earmarked for climate action, opening up substantial
sources of financing for climate adaptation.
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Photo: European Commission
“N
Humberto Delgado Rosa
A joint effort
The Commission is engaging with Member States to
share knowledge and best practices. In collaboration
with DG RTD, the Joint Research Centre, the European Environment Agency and the Member States,
several knowledge gaps have been identified where
more research and development are needed. These
areas include information on damage costs and
costs and benefits of adaptation, regional and locallevel analyses and risk assessment frameworks,
linking adaptation knowledge and decision-making,
and developing the means to monitor and evaluate
adaptation efforts. Knowledge gaps are fed into the
calls for research projects under the Horizon 2020
programme. Similarly, LIFE will be used as the ideal
tool to test, pilot or demonstrate adaptation actions.
Adaptation has been successfully mainstreamed into
a number of EU policies. Mainstreaming is one of the
key elements in the national adaptation strategies
of Member States. However, it is an ongoing process.
We are now turning our attention to vulnerable sectors such as energy, transport, health, and measures
such as ‘green’ and ‘grey’ infrastructure. Moreover,
climate change impacts have to be taken into account to a greater extent in disaster insurance, a
powerful tool to induce adaptation measures.
The role of LIFE
The LIFE Programme plays a crucial role in tackling
climate adaptation. LIFE covered climate-related topics well before the creation of the sub-programme
for Climate Action, funding projects in areas such as
water, coastal management and adaptation planning. Cyprus, for instance, received financing to develop a national adaptation strategy (see pp.26-29).
Under the new LIFE programme 2014-2020, funding
is available in the form of both ‘traditional’ as well as
newly introduced ‘integrated’ projects to tackle the
priorities identified in the EU Adaptation Strategy.
As a new addition to our toolkit, integrated projects
are designed to facilitate the implementation of adaptation strategies on a significant cross-sectoral
and geographical scale.
In the current LIFE funding period, around €190 million is earmarked for increasing resilience to climate
change up to 2017, with a similar amount expected
for the period 2018-2020. Besides vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies, the focus will
be on vulnerable areas indicated in the EU Adaptation Strategy: cross-border flood and coastal management, urban environment, mountain and island areas,
water management and drought-prone areas.
Moreover, urban adaptation and green infrastructure
will increasingly be the centre of attention. For instance, part of the first LIFE call last year was successfully geared towards urban adaptation, reflecting the fact that 75% of European citizens live in
urban areas. Many of the future LIFE projects may
have this urban dimension, with several of them also
including green approaches in the urban context.
Nature-based approaches are not a ‘silver bullet’,
but green infrastructure is often cost effective and
delivering multiple benefits.
The recently launched Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF), within the LIFE Programme, illustrates
DG CLIMA’s wish to actively involve the private sector
in adaptation efforts. This financial instrument, devel nvironment and the
oped in collaboration with DG E
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Photo: LIFE13 NAT/SE/000116/Länsstyrelsen i Jämtlands län
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LIFE funding has helped mainstream climate change adaptation in the EU water policy
European Investment Bank (EIB), supports ecosystem-based approaches to biodiversity conservation
and climate change adaptation. Projects financed by
the NCFF will combine a strong impact on resilience
and adaptation capacity with innovative financing
options, demonstrating that adaptation efforts can
go hand-in-hand with creating revenues or cost savings. It will moreover leverage private financing to
promote adaptation and biodiversity goals.
Strengthening the role of adaptation
All these tools are contributing to climate adaptation
in the Member States and beyond. And hopefully, so
will the United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Paris later this year. Adaptation should play an increasingly important role, as all countries, rich or poor, need
to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.
The 2015 Conference represents an opportunity to
strengthen and improve provisions for and the commitments of all parties to continue adaptation efforts, cooperate and share information, and further
monitoring, evaluation and reporting. However, we
need to keep in mind that adaptation measures are
also being implemented outside the Convention, so
that we do not duplicate existing efforts.
It goes without saying that adaptation is not an alternative to mitigation. In fact it can reinforce awareness of just how crucial mitigation is, since adaptation would be powerless to prevent catastrophic
climate change if emissions targets are not implemented. The best way to adapt is to control climate
change, first and foremost. Unfortunately, climate
change is happening, and we need to tackle mitigation and adaptation together, to achieve the best
possible outcome”.
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Meeting adaptation challenges:
the EIB’s perspective
Nancy Saich is senior climate adviser at the European Investment Bank’s Environment,
Climate and Social Office. In this interview, she discusses the bank’s role in climate change
adaptation.
“T
he EIB finances climate adaptation through
projects that provide adaptation benefits to
cities, communities or businesses. We also finance
adaptation in projects themselves, making them
more resilient to climate change impacts. In addition, we are funding technical assistance support.
Financing adaptation and accounting for it is part
of our job as a bank. We are at the beginning of a
major transition: in five to ten years, this kind of
thinking will be commonplace.
Mainstreaming climate
adaptation really means
thinking about the climate change impacts
on our projects, on our
promoters, on our internal processes and seeing
how we can be proactive in trying to increase climate resilience. It also means making sure that
we share best practices and knowledge with partners, such as DG CLIMA, and with our colleagues
in other EU finance institutions. To this end, we
participate in a working group on climate adaptation involving all EU finance institutions.
After a public consultation, which included numerous questions on adaptation, the EIB is planning
to publish its new Climate Action Strategy later
this year. This will give us a much more specific
work plan, which will be rolled out across all parts
of the bank.
Screening of projects is an important part of the
mainstreaming process. One of the challenges is
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Photo: EIB Photolibrary, Graphic Team
Mainstreaming
adaptation
Nancy Saich - senior climate adviser in the EIB
how to deal with current projects that have not
incorporated climate change impacts into their
thinking. As well as helping those projects adapt,
we will help promoters, authorities and clients
take climate change adaptation into account in
the planning of future projects.
We also need to do upstream work. Often the best
way to do that is with Commission and EU funding. A good pipeline of projects from another programme, for example, could benefit from blending financing options, perhaps using some of the
grant money from the Commission to cover any
extra adaptation costs or measures included in
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Uncertainty is often cited as a reason for inaction.
Climate adaptation is not something that can be
left to the future. We have to learn how to make
decision pathways that incorporate uncertainty.
Take sea-level rise, for instance: we know it will
happen, but not how fast. There are many examples in coastal defence where some decisions
have to be taken now, but others can be left for
the future, provided that the possibility to adjust
the project is built in. This flexibility avoids the
danger of channelling all adaptation efforts into
one type of activity that may not be the right solution in the future.
Although climate data has become much more
useable, it still needs to be translated in a way
that decision-makers can understand. In this context, it can be useful to show that there are likely
going to be changes, which will make weather
events more extreme and more frequent, explaining what some of those scenarios might look like.
There is still an enormous need for knowledge
and capacity building. The European Climate Adaptation Platform Climate-ADAPT is a great basis
for this, and we have to promote this knowledge
sharing through Climate-ADAPT here in the bank,
in other organisations, in the consultancy industry, climate services, and the data-providing industry to close knowledge gaps.
Strategic goals
At €1.4 billion over the last two years, climate adaptation accounts for a small portion of the EIB’s
lending. We know more needs to be done: increasing adaptation lending and advice services inside
and outside the EU will be a main pillar of the new
climate strategy.
So far our financing efforts have largely focused
on water resource management and land use.
Other projects have dealt with forestry and flood
protection. There has also been a small amount
of adaptation in infrastructure projects, such as
counting the extra measures to make a road climate resilient.
The EIB and DG CLIMA have had many discussions
about ways of supporting SMEs to become climate
resilient through our financial intermediaries. This
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is absolutely critical: small businesses are highly
vulnerable to extreme weather events.
We also need to finance adaptation in major
sectors such as energy, transport, industry and
R&D, including addressing cross-sectoral issues.
This is where the urban dimension comes in. By
building out from sectors where we have already
done a lot of work, we should have a clearer picture of how to address cross-sectoral climate
vulnerabilities.
In future, mainstreaming adaptation into water
resource management, land use, food production,
and urban projects will be important. We would
like to see more projects being put forward which
truly take climate risk and vulnerability assessment into account or where the EIB can provide
the support necessary to incorporate that into
projects, regardless of the sector.”
NCFF: a new tool in the EIB’s arsenal
“The Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF) has been
designed to go into smaller
and riskier projects than the
EIB would traditionally fund.
The NCFF focuses exclusively
on bankable nature-based
projects for climate adaptation that can either create
revenue or save costs. For
instance, instead of building
grey infrastructure for flood
protection, the NCFF would
finance a nature-based solution. Using market-based instruments, this
innovative approach works in a different way to project grants, although
the possibility to blend funding options could still apply.
Photo: EIB Photolibrary, Graphic Team
Managing uncertainty
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Clearly, when something is based on nature, thinking has to be long term,
patience is required. There are numerous other benefits that may or may
not be monetised. All of this will make these kinds of projects a little
more complex to appraise. The aim with nature-based solutions is to
think about certain business models that will provide revenues, such as
ecotourism, for example.
Once a demonstration has been successful in one place or sector, we will
catalyse third-party – mainly private – investments. The main focus is on
replicability, catalytic effect and the idea that, after three years, there will
be numerous projects which have already demonstrated their value and
in which third parties can invest.”
James Ranaivoson, managerial advisor – Structured Finance for Climate
Action & Environment, EIB
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LIFE’s impact on adaptation
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Adaptation
Strategies & Plans
ADA P TAT I O N
Urban resilience
Agriculture
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
16 million
8 million
44 million
20 million
54 million
26 million
LIFE projects implemented green roofs
and lowered the urban heat-island
(UHI) effect in Belgian, Swedish,
Maltese, Spanish and UK cities
VULNERABILITY
AND RISKS
MONITORING
THE
ADAPTATION
CYCLE
planning
More than 25 projects have demonstrated farming techniques that have
helped EU farms adapt to climate
change
IMPLEMENTATION
LIFE funding has:
Helped Cyprus adopt its National
Adaptation Plan
Helped authorities in Italy, Poland
and Finland develop local strategies
and plans
Helped projects develop modelling
tools for decision-makers
l
l
l
LIFE has spent 27
million euros on blue
infrastructure such as:
SUDS, open storm water
systems, rain gardens
32 million euros have been used to
train farmers on adaptive cultivation
practices
All projects have helped build
decision makers’ capacity to
deal with adaptation
Beneficiaries
l
l
l
l
l
Local authority
N
GO-Foundation
Public enterprise
R
egional authority
Research institute
l
l
ME Small and
S
medium-sized
enterprise
University
Green and blue infrastructure has
featured in all urban and peri-urban
resilience projects. These projects have
helped boost biodiversity and ecosystem services
countries Benefitting
countries Benefitting
CY
1
IT
2
FI
4
PO
2
22 million euros have been invested to
make irrigation more efficient
BE
1
IT
5
ES
7
MT
1
FI
FR
1
3
SE
UK
2
2
LIFE projects have influenced policy;
measures have been included in
Rural Development Programmes
Future funding through NCFF
and traditional LIFE projects
countries Benefitting
ES
13
IT
4
FR
3
LT
1
GR
3
SE
1
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biodiversity
coastal
water
FORESTS
a n d
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
38 million
20 million
95 million
45 million
35 million
19 million
44 million
20 million
41 LIFE nature projects have
targeted climate adaptation
LIFE has developed modelling tools to
assess and respond to water scarcity
LIFE has explored different managed
aquifer recharge methods
LIFE has reduced the incidence of
forest fires in the EU through mapping and modelling, training, knowledge transfer and awareness raising.
It has funded 12 projects with a
combined budget of nearly
16 million euros.
LIFE is one of the main EU financial
instruments supporting the adoption
and implementation of Integrated
Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).
It is developing best practices in
managing coastal zones
Through multinational
partnerships, LIFE is
fostering a water-saving
culture in the EU, getting
citizens involved
LIFE projects have developed
forest monitoring systems to
track changes in species distribution, taking bioclimatic region and
local factors into account
21 million euros has been used to
finance forest management tools.
Projects have trained forest managers
and given them guidelines
Forest projects have
made EU forests more
resilient to otbreaks of
pests and pathogens
countries Benefitting
EE
1
HU
1
ES
6
IT
1
FI
2
PL
3
FR
1
SI
1
GR
4
63 million euros has been spent on
26 projects that focused on reducingflooding using natural water retention
measures.
LIFE has helped map flood risks, and
provide early flood warnings
countries Benefitting
AT
6
NL
2
BE
1
RO
1
DE
4
SE
1
DK
2
SK
2
ES
5
UK
3
GR
2
FI
1
Projects have addressed sea level rise
by tackling biodiversity loss and saltwater intrusion
30 million euros have been spent
combating coastal erosion through
innovative beach and dune management and restoration measures,
making dunes more resilient to
climate change
countries Benefitting
BG
1
IT
4
HU
1
FR
1
DE
1
LV
1
IT
8
MT
1
ES
4
UK
4
FIN
1
LV
1
Projects have increased spatial
connectivity by linking the habitats of
threatened species (e.g. brown bears,
European mink, migratory fish and
amphibians) to strengthen populations
through genetic exchange
Projects have reconnected prime core
habitats such as rivers with floodplains;
continuous grasslands; coastal meadows; networks of bogs and mires; and
boreal forests
countries Benefitting
BE
1
IT
1
CY
1
PT
1
ES
2
SE
3
FI
1
SI
1
GR
1
UK
1
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P lanning
LIFE helps roll out adaptation
plans and strategies
The LIFE programme is contributing to the process of drafting climate change adaptation
strategies and helping plan effective responses at regional and local levels.
T
he EEA’s 2012 report, Urban adaptation to
climate change in Europe, notes that “taking
a place-based approach to adaptation policies is a
way to further policy integration and coherence...
Urban adaptation to climate change is a task that
concerns all government levels - from local to
European. While municipalities and regions focus
on the implementation of place-based adaptation
measures, national and European governments
should have a supporting role.”1
The EEA report notes that “regional governments
play an important role when adaptation issues
exceed municipal boundaries”. However, there are
also limitations to regional governance – regions
lack resources and influence in a number of Member States. Thus, the EEA report stresses the fact
that “national governments provide the crucial link
between EU priorities and local adaptation action”.
1 http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/urban-adaptation-toclimate-change
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000138/Union of the Baltic Cities
Stakeholders working on a peer review of climate reports
National governments can provide a strategic framework. They can climate-proof national legislation and
policy and mainstream adaptation into different areas whilst ensuring that national policies are also
coherent and supportive for local adaptation. They
also play a crucial role as supporters and enablers of
local and regional strategies and action.
EU Member States are encouraged to adopt, implement and review adaptation strategies. As Figure 1
shows, they are at different stages in the process
of adoption and implementation. As of June 2015,
some 20 EU Member States had successfully
adopted a climate change adaptation strategy.
What makes a good strategy?
In 2013, the European Commission produced a set
of Guidelines on developing adaptation strategies2
as a first response to the barriers to the uptake of
2 http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/adaptation/what/docs/
swd_2013_134_en.pdf
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The Commission, together with the adaptation
steering group composed of Member State officials
and a diverse range of stakeholders identified aspects of good adaptation and limiting factors that
can impede successful adaptation (see Table 1).
These were taken into consideration in the six steps
to drafting a national adaptation strategy detailed
in the 2013 guidelines (see Figure 1).
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Table 1: Current efforts in adaptation policy-making
Aspects of good adaptation
Limiting factors
Sectoral focus
Lack of consideration of cross-border
impacts
Mainstreaming
Need for detailed risk and vulnerability
assessments
Stakeholder involvement
Lack of concrete national adaptation
plans
Communication and awarenessraising
Lack of monitoring and evaluation
An evolving process (review and
update strategies)
Lack of funding
pLanning
daptation strategies at national level. The guidea
lines build on and aim to make more operational
the Adaptation Support Tool, a key feature of the
Climate-ADAPT portal.
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Figure 1: Six steps to drafting a national adaptation strategy
• Obtain high-level support
• Set up the process (establish a core team for adaptation; liaise with other relevant administrative bodies; identify affected stakeholders and involve them in the adaptation process)
• Estimate human and financial resources needed and identify potential sources of funding
for the long term
• Collect information (get a first overview on actual and potential future climate change-related effects; identify ongoing activities with relevance for adaptation; explore good practices
within or outside the country)
• Communicate and raise awareness (clarify the terminology; communicate climate change
and the need for adaptation)
• Analyse how past weather events have affected your country
• Undertake a climate change risks and vulnerability assessment
• Take transboundary issues into account
• Develop an approach for addressing knowledge gaps and for dealing with uncertainties
• Select your country’s main concerns and set your strategic direction
• Collect appropriate adaptation options given your country’s main concerns
• Explore good practices and existing measures
• Describe adaptation options in detail
• Assess possible options in terms of time, cost, benefits and efforts
• Assess cross-cutting issues, trade-offs and synergies of adaptation options
• Prioritise adaptation options and select preferred ones
• Prepare a strategy document and get political approval
• Identify and make use of entry points for adaptation into existing instruments and/or create
new instruments for adaptation (mainstreaming) (identify key instruments for integrating
adaptation; determine the need for action with respect to modifying existing instruments;
establish new instruments)
• Seek agreements with stakeholders responsible for implementation
• Develop an action plan
• Develop appropriate M&E provisions for both adaptation policy objectives and selected
adaptation options
• Identify indicators
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Photo: LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000141/University of Helsinki/Juh Aalto
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Vaccia carried out vulnerability assessments of key ecosystem goods and services
The LIFE programme has supported fewer projects
to develop climate change adaptation strategies
and plans than their climate change mitigation
equivalents. This is in part because the concept of
mitigation has been established in public discourse
for longer; and partly because it is less straightforward to quantify an increase or decrease in vulnerability than it is to monitor CO2 emissions.
Those LIFE projects that have been funded in this
area have, however, made a significant contribution to the development of adaptation strategies
and their subsequent implementation. Of particular
note is the CYPADAPT project in Cyprus, the only
occasion on which LIFE co-funding has been used
to draft a national adaptation strategy (see pages
26-29).
Finnish pioneers
Finland was the first country in the European Union to adopt a national strategy for adaptation to
climate change, back in 2005, as an independent
element of the wider National Energy and Climate
Strategy. Highlighting the value of sectoral focus,
the strategy was developed by several ministries
in partnership and indeed, the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
also have their own sector-specific strategies as a
subset of the national strategy.
In 2007, Finland secured funding for four LIFE
projects that in different ways contributed to the
implementation of the strategy. According to Pekka
Hänninen, external monitor for each of the four
projects, “One can say that the projects VACCIA, Julia 2030 and CCCRP were more or less around the
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implementation of this strategy.” The Finnish part
of the fourth project, CHAMP, “also had something
to do with the national strategy, but the main focus
was more of a European dimension, involving partners from Germany, Italy and Hungary,” he adds.
CHAMP set out to develop integrated management
systems (IMS) to improve local and regional competence to deal with climate change and, in particular, to improve cross-sectoral coordination at local
and regional level. The project established training
hubs in eight countries and representatives from
58 local and sub-regional authorities were trained
to use the IMS. The revision of the NAS, the National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change 2022,
has recently resulted in the publication of a new
NAS in November 2014, known as the National Adaptation Programme.
VACCIA provides useful models for
planners
Finland’s climate change strategy “describes the
impacts of climate change and potential adaptation measures for each sector for a period extending until 2080,” explains Irina Bergström of the
Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), who was responsible for the synthesis and dissemination of
the VACCIA project. The experts from SYKE who
helped develop the national strategy were also involved in VACCIA, thus ensuring that this LIFE project incorporated the basic principles of the strategy and was designed so that results could be used
in further strategic planning.
The project team developed several mathematical
modelling systems for the assessment of changes,
thresholds, and adaptation measures for different
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VACCIA’s results have been used in administrative
planning and in subsequent projects. It was mentioned and used as background in the updated
adaptation (2011-2012) action plan for implementing Finland’s adaptation strategy. Findings
of VACCIA’s synthesis report of Finland’s climate
change adaptation research were included in the
national ISTO programme, whilst the project’s results were used in the revision of the sector specific strategies for agriculture and forestry in 2013.
The Finnish-Chinese cooperation project CLIMES
(2012-2014) had its roots partly in VACCIA and
was conducted partly in the same study areas.
This project looked at landscape-scale processes
and adaptation options for two key ecosystem
services/sectors - water services and soil/carbon
sequestration.
In addition, local and national media coverage of
the project helped raise public awareness of the
future changes demanding adaptation. Results of
the VACCIA project are included in Climateguide.
fi, the web portal on climate change for Finnish
citizens.
LIFE builds a climate portal
for Finland
“The importance of communication was recognised in Finland’s National Strategy for Adaptation
to Climate Change, but at that time (2005) there
were no plans to develop a national climate portal,” explains Sanna Luhtala, who coordinated the
Climate Change Community Response Portal (CCCRP) project. The value of such a tool soon became
clear, however, and LIFE co-funding was secured in
the 2007 call by three research organisations: the
Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), the Finnish
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Environment Institute (SYKE), and Aalto University
to develop climateguide.fi. Launched in June 2012,
the portal aims “to provide scientific background
information on all aspects of climate change (climate change as a phenomenon, Finland’s changing climate, impacts, mitigation, and adaptation)
as well as the tangible means for mitigation and
adaptation,” says Ms Luhtala (see box - Impact of
Finland’s climate portal).
pLanning
The scenarios and modelling tools were presented
and discussed with local and regional authorities
and citizens at a series of workshops and seminars.
The events were an opportunity for planning officers and local communities to consider the merits
of different adaptation options and solutions e.g.
for urban planning, northern tourism, fisheries, forestry and agriculture. “The researchers and the audience were thus able to have immediate feedback
on each other´s suggestions,” says Ms Bergström.
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The portal is more than just an awareness-raising
tool; it gives local and regional authorities all the
baseline information they need to decide which
measures are most needed to counteract the predicted impacts of climate change within their jurisdiction. The portal includes a Community Response
Impact of Finland’s climate portal
According to CCCRP project coordinator, Hanna Luhtala, “the number of users
of the Climateguide.fi portal has steadily increased since the launch, especially in the past year. In spring 2015 Climateguide.fi had approximately 3 000
weekly users with 9 000 weekly page views. Since the CCCRP project, the
Climateguide.fi portal has been continuously updated and developed.” New
elements include infographics, videos and climate news.
Ms Luhtala says that although the project did not measure the impact of
its awareness-raising activities,”the impact can be seen in the increasing
number of users and the positive feedback received from users directly,
through a user survey (in 2014) and user workshop.”
Significantly, three regional climate and energy strategies developed in
Finland since the launch of the portal - those of Southern Ostrobothnia,
Pirkanmaa and Savonia - have referenced climateguide.fi. The portal is
also mentioned in the 2014 National Adaptation Plan for Finland. Indeed,
climateguide.fi “is identified as the key method of communication of the
Plan,” says Ms Luhtala.
Photo: LIFE07 INF/FIN/000152/Finnish Meteorological Institute/Studio Halas
ecosystems, including forestry, agriculture, watersheds and fisheries. The modelling systems were
used to provide regional and national impact scenarios and predictions for each ecosystem.
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Wizard which helps local decision-makers (and
citizens) understand the main impacts of climate
change in different sectors, understand the possibilities for adaptation in municipalities, find the
most suitable set of actions and find case studies
and best practices.
to reduce CO2 emissions in the Helsinki metropolitan area. However, one part of the project focused
on the development of a climate change adaptation strategy for the city region.
“The first Finnish National Strategy for Adaptation
to Climate Change (2005) had few if any policies
or targets for the local or regional level adaptation. Therefore all the local/regional level adaptation actions and efforts in Finland so far have happened on a voluntary basis and from the initiative
of the local/regional level actors themselves,” says
Julia 2030 project coordinator, Susanna Kankaanpää, climate specialist with the Helsinki Region
Environmental Services Authority (HSY). “This was
also the case of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area adaptation strategy,” she adds.
Developing a plan for Helsinki region
The Julia 2030 project was mainly concerned with
climate change mitigation through plans and actions
Julia 2030
The Julia 2030 team used climate change scenarios developed by the Finnish meteorological
institute to underpin adaptation planning work.
Increased precipitation and storm events, increased mean temperature, more hot days and
sea level rise were identified as the most likely
climate change impacts for the Helsinki region.
In response to these, “policies (about 30 in all), were developed for seven
sectors,” says Ms Kankaanpää. These sectors were land use, building and
climate-proof local environment, transport and technical networks, water
and waste management, rescue services and safety, health care and social
services, and co-operation in the production and distribution of information.
“The renewed (2014) national adaptation plan3
now has also acknowledged the local/regional level adaptation but this has happened in my opinion
because of a bottom-up effect,” says Ms Kankaanpää, who adds: “much of the adaptation action has
happened at the local level so in many cases or
sectors you could say that the local level has been
driving the national level adaptation and not vice
versa (this is the case in other European countries
as well, for example Denmark). But now we have
legislation concerning adaptation so the situation
is changing.”
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000145
The cities, region and other actors used workshops as a means of defining
adaptation actions. Each actor then developed a number of actions. “Currently there are about 80 adaptation actions being implemented,” explains
Ms Kankaanpää, who notes that “economic impacts of the policies or actions have not been assessed yet: HSY is monitoring the implementation
and state of the policies (first report published this year) and is currently developing indicators to monitor adaptation. This will take some time however,
since it is pioneering work on monitoring and evaluation systems.”
She notes that the project had ‘few challenges’
carrying out its data analysis because Finland’s
knowledge base regarding climate change, scenarios and impacts was already strong. The project also drew on the know-how of urban planners
regarding potential impacts of climate change on
technical infrastructure and buildings (see box Julia 2030).
Local and regional experiences from
Poland
Poland adopted its national climate change adaptation strategy in 2013. To date LIFE has cofunded two projects in the country to support the
development of adaptation planning at county
and municipal level.
The first of these was DOKLIP, which ran from 2010
to 2015. “We wanted to raise the awareness of
3 The 2014 revision of the National Adaptation Strategy was
referred to as a National Adaptation Plan
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local leaders and decision-makers and help them
to take actions that will lead to a larger number of
investments in climate change and more public initiatives,” explains Per Markus Törnberg, President of
the Foundation Institute for Sustainable Development and coordinator of the LIFE project. “We also
wanted to have an impact on the attitude of the
general public towards climate change issues.”
Also in Poland, Dr Wojciech Szymalski of the ISD
is coordinating the ongoing project LIFE_ADAPTCITY_PL , which is developing a climate change adaptation strategy for the city of Warsaw. The Polish
capital hopes to draw on lessons from Stuttgart’s
experience. “Stuttgart has been picked as a best
case scenario because it already has an adaptation
plan, one of the first in Europe,” explains Dr Szymalski. “The plan is also proposed on a very operational
level, so quite good recommendations can be taken
out for the cities in Poland. We hope to learn more
about Stuttgart’s city climate atlas and about the
city planning measures that resulted from the spatial planning processes,” he adds.
LIFE_ADAPTCITY_PL will prepare a climate map
for Warsaw, assess the state of the city’s ecosystem and prepare an intensive public consultation
of the strategy. Round tables will be held to coordinate the works of the many institutions that
will need to cooperate to prepare the adaptation
strategy. “Through district and special meetings
we aim to involve citizens as much as possible,
as well as various relevant groups within the city
(e.g. fire fighters, health care, small businesses),”
notes Dr Szymalski.
Photo: LIFE13 INF/PL/000039
To this end the LIFE Information & Communication
project organised a series of conferences, debates,
seminars and workshops for the various target audiences and produced analytical reports that were
distributed to the counties and other stakeholders.
A key element of the project focused on building
capacity amongst local decision-makers to enable
them to take practical local measures. Mr Törnberg
says that local leaders participating in the project’s
debates, workshops, conferences and study trip
have “received all the appropriate knowledge and
capacity needed to be better prepared for the adaptive measures...they might not have all the tools
and knowledge necessary to select the appropriate
measures themselves, but they will know how to
gain further tools, experience and knowledge and to
some extent even to select measures themselves.”
ADA P TAT I O N
Dr. Wojciech SzymalskI presenting LIFE_ADAPTCITY_PL at an
event
The project is also inviting citizens to propose local initiatives, large and small, related to water
management and air quality, such as local water
tanks or the creation of ‘fresh air’ corridors that
connect local parks and squares.
To build the city administration’s capacity to
implement the strategy, the project is planning
study visits to Helsinki (Finland), Ancona (Italy)
and Malmö (Sweden).
The project has proposed that two of the adaptation actions it develops will be included in the city
budget. Dr Szymalski says it is too early to say if
there will be a cost-benefit analysis of the adaptation measures: “First we need to find out what
kind of measures and then we will decide.”
He adds that the LIFE project is crucial to the
realisation of Poland’s climate change adaptation strategy. “Warsaw is the first city to prepare
an adaptation strategy and serves as the pilot
ground for methodology and approach for other
Polish cities.”
In this way, Poland is providing a tangible demonstration of one of the observations of the 2012
EEA report, namely that: “Supporting local adaptation measures provides national governments
the opportunity for policy learning. Neighbourhoods can be seen as testing grounds for policy
providing valuable lessons on the performance of
policy measures in different local contexts.”
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Developing municipal strategies in
Mediterranean countries
In Member States that have yet to devise or implement a national adaptation strategy, the importance
of bottom-up adaptation planning cannot be overstated. In Italy, LIFE co-funding helped municipalities take the lead well before the national adaptation
strategy was adopted in 2015.
ACT - Adapting to Climate change in Time - sought to
develop a process for creating an effective municipal
strategy for local climate adaptation measures. The
Italian-led project worked with three Mediterranean
municipalities – Ancona (Italy), Patras (Greece) and
Bullas (Spain). The project, which ran from 2010 to
2013, applied many of the principles that would subsequently be enshrined in the Commission’s 2013
guidelines for drafting a climate change adaptation
strategy, namely data collection, creating the baseline scenario, assessing vulnerabilities and risks,
identifying the adaptive measures, implementing
them and monitoring and evaluating their impact.
The project trialled a participatory approach to development of the adaptation plans, channeled through
a Local Adaptation Board (LAB) in each of the three
cities. Each LAB was essentially a multidisciplinary
working group that included representatives of a
number of relevant sectors, including environmental
protection, soil and water management, civil protection, utilities, industry, commerce and tourism.
In the first phase, the members of the LAB analysed
the issues, evaluated impacts and proposed measures. During the second phase, participation allowed
the creation of a consensus and strengthened the
capacity for territorial governance on climate change.
As a result of the project, the city of Bullas has
signed up to the Mayors Adapt Initiative, whilst Ancona is in the process of joining.
An Italian signatory city of Mayors Adapt, Bologna,
has used LIFE funding to pilot a participatory approach to the adoption of a Local Adaptation Plan
through the BLUE AP project. Coordinator Giovanni
The adaptation cycle
NGOs
Asses impacts
vulnerabilty and
risks
Training
centres
Monitor
and evaluate
adaptation
The
adaptation
cycle
Implement
measures
Civil society
Plan for
adaptation
Research
institutions
Private sector
National
and local
governments
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Stakeholder involvement has been essential to achieving BLUE AP’s goals (see box, Bologna participates).
The project developed an Adaptation Plan for Bologna that has defined measures to deal with potential drought and water shortages, urban heat
waves, and excessive rain and hydrogeological risk.
It also identified a series of ‘green’ and ‘blue’ best
practices that could be implemented in Bologna and
other Italian cities. “The ‘green’ measures are: periurban parks, green and cool roofs and green walls;
the ‘blue’ measures are: permeable pavements,
Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment by greywater separation and water savings,” says Mr Fini.
“Bologna is a vulnerable territory even though it may
not seem so,” says Mr Fini. “We are very happy with
the project results that allowed us to build up an in-
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tegrated approach to urban resilience. The Bologna
Adaptation Plan outlines the strategies capable of
confronting the critical situations highlighted in the
Local Climate Profile and identifies a series of good
practice actions.” The Adaptation Plan envisages that
all these actions will be completed by 2025.
pLanning
Fini says that Bologna has drawn inspiration from
the experiences of outputs of northern European
cities, Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Stockholm, London and The Hague (“whose representatives have
been part of the scientific board of the project).”
Mr Fini explains that, “coming from a very different political and climatic background, the biggest
challenge [for Bologna] has been to suit their approach to the local context, especially with regards to the administrative organisation and citizens’ awareness.”
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“The Plan is concerned not only with what to do but
also how to do it, and pays particular attention to
the interaction between different levels of government in the territory and private individuals who
will be directly involved in implementing the plan’s
steps,” says Mr Fini. This is particularly so with regards to measures addressing hydrogeological instability and water supply. “The implementation of
the steps outlined in the Adaptation Plan will also
occur through upgrading the territory’s regulation
and planning tools,” adds Mr Fini.
Conclusions
The project examples in this chapter show the
usefulness of LIFE as a tool for sub-national and
municipal adaptation planning. However, it is important to synchronise the impacts of bottom-up
initiatives with the top-down imperatives of national adaptation strategies and also ensure strong
linkages across sectors. The following pages highlight the ongoing work in Cyprus to develop a national strategy that can be effectively implemented
at the local level.
Bologna participates
Mr Fini explains that it was important to guide stakeholders through the
process without overwhelming them with complex climate science. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire divided into two parts: the
first gathered information about the interviewee; the second focused on
general awareness of resilience and climate change, with three questions
specifically relating to matching adaptation measures to economic needs.
“This gives us clear information about how both small businesses and large
companies view the topic,” says Mr Fini. Some 84% of the 125 companies
surveyed said they worry about the effect climate change may have on
their business. BLUEAP has produced a report on the survey’s results, which
will help Bologna achieve the project’s goal of offering “start up” support
to local stakeholders, with the aim of designing and launching some of the
measures and actions defined by the Local Adaptation Plan.
Photo: LIFE11 ENV/IT/000119
“The Adaptation Plan has been built with a participatory collaboration, in
which individuals and organisations are also actors of the plan,” says Giovanni Fini of the City of Bologna. A map of local stakeholders was created at
the start of the process to facilitate their input into the local climate profile,
good adaptation practices and strategy documents. Meetings with stakeholders took place at each phase of implementation of the Adaptation Plan.
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P l a n nin g
Developing an adaptation
strategy for Cyprus
Cyprus is so far the only EU Member State to have developed a national adaptation strategy
with the support of the LIFE programme. The process has proved extremely valuable.
“I
n 2007, Cyprus was short of drinking water [because of drought]. It was a very, very difficult
time. To solve this problem we had to bring water
from Greece,” recalls Theodoulous Mesimeris, Senior Environment Officer, Environment Department,
Republic of Cyprus. “After this, we took the decision that we have to plan and we have to develop
appropriate policies and measures. Not only for
drinking water, not only for water shortages, but for
all sectors that will be affected by climate change.”
As head of the climate unit within the Environment
Department, Mr Mesimeris was placed in charge
of the planning process. “We asked about financial
tools and the Commission suggested to us that one
good tool is LIFE.” With partners at the National
Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the Na-
tional Observatory of Athens (NOA) on board, LIFE
funding was secured for the CYPADAPT project, the
first use of the mechanism to enable a Member
State to develop a national adaptation strategy.
The project had six stages - a current vulnerability assessment; future vulnerability assessment;
identification of adaptation measures; evaluation
of adaptation measures; development of an adaptation strategy (known as the National Adaptation
Plan - NAP); and monitoring and evaluation. Each
stage was accompanied by active stakeholder engagement and public awareness raising.
“It was very, very important to try to have from the
beginning all stakeholders involved. We had people
from the academic sector, from the public sector,
Itam morterox se fac tus
Current
vulnerability
assessment
Future
vulnerability
assessment
Identification
of adaptation
measures
Evaluation of
adaptation
measures
ACTIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
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Development
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Monitoring
and
evaluation
Table 1: The 11 adaptation sectors
of Cyprus
Agriculture
Infrastructure
Public health
Tourism
Energy
Fisheries
Coasts
Forests
Soil resources
Biodiversity
Water resources
the private sector, from local authorities,” explains
Mr Mesimeris, who managed the CYPADAPT project.
The EEA report on Urban adaptation to climate
change in Europe notes that “without flexible and
cross-sectoral coordinated measures, adaptation
efforts may be hampered by sectoral thinking.” The
role of the Cypriot climate unit is to act as the ‘coordinating team’ for all government departments.
“It’s a horizontal issue,” says Mr Mesimeris. “We
had a frank discussion, an open communication
with all stakeholders and we decided to create 11
different committees.”
These committees corresponded to 11 sectors for
which a climate change and vulnerability assessment and subsequent adaptation strategy would
be produced (see Table 1).
The climate change vulnerability assessment involved a review of EU and international policies,
plans and measures and the creation of a database of more than 790 adaptation measures being
applied worldwide.
The assessment found that in the last 20 years,
precipitation on Cyprus had been reduced by 1 mm/
yr and the average mean temperature had risen by
0.5 °C , compared to the period 1960-1990. Other
observed climate change impacts for the country
include an increase in the annual maximum and
minimum air temperature, as well as in the number of days below freezing and above 40 °C each
year. Whilst overall precipitation has decreased,
the number of heavy rainfall events has increased.
There has also been an increase in the average sea
surface temperature and evapotranspiration rate.
A total of 56 climate change impacts were identified for the 11 sectors. Vulnerability was then assessed for each impact using the equation:
• Vulnerability = impact - adaptive capacity (where
impact = sensitivity x exposure)
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The PRECIS regional climate model was used to
project future climate change in Cyprus. By combining these forecasts and other socio-economic
projections with the current vulnerability assessment, the CYPADAPT team was able to determine
Cyprus’s future vulnerability to climate change (in
2020, 2050 and 2080).
pLanning
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Priorities for action
Sixteen climate change impacts were identified as
presenting ‘moderate’ to ‘very high’ vulnerability,
requiring appropriate adaptation actions and were
prioritised in line with the recommendations of the
stakeholder committees (see Table 2).
“Gathering information was not the major issue,”
says Mr Mesimeris. “The complexity of this new,
horizontal issue...this was the major challenge: to
link the impacts with climate change: impacts in the
forest, impacts in agriculture, impacts in health.”
Highlighting the need for a cross-sectoral approach
says Mr Mesimeris is the fact that “the energy sector is one of the major sectors that is affected by
climate change. If we have long periods of high
temperatures that means that we will need more
energy to adapt to these extreme weather conditions. If you need desalination units you need energy, you need extra power plants, more CO2 emissions - everything is connected.”
The MCA tool
“It was very important for us to choose the appropriate measures, to prioritise them and to give the
opportunity to different sectors to participate in
Table 2: CYPADAPT ranking of ‘moderate’ to ‘very high’
vulnerability climate change impacts
1st priority
Drinking water availability in mountain areas; water availability for
irrigation in mountain areas; desertification
2nd priority
Drought; dieback of tree species, insect attacks and diseases; forest
fires; water availability for irrigation in plain and coastal areas
3rd priority
Crop productivity
4th priority
Biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems; biodiversity of wetland
ecosystems
5th priority
Biodiversity of marine ecosystems
6th priority
Mortality and morbidity related to heat waves and high
temperatures; damage to crops caused by extreme weather
events; soil erosion; water availability for irrigation in tourism
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Assessing risks and costs
this decision-making procedure,” recounts Mr Mesimeris. To this end, CYPADAPT created the MultiCriteria Analysis (MCA) Tool for Cyprus, “a kind of
supporting tool, using the knowledge of the stakeholders,” he explains. “It’s a tool that can be modified according to the different priorities and different scenarios that you may choose.”
The NAP has been approved by the Committee of
Audit and the Competent Authority (Ministry of
Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment).
The Department of Environment is planning to
submit to the Council of Ministers the adaptation
strategy together with a climate change risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis.
The MCA tool enables users to select the most appropriate set of adaptation options for Cyprus.
“The risk assessment is an ex ante conditionality
under the multi-annnual financial framework. That
means that without this Cyprus is not eligible to
receive support from the Cohesion funds. It was
very, very useful for Cyprus to have in place the
adaptation strategy because without this it would
be difficult for us to develop the risk assessment,”
believes Mr Mesimeris.
The NAP for Cyprus contains the adaptation measures prioritised by the MCA tool and provides suggestions for their integration into national sectoral
policies, strategies, plans and legislative texts.
The initial list of adaptation measures was subject
to evaluation and revision during the course of the
LIFE project. “When we ran the multi-criteria analysis in the beginning we saw that the stakeholders
didn’t agree with some of the results, so then we
went back and adjusted the weighting,” explains
Christina Pitta, Agricultural Research Officer in the
Environment Department’s climate unit.
“In order to have support and financing, it was
very important to present the cost of not doing
anything. This is why we are doing this risk assessment,” says Ms Pitta, who is in charge of drafting
this document. “The cost of not doing something
has a value. It is important to show why we have
to do something, why we have to spend something
- and to show also the benefits of action, the social
benefits and the potential to create economic opportunities from climate resilience measures.”
The end result is a more accurate and responsive
MCA software tool, one that generates alternative
adaptation scenarios based on selection criteria
and the system’s degree of vulnerability to climate
change. Some 250 measures addressing climate
change impacts in the 11 selected sectors have
been included in the NAP.
Photo: NEEMO EEIG/Justin Toland
Theodoulous Mesiimeris (right) coordinated the CYPADAPT project. His colleague Christina Pitta
is now developing a climate change risk assessment for Cyprus
The risk assessment is due to be completed in mid2016. “When we get the results from that we will
do the cost-benefit analysis, and hopefully by the
end of 2016, beginning of 2017, gather all of this
together to present to the Council of Ministers,” Ms
Pitta adds.
To demonstrate popular support for the strategy,
Mr Mesimeris says that the Department of Environment is also “assessing the possibility of developing a framework legislation for parliamentary
approval including both adaptation and mitigation
measures.”
Once the strategy is adopted, implementation
will be the responsibility not of the Department
of Environment, but of the various ministries, departments and local authorities, in line with their
sectoral and geographical competences. “Having
the adaptation strategy and having also the risk
analysis and the cost-benefit analysis, we will proceed then to the implementation phase having a
timeline and a specific budget for the implementation of the measures, which will be done based
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The monitoring team will also be responsible for
periodically re-evaluating the level of impact,
adaptive capacity and vulnerability of Cyprus to
climate change. “Definitely the adaptation strategy
will need revision according to the monitoring we
are going to be doing. Whether that revision comes
in two years or five years depends on how the implementation goes,” says Ms Pitta. “We will propose
some indicators, but it’s difficult to say now what
they will be. The lesson from other countries is
that indicators are different from one country to
another,” she notes.
The CYPADAPT project has useful outcomes for climate change adaptation planning across Europe.
“The MCA tool can readily be applied in other EU
Member States,” believes Mr Mesimeris. To aid
transferability, the CYPADAPT team produced a
user manual, walk-through video and guidelines
showing how to use the tool in climate change
adaptation planning. “We are receiving many requests to exchange information and to support
other countries, other units within the Cypriot government and academic bodies to develop their own
strategy or to evaluate the impacts or to use the
MCA tool,” he says.
Photo: LIFE08 ENV/CY/L000460/NEEMO EEIG/Cristina Marouli
The NAP developed by the CYPADAPT project includes
a monitoring and evaluation strategy with step-bystep guidelines to assess the success of each measure implemented. The climate unit is working to link
measures that are already being implemented as
part of sector-specific EU directives and policies, e.g.
the Water Framework Directive - such as desalination of water - with the climate change adaptation
strategy and risk assessment.
pLanning
on the budget of each implementing body,” explains
Mr Mesimeris. “For example, we have a long list of
measures in the water sector. After the submission
and approval of the measures and the budget then
we will link this list to the budget and the scope and
policy of the water development department and
they will be the implementation body. And we will
monitor the implementation of these measures.”
The Kalo Horio river basin, Cyprus. CYPADAPT developed measures for the water sector as part
of its cross-sectoral approach to climate adaptation planning.
“CYPADAPT was not about a study for the office, it
was about a study that will give solutions to many
problems,” believes Mr Mesimeris. “It was very
useful for Cyprus to have the opportunity to use
the LIFE financial tool to support the initiative to
develop our national strategy. It was the basis for
the preparation of one of the major ex ante conditionalities under the new financial framework, the
climate change risk assessment.”
Another significant impact of the project was linked
to the Cyprus Presidency of the European Council
in July-December 2012: “[The Cypriot government]
decided that the main issue for discussion in the
informal council for environment was adaptation.
This was the first time [the EU] had a discussion
about adaptation at ministerial level. The CYPADAPT project supported the preparation of material for those discussions. It was very important not
only from the technical angle, but also from the
political one,” concludes Mr Mesimeris.
Project number: LIFE10 ENV/CY/000723
Contact: Theodoulos Mesimeris
Title: CYPADAPT - Development of a national strategy for
adaptation to climate change adverse impacts in Cyprus
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: The Department of the Environment within the
Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment of
Cyprus (MANRE)
Website: http://cypadapt.uest.gr/
Period: 01-Sept-2011 to 31-Mar-2014
Total budget: €1 359 000
LIFE contribution: €678 000
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urban
Making cities and towns
more climate resilient
The LIFE programme has successfully demonstrated how green and blue infrastructure can
increase urban resilience to climate change impacts, such as water scarcity, flooding and
heat island effects.
C
ities are the cornerstone of Europe’s economic strength and wealth and the key to
its future prosperity. Three-quarters of Europe’s
population lives in urban areas and the proportion is expected to increase. The potential impacts
of climate change on people and assets (such as
emergency services and essential infrastructure)
are amplified in these densely populated areas. It
is therefore essential to target climate adaptation
actions at urban areas.
Climate change is likely to exacerbate existing
pressures facing European cities, such as overcrowding, aging infrastructure and increasing pollution from transport and industry. These problems
impact upon energy demand, waste management
and water resources far beyond the administrative
boundaries of cities.
Climate change is strongly intertwined with socioeconomic change, through its effects on people,
Photo: LIFE10 ENV/FR/000215/NEEMO EEIG/Carlos de la Paz
R-Urban implemented a participative strategy to increase the ecological resilience of the town of Colombes
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urban
Figure
1: title
Designing
resilience in urban areas
Collaborative process
1C
ollaborative appoach to funding green and grey
infrastructure
Species Selection criteria
1 Resilience to pests and diseases
Designing with trees- POSITIVE RESULTS
1 Enhanced walking environment
2 Attractive retail environment
3 Supporting mental health
4 Cooling and sheltering
5 Air quality
Technical design solutions
1 Integration of trees and sustainable drainage systems
2 Adequate substrate for root development eg crates
3 Load bearing and environment eg rafts
property and ecosystems. Some sectors of the
economy, such as agriculture, forestry and tourism, are directly dependent on climatic conditions,
and are already experiencing the impacts of climate change. Urban areas compete for water with
agriculture and outlying industry, which can lead
to regional water scarcity.
Although climate change impacts will be widespread, urban areas are subject to localised effects (e.g. reduced air quality) that are different
to those in surrounding areas. Urban areas in
different regions will also experience different
intensities and types of change, with cities and
towns located in vulnerable areas, such as coastal zones or river floodplains, experiencing additional site-specific impacts. Higher temperatures
will intensify forest fires where they threaten cities, for example, whilst sea level rise increases
the risk of coastal flooding. Climate change impacts can exacerbate water scarcity. Conversely,
with most of Europe’s large cities located along
major rivers, increases in rainfall, storms and
melting snows in upstream areas bring a greater
risk of flooding.
Urban areas are affected by city-specific climate
change impacts that are generated by the process
of urbanisation itself. Built-up areas create unique
microclimates, for instance, due to the replacement
of natural vegetation with artificial surfaces. This
affects air temperature, wind speed and direction,
and precipitation patterns. For example, soil sealing increases the absorption of energy from the
sun and leads to higher urban temperatures (the
‘urban heat island effect’). Heatwaves can compromise public health (particularly in cities with vulnerable, aging populations); reduce people’s ability
to work; and put infrastructure at risk. Urbanisation
also reduces the area available for natural flood
management.
Poor urban design can aggravate the impacts of
climate change. The impermeability of sealed areas reduces natural drainage and increases runoff,
for instance, which during heavy rains can lead to
urban floods. As climate change modifies the whole
hydrological cycle, this can lead to more frequent
and intense rainfall that affects urban infrastructure, especially water supply, wastewater and
storm water systems.
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Urban design and spatial planning therefore can
play an important role in reducing the impacts of
climate change. Furthermore, investing in green
infrastructure not only increases resilience, but
also provides numerous co-benefits including improved air quality, protection for biodiversity and
enhanced quality of life.
Action for EU urban areas
Within the EU Adaptation Strategy and in coordination with other EU policy areas, the Mayors
Adapt initiative, now integrated into the New Covenant of Mayors (see box), supports cities that
voluntarily commit to adopting local adaptation
strategies.
The challenge for policy-makers is to understand
climate change impacts sufficiently to develop and
implement policies that ensure an optimal level
of adaptation. For example, strategies focused on
managing and conserving water, land and biological resources to maintain and restore healthy, effectively functioning and climate change-resilient
ecosystems are one way to deal with the impact
and can also contribute to the prevention of disaster. Cities need to act, because delaying adaptation action will likely increase costs at a later
stage or the measures will come too late to prevent
costly damage. Furthermore, adaptation to climate
change offers the opportunity to attract business,
develop new jobs promote innovation and increase
citizens’ quality of life.
City authorities are therefore adopting long-term
spatial planning measures to ensure effective - and
affordable - adaptation. Working with nature’s capacity to absorb or control impacts can be a more
efficient way of adapting than simply focusing on
grey1 infrastructure. Green2 and blue3 infrastructure can play a crucial role in adaptation, especially under extreme climatic conditions. Examples
include improving the soil’s carbon and water storage capacity, and conserving water in natural systems to alleviate the effect of droughts or prevent
floods.
A combination of these infrastructure measures
has the potential to deliver robust and flexible solutions, whilst delivering co-benefits such as increased
1 Grey infrastructure measures involve man-made assets,
such as ensuring sewage systems can cope with heavier precipitation, reviewing building designs to better insulate against
heat, and adapting energy and transport systems to cope with
higher temperatures, low water availability or flooding.
2 Green infrastructure measures such as the creation of parks,
forests, wetlands, green walls and roofs provide a cooling effect and play a role in managing floods.
3 Blue infrastructure is a type of green infrastructure focused
on alleviating water scarcity or flooding.
Table 1: Climate change impacts and responses to increase resilience in urban areas
Vulnerability
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Factors
Response
Heatwave
Soil sealing
Insufficient building insulation
Lack of green urban areas
Heat generation by production, transport, heating
Population density
Decrease in soil sealing
Green infrastructure (green spaces, green belts, green
roofs-facades)
Education and awareness raising
Water scarcity and
droughts
Temperature rise and dry spells
Soil sealing
Water stress in the region - high water abstraction compared to
limited resources
Low water availability (surface and underground)
Water intense industry, tourism, agriculture in the region
Green and blue infrastructure (green roofs-facades,
green spaces, SUDS, water harvesting, water recycling)
Availability of organisational measures such as water
use restrictions
Education and awareness raising
Urban floods
High share of low-lying urban areas, potentially prone to flooding
High and increasing degree of soil sealing
Lack of green urban areas
Increase of frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation
Sea level rise in combination with storm surges
Snow melt
Green infrastructure (SUDS, green spaces, green belts
green roofs-facades)
Availability of flood defences and retention areas
Effective sewage systems
Education and raising awareness
Forest fires
High share of urban areas in forest fire risk zones
High share of population in forest fire risk zones
Drought
Increased temperature
Increased wind speed
Effective forest fire management
Training for forest managers
Capacity building for forest planners
Education and raising awareness
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Launched in March 2014
in the context of the EU
Adaptation Strategy, Mayors Adapt is the Covenant
of Mayors Initiative on Climate Change Adaptation.
It informs, mobilises and supports local authorities
to take adaptation action.
stakeholders and other EU initiatives and funds.
A web-based Urban Adaptation Support Tool has
been developed to aid adaptation practitioners
in urban municipalities to plan and implement
adaptation actions. The tool makes it easy to access information and knowledge resources specifically designed for urban conditions.
Currently more than 150 cities from 21 EU Member States, as well as from European Free Trade
Association (EFTA) and candidate countries, have
officially signed the Mayors Adapt initiative.
Mayors Adapt builds upon the success of the previous European Commission (DG CLIMA) pilot project, EU Cities Adapt, and links with the existing
European Environment Agency (EEA) online platform, Climate-ADAPT.
Signatories voluntarily commit to a series of
steps and agree to have their actions monitored.
They are obliged to prepare a risk and vulnerability assessment, develop a local adaptation strategy or mainstream adaptation into the relevant
plans within two years of signing the Commitment. They must also submit an Implementation
Progress Report every second year. In return, the
cities gain visibility on their commitment, wideranging support, networking and capacity-building opportunities, through regular events, an
online platform, and via synergies with relevant
energy efficiency and the creation of attractive areas for nature and recreation. This can be complemented by ‘soft’ measures that often can be implemented at a lower cost. Such measures include
behavioural change, emergency systems and the
adequate provision of information to vulnerable
groups in society.
Urban climate change adaptation requires coordinated action at regional and national levels,
as events outside cities can have major effects
in urban areas. Inappropriate land use and flood
management in upstream areas, for example, can
cause flooding in cities. Therefore, to build resilience, a joint and multi-level approach within regions, combining dialogue and multi-sectoral partnerships, is required.
Planning integrated climate change mitigation
(i.e. reduction of gas’ emissions causing climate
change) and adaptation action is efficient and
leads to synergies. For instance, better insulated
buildings reduce both energy consumption and
the impact of climate change induced heat waves;
green areas contribute to store carbon while reducing the impacts of floods and heat waves.
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Mayors Adapt and the New Covenant of Mayors
In October 2015, the Commission launched the
New Covenant of Mayors for integrated climate
and energy action. It builds on the following three
pillars:
1. It features a new target of at least 40% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030;
2. It includes both mitigation and adaptation
through the integration of the Covenant of
Mayors and the Mayors Adapt initiatives;
3. It reaches a global scope, opening up participation to local authorities worldwide.
LIFE and urban resilience
The LIFE programme has funded over 20 projects
that have demonstrated adaptation measures
based on green and blue infrastructure, spatial
planning and natural resource management, with
the aim of reducing the vulnerability of urban and
peri-urban areas to climate change. A wide range
of measures have been implemented at various
governance levels. This chapter gives an overview
of the technological, informational, organisational,
behavioural and ecosystem-based approaches that
LIFE projects have implemented and the positive
results they have achieved, including co-benefits
and improved local economic development.
Green and blue infrastructure has been identified as ‘best practice’ at local level for achieving
greater urban sustainability and resilience, although on occasion this is combined with grey infrastructure, such as expanding storm sewers. The
climate adaptation benefits of green infrastructure
are generally related to its ability to moderate the
impacts of extreme precipitation or high temperatures. These benefits include: better management
of storm-water runoff; fewer incidents of combined
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storm and sewer overflows; water capture and conservation; flood prevention; storm-surge protection;
defence against sea-level rise; accommodation of
natural hazards (e.g. relocation out of floodplains);
and reduced ambient temperatures and urban heat
island effects.
Green infrastructure is also a contributor to improving human health and air quality, lowering energy
demand, increasing carbon storage and creating additional wildlife habitat and recreational space.
Examples of green infrastructure include green roofs,
permeable surfaces, green alleys and streets, urban
forestry, green open spaces such as parks and wetlands, and adapted buildings to better cope with floods
and coastal storm surges.
Green technologies and infrastructure solutions are
often implemented with a single goal in mind, such
as managing storm water or reducing local ambient
heat, with the costs and benefits being evaluated in
the same way. However, the full net-benefit of green
infrastructure developments can only be realised by a
comprehensive accounting of their multiple benefits,
such as water filtering, slower runoff, cooler urban
heat islands, and cleaner air. Green infrastructure approaches range in scale from individual buildings and
neighbourhoods, to entire cities and metropolitan regions, with benefits that range in scale accordingly.
Spatial planning and green belts
Management practices for climate change adaptation may include planning, urban design, and
smart growth approaches that incorporate green
infrastructure into the urban landscape. Examples
include higher density housing that accommodates
green open spaces, large-scale urban forestry projects, green belts around cities, or wetlands that
buffer against river flooding or storm surges in
coastal areas.
LIFE has played an important role in establishing
new ways of integrating spatial planning to enable
the development of green infrastructure. For instance, LIFE projects have demonstrated how green
belts, created around metropolitan areas to control
urban sprawl, have produced an array of co-benefits,
such as reduced forest fire risk, increased biodiversity, reduced soil sealing, and the creation of recreational areas that bring human health benefits.
A LIFE project from 2001-2004, Green Belt, used
spatial planning to restore land degraded by diffuse
development in peri-urban areas on the outskirts
of Barcelona. Three areas (each 8-10 ha) were restored and converted into a green belt. The project
team also forested areas with tree and plant species known to increase soil moisture, to help prevent
fires spreading easily, and reintroduced traditional
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/UK/001133
LIFE Housing Landsapes has reduced urban vulnerability by adopting green and blue infrastructure measures
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Photo: LIFE10 ENV/IT/000399
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LIFE has funded large-scale urban forestry projects and created green belts around cities
varieties of fruit trees to create a green business in
an Agricultural Park. This measure also helps safeguard local biodiversity.
Another Spanish project, Gallecs, increased the resilience of urban and peri-urban areas by creating a
green belt accompanied by other green infrastructure measures. This helped protect agricultural activity, with farmers adopting green infrastructure
measures, and has also limited the fragmentation
of natural habitats and reduced soil sealing. A set
of integrated measures was introduced, such as the
creation of a wetland to regulate heavy torrents of
water and avoid the floods that are common in the
region after intense precipitation. River banks were
strengthened, degraded areas re-planted with indigenous species, and water-efficient irrigation systems
installed to avoid water scarcity incidents. The green
infrastructure aspects of the project demonstrated
obvious environmental benefits that are being integrated into urban-planning decisions affecting the
region today.
The ongoing LIFE ZARAGOZA NATURAL project is
using green and blue infrastructure to increase
resilience and biodiversity in urban and peri-urban
areas. The aim is to restore eight natural areas,
through forestation and the recovery of natural
steppe vegetation, and to create continuity between them through peri-urban areas. The project
Green measures for grey areas
“Due to a combination of surface sealing and climate change
effects, flooding will occur more frequently in the future in periurban and urban areas such as in Flanders. This will damage
buildings and infrastructure, with high costs for society,” says
LIFE-GREEN4GREY project manager, Pieter De Corte. “We are
implementing natural water retention measures such as renaturalising artificial streams and creating wadis, which will have
the effect of creating natural flooding areas, and water retention bodies to capture water from rainfall during peak showers.”
Land use is also being changed from intensive agriculture to
grasslands, increasing the soil’s water infiltration capacity.
In periods of heavy rainfall, these blue and green infrastructure
elements capture water upstream. “Given the amount of soil
sealing, these measures are of crucial importance to prevent
urban flooding,” explains Mr De Corte. “These green areas are
also used for recreational purposes, such as walking, biking or
jogging, and so create co-benefits for health. They act as green
landscapes, which is positive for mental health and for social
interaction,” he concludes.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/BE/000212
Grey infrastructure elements have made Flanders (Belgium),
the most fragmented and second most sealed region of the EU.
Projections indicate that urban sprawl and grey infrastructure
expansion in Flanders is likely to increase by 17% by 2030.
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Urban forests
However, although urban and peri-urban forests are
exposed to the same climate change impacts as other forests, they are less adaptable than their more
natural counterparts. Climate change affects ecophysiological mechanisms, especially under drought
stress, for example, making trees more susceptible
to pathogens. Urban areas tend to be more polluted
and have higher temperatures, further increasing
physiological stress, whilst urban forest stands are
usually smaller and therefore do not have the structure that determines optimal ecological resilience.
Planting and maintaining trees in urban settings is considered a quintessential green infrastructure practice, with multiple benefits including increased resilience in terms of both climate
change adaptation and mitigation. Trees contribute to climate change adaptation by intercepting
and filtering storm water runoff to prevent flooding and improve water quality, by absorbing air
pollutants, protecting buildings from wind damage, and by regulating heat island effects through
shading and evaporation. Simultaneously, trees
contribute to climate change mitigation by lowering demand for electricity, as they cool urban
areas, and sequester carbon. They also provide
wildlife habitats and ecosystem services, and can
increase property values.
The LIFE programme has funded several projects that
show positive effects of forests in increasing urban resilience. For instance, EMoNFUr is establishing a monitoring network to assess adaption in urban forests
(see box). Also in Italy, the GAIA project produced both
climate change mitigation and adaptation outcomes
through urban forestry. It fostered public-private partnerships involving 18 companies to pay for the planting of 1 320 trees within the city of Bologna, with the
companies using the scheme to offset part of their CO2
emissions. The trees are helping to improve air quality
and to reduce the heat island effect in the city. The
project also monitored the effects that climate change
and air pollution have on urban trees, especially effects
related to decreased resilience to extreme climatic
events and biotic disturbance.
will also provide a ‘blue matrix’ of infrastructure,
through river and wetland restoration, that will
enhance the inter-connectivity between blue and
green infrastructure to provide a multifunctional
resource for the local community.
The presence of grey infrastructure can reduce the adaptation benefits of green infrastructure, a situation
addressed by the LIFE-GREEN4GREY project (see box).
Climate change is affecting the ability of urban forests to produce ecosystem services,
according to Enrico Calvo, project manager of EMoNFUr, a LIFE project that is setting
up a permanent monitoring network for urban and peri-urban forests in Lombardy (Italy) and Slovenia to measure the adaptability of new lowland forests to climate change.
“We aim to provide parameters of ecological and environmental relevance, such as plant
and animal biodiversity, carbon dioxide sequestration capacity, and how the forests are
evolving and adapting in an urban environment,” says Mr Calvo. “We will use a monitoring
protocol for each site to explore climate impacts, soil quality, dendrometric parameters,
biomass, health, and biodiversity. We are also carrying out an inventory for forestry land
indices, geometric structure and forest categories, and investigating the health status of
the urban and peri-urban forests,” he explains. “We are analysing the growing rates of
the trees in relationship with climate impacts, species composition, incidence of diseases
and microclimatic improvement.”
The project is measuring a wide range of biological and climatic parameters in 18
sampling areas in the two countries, including humidity and evaporation from foliage,
soil moisture and tree growth rates in relation to climate impacts, species composition, incidence of diseases and microclimatic improvement. Among the key findings are
the positive results of urban forests on the heat island effect. “By comparing the data
obtained from the weather stations of the project with the data of 2002, we measured
a decrease in temperatures,” recalls Mr Calvo. “The cooling effect is greater at night
(-0.7°C). This is very important as Milan in the last decades has undergone an average
annual temperature increase of 1.5°C.”
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Photo: LIFE10 ENV/IT/000399
Monitoring the adaptability of urban and peri-urban forests
In Spain, the LIFE-QUF project is demonstrating the
effectiveness of water retainers and fungal mycorrhiza for enabling tree growth without any additional
water infrastructure in a water scarce Mediterranean area. The project team is planting 30 000 trees
in four groups to test the benefits of afforestation
techniques with the aim of increasing by 95% the
survival rate for trees planted without water infrastructure; and to study the benefits of soil quality
improvements. The project seeks to gain 1% more
organic matter in soil.
In terms of climate adaptation, green roofs are generally installed to respond to two primary climate
drivers: extreme precipitation and temperature. Extreme precipitation accompanied by soil sealing can
overwhelm the capacity of drainage and sewage
systems, and lead to urban flooding. Green roofs can
reduce annual storm water run-off by 50-60% on
average. They also delay the time at which runoff
occurs, resulting in decreased stress on sewage systems at peak flow times.
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A current project dealing with the economics of
green roofs is LifeMedGreenRoof, which is conducting a study to identify the economic barriers to their
implementation, and suggesting technological and
economically viable solutions for the large-scale introduction of green roofs in Malta. The GRACC project improved understanding of the different options
for building green roofs and produced a ‘Green Roof
Code of Best Practice’ for use in the UK, which provides designers, specifiers, installers and maintainers of green roofs with information and guidelines
Biodiversity in urban areas increases thanks to green infrastructure
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/MT/000732/Vince Morris/Antoine Gatt
Several LIFE projects have demonstrated the benefits of green roofing. The Roof Greening project
encouraged the wider application of green roofing techniques in Sweden, at a time (1998-2003)
when they were still in the experimental stage. It
demonstrated reduced storm water runoff, water
regulation, energy saving through better insulation and noise reduction.
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More recently, GreenClimeAdapt tested green facades and roofs in Malmö. Green facades were
shown to cool external facades by 8 °C, and by
1-1.5 °C for indoor temperatures (relative to the
outdoor temperature), reduce ground-level ozone
readings near the green facades, and increase biodiversity in their vicinity. Testing different low-cost
and lightweight green roofs built using different
substrates, the project showed that the roofs with
the best overall plant coverage and plant germination rates were those with hemp as a bottom
layer; biochar and crushed bricks were also found
to be good green roof substrate components. This
project also suggested that well-maintained green
facades might have a positive impact on the productivity of solar panels. The project’s economic
analysis showed that such green infrastructure solutions were less expensive to construct and maintain than conventional drainage systems.
Green roofs and facades
Urban environments have large areas of hard reflective surfaces. In combination with increased temperatures, they exacerbate the Urban Heat Island
(UHI) effect4. By increasing solar radiation reflectivity
(albedo) and evapotranspiration, green roofs help to
cool buildings. By decreasing surface temperatures,
they reduce the UHI effect in urban areas5. Other cobenefits are reductions in air and noise pollution, increased biodiversity, improved thermal performance
of buildings (with decreased CO2 emissions), carbon
capture (also with climate mitigation potential), new
recreational areas and health improvements.
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4 Cities are known to be hotter than the rural areas that surround them; this phenomenon is called an ‘urban heat island’
(UHI). UHIs are caused by many factors including the extensive
use of man-made materials such as asphalt and concrete in
urban areas, which results in the reduction of evapotranspiration and in greater heat storage capacity.
5 Green roofs in some cases reduce surface temperature
by 30-60°C and ambient temperature by 5°C, compared to
conventional black roofs.
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increasing the amount of open soil (de-sealing) or
through the implementation of blue infrastructure
measures such as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). Runoff can also affect the quality of
surface waters as the cleaning function of soil is lost.
Figure
1: titlegrey infrastructure
Blue versus
Since 2008, three LIFE projects have focused on mitigating the effects of runoff water by adopting SUDS,
including the previously mentioned LIFE Housing
Landscapes (see box), which is demonstrating sustainable urban drainage as part of a holistic package
of blue measures that also includes rain gardens6,
drought-resilient plants, and rainwater harvesting.
Benefits will include a reduction in flooding risk, use
of rainwater for garden irrigation and less wastewater to be treated.
to make better-informed decisions. Also in the UK,
the LIFE Housing Landscapes project is retrofitting houses with green roofs and other green infrastructure (see box).
Blue infrastructure
Sealed surfaces tend to generate surface runoff.
Runoff water in urban environments is thus usually collected, channelled and treated in wastewater treatment plants. However, with increased precipitation the capacity of sewage systems may be
exceeded, resulting in urban flooding. There are different ways to mitigate this phenomenon, such as
In the Province of Valencia in Spain, AQUAVAL used
SUDS to solve the problem of sewer overflow discharges into rivers and to mitigate urban flooding.
As part of an ambitious plan to create Europe’s first
industrial estate based on sustainable development
principles, another Spanish project PLATAFORMA
CENTRAL IBERUM aims to control the whole water cycle through rainwater harvesting and re-use, creation
of permeable structures to avoid sealing, construction of canals and reservoirs to allow water to be collected for distribution, and the use of SUDS and the
creation of storm ponds to maintain surface aquifers.
6 A rain garden is a planted depression or a hole that allows
rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas, such as roofs,
driveways, pavements, car parks, and compacted lawn areas,
the opportunity to be absorbed. This reduces rain runoff by
allowing storm water to soak into the ground.
Engaging residents in climate-proof social housing
The LIFE Housing Landscapes project is retrofitting blue and
green infrastructure to climate-proof existing social housing in
the UK, with a focus on increasing local stakeholder engagement. “Alongside the adaptation solutions listed we are working closely with residents and our partnering local authority to
deliver a series of training events, to support long-term resident engagement,” says project manager, Hannah Clay. “The
training programme will ensure that participants understand
the principles through which measures such as green roofs,
permeable paving, rain gardens, filter strips and swales have
been designed, and how to maintain them to support their
functionality.”
The project will provide 2 790 m2 of enhanced green infrastructure within three high-density housing estates in West
London, with a monitoring programme managed by the University of East London. “We are expecting the measures to
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result in heat amelioration, reduced flood risk, improved air
and water quality and sustainable drainage across the three
estates,” says Ms Clay.
“We have created synergies between climate-proofing social
housing landscapes and increasing the adaptive capacity of
their resident communities. People of all ages are getting
involved in practical activities as part of implementing and
maintaining the blue and green infrastructure measures, such
as growing food or monitoring rainfall and weather conditions
to contribute to the technical performance monitoring of this
project,” explains Ms Clay. “The improvements themselves
will deliver social benefit in the extent to which they provide
increased opportunities for physical activity and improved
health. We are also using the Social Return on Investment approach to support calculations around social benefits on health,
well-being and community cohesion.”
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Photo: LIFE07 ENV/SE/000908
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Green facades and roofs tested by GreenClimeAdapt were shown to cool indoor temperatures by 1-1.5 °C
Open storm water management is another blue
measure that can reduce the risk of flooding. It
has been successfully demonstrated by the GreenClimeAdapt project in Sweden, which built a catchment area capable of retaining 90% of the water
of a 10-year rain event.
In neighbouring Finland, the ongoing project Urban Oases is creating storm water swales in areas
around Helsinki that are used to convey, infiltrate
and clean storm water as well as to dissipate flow
energy and store snow. In this project, four swales
of varying design will be prototyped and implemented in sites having small urbanised watersheds
with intermittent water flow. They are also being
used to monitor the mitigation impact of constructed wetlands.
Conclusions
LIFE projects have provided valuable examples of
adaptive measures that can be used to increase
resilience in urban areas; this despite comprising
only a very small part of overall LIFE funding. The
majority of these projects have focused on a couple of practices (i.e. green roofs and forested area),
whereas the most recent have taken a broader
view on increasing urban resilience, for example, by
integrating green and blue infrastructure, creating
collective participation and a sense of responsibility, or getting businesses on board.
The LIFE programme has helped develop and promote green infrastructure and ecosystem-based
approaches to climate change adaptation in cities
across Europe. Green roofs or networks of green
space, acting as ventilation areas, have alleviated
the UHI effect, for instance, whilst multi-use water
retention areas have reduced flood risks.
However, more needs to be done to improve the resilience of urban areas, such as developing and deploying innovative adaptation technologies within
the water, energy and construction sectors, and increasing the focus on health-related issues. This will
require massive investments, especially when implementing grey and green infrastructure measures.
Large financial resources are needed and at least
20% of the entire European Union budget 20142020 is foreseen for climate-related projects, including both climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Particularly relevant for climate change adaptation in
cities are the European Regional Development Funds
(ERDF)7, the Horizon 2020 research programme, the
European Investment Bank (EIB) through the Jessica
programme8, and the LIFE programme. As of 2014,
calls for proposals for the LIFE programme include
urban adaptation as one of the policy priorities for
the sub-programme for climate action, which alongside the EU’s Mayors Adapt initiative, is part of the
EU Adaptation Strategy’s contribution towards a
more climate-resilient Europe.
7 The European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) offer ample opportunities for supporting interventions in urban areas.
Climate change adaptation is one of the priorities of the ERDF,
and the fund additionally foresees that a minimum of 5% of
the resources of the Partnership Agreements shall be allocated
at the national level to sustainable urban development. Please
see http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf
8 http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/special-supportinstruments/jessica/
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Benefits of urban resilience
Swales are being retrofitted by LIFE Housing Landscapes as a measure to reduce floods and improve water quality in housing
estates in London
Economic Benefits
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SOCIO and environmental benefits
Increased
retail sales
Property prices
Faster property
sales
Land value
Social
cohesion
Tourist and
recreational
facilities
Reduced
energy costs
Well-being
Physical and
mental health
Income
generation
Chance of
gaining
planning
permission
Reducing
flood damage
Heat-island
effect reduced
Improved air
quality
Work place
productivity
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The SeineCityPark project is building up green and blue infrastructure to increase the resilience of the Chanteloup loop, a peri-urban area near Paris. Actions will also boost biodiversity and the local economy.
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Developing eco-corridors for
improved environmental resilience
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urrounded on three sides by the river Seine,
the Chanteloup loop is an area of residential
districts, uncultivated wasteland and brownfield
sites in the Ile-de-France region. Many sites have
been identified for further urban development,
which since the 1950s has significantly increased
the area’s population. Such development, however,
along with the emergence of river quarries, has
greatly altered the landscape of the area, and the
loss of natural spaces and the fragmentation of
natural habitats are having a negative impact on
quality of life.
The challenge for urban planners is to show that
development can be combined with environmental protection – the main aim of the SeineCityPark
project, which focused on a 1 700 ha development
site. The LIFE project, in fact, is one of several projects that are being carried out in the area within
a framework of coherent spatial planning. Its focus
is to create a “resilient urban area and peri-urban
territory, recover biodiversity and boost the local
economy,” says project manager Isabelle Chatoux
of the Conseil départemental des Yvelines.
Specifically, the aim is to link up ecological infrastructure in the target site with the Seine to the
south and the green areas to the north, i.e. the
Hautil Massif. Such improved connectivity will aid
the free movement of land animals, birds, insects,
amphibians and dragonflies across the urban territory. This objective is being achieved through the
use of natural clean-up techniques for tackling
water and soil pollution and through the removal
of invasive aquatic and terrestrial plant species.
Thus the resilience of urban areas is being built
up through the development of blue and green
infrastructure.
The Ecopole Seine Aval will build a sustainable green business district that will blend in with the
ecological corridors
Furthermore, the health and well-being of the local
population will benefit from greater contact with
the natural environment, emphasises Ms Chatoux.
“We are creating recreational areas – picnic areas and bicycle/walking trails – and organising
excursions.”
The Coeur Vert
One aspect of the project was to plant native trees
and vegetation on a degraded and polluted brownfield site known as the Coeur Vert (“Green Heart”).
Furthermore, for around 100 years, these areas
were irrigated with untreated water from Paris and
its suburbs, polluting the soil with lead and cadmium.
Market gardening was brought to a halt here in 1999
by a ban on growing vegetables or aromatic plants.
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l’herbe. The park is made up of picnic areas, trails
for biking or trekking, playgrounds and an educational insectarium that also doubles as a conference centre.
Nevertheless, the project team recognised the area’s potential as a green corridor and took measures to put an end to its days as a site for flytipping and squatting. “We wanted to maintain the
Coeur Vert as an area rich in biodiversity. This corridor will allow the transition between the town and
the river,” says Ms Chatoux.
The aim was to reconnect the town with the Seine
by improving the “continuity between the green urban areas and the open natural area on the banks
of the Seine,” explains Ms Chatoux. This continuity
is guaranteed by the development of “an ecological corridor covering nearly 113 ha that reconnects
the town to the broader Seine loop landscape.” The
development of such green infrastructure represents a boost to biodiversity and the ecosystem
services provided by the area. “Through sustainable land and water management [green infrastructure] creates a more resilient landscape that can
respond to the pressures of a changing climate,”
underlines Ms Sylvaine Baudoux, project partner
from Communauté d’Agglomération 2 Rives de
Seine (CA2RS), the organisation responsible for
implementing the revitalisation of the Chanteloup
loop as a whole, of which the SeineCityPark project
is just one part.
Half of the site’s total surface area has been set
aside for growing miscanthus, “a plant for depolluting the contaminated soil,” explains Ms Chatoux. It
is also a plant that can be used in eco-construction
and bioplastics or biomass production. “We can say
that our adaptive measures, along with other environmental benefits, are also creating a biomaterial
eco-business, thus giving a little boost to the local
economy,” she adds.
The project has also planted a number of other
species, “to establish a link with the neighbouring
urban areas and create a true patchwork of plant
species,” says Ms Chatoux: “The peripheral areas
were sown with grasses and other plants, and the
entire plain is now crisscrossed with hedges, small
woods and former orchards.”
Parc du Peuple de l’herbe
The town of Carrières-sous-Poissy is separated
from the Seine by around 100 ha of farming and
aggregate land that has largely been abandoned.
The project sought to recover this land, developing a multi-purpose park, the Parc du Peuple de
Photo: Agence TER
SeineCityPark is developing an ecological corridor, covering nearly 113 ha that will boost
biodiversity and increase resilience
The new park moreover hosts a series of grassland
habitats such as couch grass (Elytrigia repens),
orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata). Part of this aspect of the project
was to restore these habitats and the species that
they host. For example, the threatened native flower, the smallflower buttercup (Ranunculus parviflorus) will benefit from the continued mowing of
the grasslands. The habitats also host more than
50 migratory birds (11 of which are of Community
importance).
River restoration
Another key project action involves the renaturalisation of a 3 km stretch of the Seine. Channelling
of the river has led to the increased incidence of
flooding, so the project team was eager to restore
its natural geomorphological functioning by eliminating barriers and remodelling the river banks. In
addition, it has replaced the poplar trees that were
planted on the bankside at the end of the 19th
century with native riverine vegetation. Reedbed
habitats and small islands along this stretch have
been restored with the effect of boosting biodiversity. Furthermore, restoring the wetland adjacent to
the riverbank will allow it to play a greater role in
flood management.
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River renaturalisation lessens the impact of flooding events
Renaturalising the river has also involved removing
grey infrastructure: some 30 000 m3 of gravel has
been taken from manmade sections of the riverbank
and used to replenish natural features of the banks,
such as shoals, chutes and new riffles. “We have also
created a large backwater to act as a fish nursery
and refuge for wildlife especially birds and amphibians. Amphibians had basically disappeared from the
area but through these interventions, they are managing to recover,” says Ms Chatoux.
Eutrophication presents another challenge for the
Chanteloup loop area. Due to increases in pollution
and temperature, this problem has worsened in recent years, resulting in severe algal blooms throughout the summer seasons. Following the renaturalisation of the river banks and the replanting of aquatic
plants, this phenomenon has diminished and water
quality is steadily improving.
The natural ecosystems of the project area are also
affected by invasive alien plant species, another
problem that is exacerbated by climate change
which can increase colonisation. In order to bolster
the resilience of the territory, the project is removing
invasive aquatic and terrestrial plant species, including Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), the black
locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) and species of the
genus Ludwigia. To date, the project has achieved
a 70% decrease in the presence of Ludwigia and a
10-30% decrease in Japanese knotweed and black
locust.
Sustainable development
urban
Photo: CD78
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
The SeineCityPark project represents an important
part of the development of the Chanteloup loop. “We
have managed to requalify whole areas and transform them into green corridors. This has not only
made our territory more resilient to flooding and other
climate-related impacts, but by making this ecological transition between park, the Seine and the city, we
are protecting the environment and supporting the
sustainable economic development of this area while
improving the health and well-being of our citizens,”
summarises Ms Chatoux.
Local residents and students have taken part in field
visits to understand more about the park’s planning
principles and the environmental challenges the area
is facing. They have also already benefited from the
recreational facilities and the newly created solarium
is expected to be a hit when it opens shortly. In the
remaining two years of the project, the SeineCityPark
team will establish a 24 ha “area of ecological interest” at the Ecopôle Seine Aval, a 200 ha business
park located between the Seine and the Coeur Vert
site. “The main actions will be to requalify 300 ha
area which is full of quarries that have been filled
and abandoned; the last operating quarry is scheduled
for closure in 2018 and to transform it into the area
of ecological interest. Work to recreate a wetland, a
dry prairie and wooded areas “will extend the ecological network and provide a home for the region’s many
breeding avifauna,” explains Ms Chatoux.
Project number: LIFE11 ENV/FR/000746
Contact: Isabelle Chatoux
Title: SeineCityPark - Development of an urban green
infrastructure in the Chanteloup loop
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: Conseil général des Yvelines
Period: 01-Feb-2012 to 31-Jul-2017
Website: http://www.seinecitypark.fr/
Total budget: €3 473 000
LIFE contribution: €1 729 000
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agriculture
Adapting agriculture
for a sustainable future
Agricultural practices have adapted over millennia to regional and local variations in
weather conditions. But as the effects of climate change become more noticeable, further
adaptation becomes essential to ensure food security in Europe.
T
The effects of climate change on agricultural production are wide ranging1. The increased frequency
of extreme weather events threatens the stability
of food production (since extreme heat and deluges damage crops). In addition, steadily rising
atmospheric CO2 concentration, higher average
temperatures, changes in intensity and frequency
of weather events, changing wind patterns, and
changes in annual rainfall across Europe as a
whole also have a long-term negative impact on
crop yields and livestock farming.
hough patterns of climate change vary
across the continent, the basic principle applies: farmers must manage their land in ways that
improve its resilience to the impacts of a changing
climate. Agronomic techniques and farming practices have already been adapted in some areas,
but if global temperatures and precipitation levels
continue to rise at current rates, climate change
could outstrip agriculture’s capacity to adapt.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/ES/000541
LIFE has demonstrated how adaptive farming practices can increase resilience
In general, the agricultural sector will be most
affected in south and south-east European countries where increased temperatures, greater risk
of drought and declining rainfall and availability
of water will reduce yields and suitable areas for
crops. In extreme cases, degradation of ecosystems through prolonged dry periods could lead to
desertification and a subsequent loss of agricultural production.
In northern Europe wetter winters and hotter summers could increase crop yields – although in the
long term potential gains are likely to be outweighed by the impact of rising sea levels (higher
soil salinity lowers productivity), increased incidence of pests and more ground-level ozone. In
1 Adapting to climate change: the challenge for European
agriculture and rural areas
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Farming practices for adaptation
Healthy
farm practice
1 Landscape approach
2 Integrating crops and
livestock
3 Crop diversity and
rotation
4 Cover crops
Healthy
farm Benefits
6 Biodiversity
7 Resource efficiency
8 Economic health
9 Environmental health
central Europe the decline in summer precipitation
increases the risk of soil erosion, whilst the warming of colder climes reduces snowfall in favour of
rain, leading to a greater risk of waterlogging and
a consequent rise in the incidence of pests and
diseases. Increased need for pesticides and subsequent runoff of water could additionally lead to
more polluted water sources.
The impact on farming will also be determined by
the type of crop being harvested: certain vegetables are sensitive to temperature fluctuations
outside their normal range and fruit crops can
easily be damaged by extreme weather events.
Furthermore, the economic impact for farmers
will not only depend on regional variation, but
also on the size of the farm, intensity of land use,
the diversity of agricultural practices employed,
and moreover, the farmers’ ability to access the
latest climate-resilient technologies and adaptation knowhow. Increased competition for water
and potentially higher prices could also harm the
agricultural sector in some places, whilst rural areas as a whole are threatened by the wider implications of extreme weather events for forestry,
infrastructure and local businesses.
agriculture
5 Soil health
EU action
The EU, however, is responding to the challenge to
agriculture. The European Commission’s White Paper of 2009 outlined a framework for action for
improving Europe’s resilience to climate change,
while recent revisions to the Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP) place a greater emphasis on supporting farming practices that sustain resilience. Under reformed CAP rules, 30% of direct payments
to farmers are linked to improving environmental
performance and 30% of rural development funds
are aimed at measures related to land management and the fight against climate change2.
The LIFE programme has demonstrated and developed many practices and protocols necessary for
adapting agriculture to changing climatic conditions.
It has long co-funded actions to improve soil, air and
water quality that are themselves examples of good
adaptation practice in agriculture (i.e. Humedales
Sostenibles, HydroSense, IRRIGESTLIFE). More recently, LIFE has supported projects that are directly
2 http://ec.europa.eu/clima/publications/docs/06-climate_mainstreaming_fact_sheet-eafrd_en.pdf
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Sustainable crop management
LIFE projects have trialled organic and precision
farming methods in a range of circumstances. For
example, the project Crops for better soil set out to
demonstrate that the cultivation of semi-arid land
in Spain can be made economically viable by applying organic farming techniques. It encouraged
organic farmers to introduce legumes and oilseeds
in a crop rotation system. Egbert Sonneveld, the
project’s technical coordinator, explains that these
types of crop have “good value” on the market and
benefit the soil because “their roots go deeper into
the lower layers and the legumes fix nitrogen for
themselves and for the following crop”.
Ways to help agriculture adapt
A common method is to cultivate a fast-growing cover crop (in addition to
the main crop) that reduces the risk of soil degradation by providing temporary or permanent surface cover. Benefits include reduced soil erosion,
improved soil structure and nitrogen fixation, weed suppression and the
provision of insect habitat.
Another method is to reduce the intensity of tillage (or practice ‘no-till
farming’) in order to increase the storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) and
reduce soil erosion through the development of a litter layer that offers
protection against the impact of rain. This method has been shown to help
keep water in the soil and thus avoid the runoff associated with conventional practice. The organic content in soils can also be increased by manure and residue management.
Crop rotation also helps to reduce runoff and erosion, as well as increase
organic matter moisture in soils and improve pest control. Furthermore, intercropping (growing two or more crops in proximity) can improve yield, fertility
and increase resistance to pests and diseases, whilst organic and precision
agriculture (assessing variations in crop yields from field to field) apply management practices that improve the land’s resilience to climate change.
Maintenance of grasslands and reduced grazing have the positive effect of
contributing to soil conservation and the regulation of water flows, helping to
reduce flash flooding from heavy rains by maintaining indigenous vegetation.
Another effective measure demonstrated by LIFE has been to create buffer
zones, which act as a shield against overland flow from agricultural fields
and reduce the amount of runoff reaching watercourses. Buffer zones thus
help combat soil erosion and prevent pollutants entering water sources.
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Photo: LIFE10 ENV/ES/000471
demonstrating technological solutions and adjustments in farm management that increase resilience,
such as cover crops, no-till farming, crop rotation
and buffer zones. When applied in combination,
these methods can boost soil’s resilience to climate
change (see box). Before many of these adaptation
strategies can be implemented, however, it is often
necessary to develop the right policy frameworks,
access to knowhow and financial models – another
area in which LIFE can play a vital role.
Crops for better soil trained farmers in the use of sustainable
techniques such as crop rotation
Other crops that have performed well in trials include lentils, chick peas, dry peas and some very old
legumes such as bitter vetch, grass pea and broad
bean – but controlling weeds is a problem for farmers. For this reason, the project bought a tilling machine to remove them, and due to its demonstrated
success, Mr Sonneveld believes that every farmer
should own one. Oilseeds are also not without their
difficulties, given that they are a summer crop and
thus dependent on unreliable spring rains.
The project has also tried alternatives to wheat
and barley – namely durum wheat, oats and rye –
as well as crops in combination such as lentils with
wheat, which have yielded “very positive” results,
according to Mr Sonneveld. Moreover, crop rotation
has an economic advantage for farmers. “Instead
of getting return on the land once every two years,
by rotating only cereals with set aside, now they
get return every year,” he says.
Mr Sonneveld is also lending his expertise to another Spanish project, Operation CO2, which is being led by the University of Valladolid. This project
is targeting microorganisms in the soil and reintroducing the use of an old type of plough on ridges
(the “Roman plough”) that enables the crop roots
to penetrate deeper into the soil and thus increase
its fertility and resilience to climate change. “Once
these [deeper] layers are penetrated by roots the
next crop makes use of these channels, so we see
a soil of 20 centimetres deep turning into a soil of
more than a metre deep in just a few years. And by
avoiding heavy turning movements of the soil the
essential and beneficial microorganisms colonise
these deeper layers as well,” he explains.
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The project is able to make these measurements
by digging holes after each plant and following the
roots – the impact on yields is considerable. “The
plough is the perfect tool to obtain aeration of the
soil and this of course helps with the fixing of nitrogen. Even in a very dry year, the yield of vetches on
our plot in Zamora is higher than the irrigated crop
in the same area.”
Makrakis–Karachalios says that it is important to
improve soil biodiversity by “feeding organic matter to soil micro-organisms.” The practice aims to
“decrease agrochemical inputs so as to least disturb the in-soil flora and fauna, and hence improve
ecosystem sustainability.” Seed mixtures are used
to enhance poor areas, such as the ‘empty spaces’
within olive groves.
Rising temperatures may be opening up new winegrowing areas in the north of Europe but in more
established wine regions, climate change adaptation is essential for continued production. The ongoing French project, LIFE ADVICLIM has selected
vineyards in four climatic regions across Europe in
order to develop different adaptation models based
on local observable data (e.g. slope, orientation, type
of soils, climatic variability). Adaptation models will
also include the results of in-depth surveys with
winemakers “in order to integrate crop and working
calendars specific to each European wine region”. Its
main aim is to then transfer this technical knowledge
to winegrowers and policy-makers.
oLIVE-CLIMA is also a good example of a project
that shows how crop residues can be returned to
the soil to improve fertility and reduce degradation. It is testing a range of material from pruned
wood and olive mill sludge to leaves and composted matter. Another way to improve soil fertility is
to plant perennial crops - especially grasses - that
store a higher proportion of carbon underground.
LIFE RegaDIOX is testing this approach in Spain.
Improving soil fertility
Greece’s oLIVE-CLIMA project is pioneering organic
farming to improve soil organic matter (SOM) and
soil fertility, as well as increase water and nutrient retention. The project is introducing new cultivation practices for tree crops, particularly olives,
in Greece. Programme manager Chrysostomos
Combating soil degradation was also an objective of the Almond PRO-SOIL project. It set out
to demonstrate the benefits of applying compost
and growing almond trees to restore semi-arid and
arid soils. According to Jorge García Gómez of project partner EuroVértice Consultores, the project
showed that a 50% increase in plant biomass yield
can be achieved in arid or semi-arid sites in Italy
and Spain when organic waste matter is applied to
the soil to improve its carbon content. “Our project
offered integral and definitive strategies for using
organic wastes that follow both present-day and
foreseeable European guidelines,” he says.
ADA P TAT I O N
agriculture
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Photo: LIFE13 ENV/FR/001512/Neethling
LIFE ADVICLIM has selected vineyards in four climatic regions in order to develop different adaptation models
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The two projects also introduced no-till farming,
a technique in which at least 30% of the agricultural area is covered by plant residues “and crops
are sown using machinery able to place seeds
through the plant residues of previous crops”, explains Emilio González Sánchez of the coordinating
beneficiary: “Stubble and covers kept over the soil
prevent water evaporation whilst increasing its infiltration.”
Adapting to water shortages also means improving
irrigation practices. The ClimAgri project is focusing on reducing distribution network losses, run offs
and deep percolation, as well as adapting irrigation
schedules to the specific conditions of the region. According to Mr González Sánchez, the structural improvements facilitated by conservation agriculture
have increased the water content of soil up to 18%.
Furthermore, as with the Crops for better soil project, increased yields are adding weight to the economic argument for good environmental practice.
“The global average production for the four agri-
Photo: LIFE08 ENV/E/000129
The Agricarbon and ClimAgri projects, both led by
the Asociación Española Agricultura de Conservación Suelos Vivos, have applied conservation agriculture practices that have increased the carbon
content of soil by up to 56% in comparison with
conventional farming. Adaptation methods being
demonstrated by the ongoing project, ClimAgri, include modifying crop cycles in order to avoid critical crop development stages coinciding with periods of high temperatures and encouraging the use
of plant species that are resistant to droughts and
extreme heat.
Covers and stubble are kept to avoid water evaporation and
increase infiltration
cultural seasons with a full rotation is 5% greater
with conservation agriculture than with conventional techniques,” says Mr González Sánchez. Leguminous crop production is up 7.9% and wheat,
7.3%, he notes.
The Italian project LIFE HelpSoil has also introduced conservation agriculture practices such as
cover crops, crop rotation and no-till farming on
the plain of the River Po. According to Stefano
Brenna, the project’s technical manager, these
practices have already increased the vitality and
fertility of the soil, increasing its SOM and biodiversity (i.e. more earthworms, microarthropods)
Photo: LIFE11 ENV/ES/000579
REAGRITECH built a hybrid wetland system using shipping containers and implementing hydraulic controls for recirculating water
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The HelpSoil project has promoted livestock manure management through the application of trailing-shoe, shallow injection and ‘fertigation’ systems. These techniques are expected to increase
manure and slurry efficiency, and the project will
adapt them to prevent the soil becoming compacted. “Agronomic and ecological data will be collected to assess the extent that all these conservation
agriculture techniques can deal with the impact of
climate change,” says Mr Brenna.
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The 12 farms participating in the Swedish project, SOLMACC were selected
to demonstrate four practices relevant to climate change adaptation: optimised on-farm nutrient recycling (such as composting, cooperation on manure/forage and biogas fermentation); optimised crop rotations with legume-grass leys (the grass-legume is harvested as hay or silage); optimised
tillage system (i.e. reduced tillage in combination with forage-legumes and
cover crops in an organic farming system); and agroforestry. The latter is
the practice of combining trees, crops and livestock as a whole production
unit. “The adaptation potential of this technique relies on the presence of
trees in the cropping system which helps to protect the soil and the crop
against soil erosion and severe climate conditions such as long droughts,”
explains Ann-Kathrin Trappenberg of International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements Regional EU Group, the project beneficiary.
agriculture
Testing adaptive farming techniques
Creating buffer strips
The project has developed a monitoring protocol for each farming practice
that includes a yearly visit to each participating farm and the taking of
soil samples for analysis. Soil structures, in particular, are expected to be
strengthened by better tillage systems and the application of compost. The
farms practising crop rotations are also better adapted to changing climatic conditions “since soils with higher SOC due to grass-legume cropping
are more resilient,” adds Ms Trappenberg.
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/SE/000800/Pfänder Hof GbR
Another project to have created buffer strips was
CONCERT’EAU. Through cooperation with stakeholders and administrators, the project was able to
implement crop rotation and buffer strips throughout the Adour-Garonne river basin territory in
France, techniques designed to reduce nitrate and
pesticide levels in surface waters.
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of nitrogen-rich runoff water. Its solution was to
build a hybrid wetland system using large shipping
containers and implementing hydraulic controls for
recirculating water. “The system offers the possibility that certain desired flows of treated effluents
can be recirculated to any of the constructed wetlands,” says Prof Jordi Morató, the project manager. The system was installed at an irrigated plantation crop in Lleida (Catalonia). Here, water for the
constructed wetland is taken from the infiltrated
water by means of well pumps and treated using a
two-chambered sedimentation tank. Water quality
is being continually monitored in order to optimise
the system.
and reducing erosion. In the medium term, fewer
pesticides and fertilisers will be required and less
energy consumed (lowering the cost of yields). The
project is also testing subsurface drip irrigation,
which has proved to be “particularly suitable for no
tillage soil management,” says Mr Brenna. It is also
desirable as an adaptation practice, given that the
reduction of evapotranspiration means that less
water is used.
According to Andrea Lorito of the REWETLAND project, the actions it has taken to improve the quality of surface waters in the Pontine Plain, south
of Rome, “can be considered direct and immediate
measures for increasing the area’s resilience to climate change.” As well as carrying out actions on
pilot sites to improve ecosystem functioning and
flood management, the project was a trailblazer
for buffer strip management using phytoremediation (the process of decontaminating soil or water
by using plants and trees to absorb or break down
pollutants). Since nitrates and phosphates enter
water courses from croplands in many places, creating buffers (on two of the four pilot sites) was an
“appropriate and cheap solution. Among the best
plant species to use in this context is common reed
(Phragmites australis),” says Mr Lorito.
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One of the specific aims of the REAGRITECH project
has been to assess the potential of buffer strips
as an ecosystem-based adaptation approach. The
project’s overall goal is to reduce the volume of
water used in agriculture and to limit the impact
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Increasing the resilience of
grasslands
Species-rich, semi-natural permanent grasslands
provide many functions and ecosystem services
but this functioning is lost when they are converted to agricultural land. Such land use change not
only threatens biodiversity it also diminishes resilience. Permanent grasslands also mitigate flood
threats because of their capacity to store water.
Wet grasslands can serve as a buffer zone for agricultural run off and help reduce erosion. The reconversion of former arable land to grassland can
improve the land’s adaptive capacity, but the process is not straightforward.
LIFE and the Rural Development Programme have
financed agri-environmental measures that are
beneficial for the conservation of European grasslands. Since 1992, more than 450 projects have
focused on grassland conservation, demonstrating
such practices as grazing and cutting. Overgrazing, however, can have a negative impact on soil’s
capacity to retain water as well as increasing soil
erosion and runoff. Reversing this tendency will result in improved soil quality and better regulated
water flows that lower the incidence of flash flooding following heavy rainfall.
A good example of a LIFE project helping to improve the resilience of grassland is the ongoing
project PTD LIFE. It is testing on 120 cattle farms
a Dynamic Rotational Grazing management system that controls grazing according to the growth
phases of the grassland. Anne Porchet from CAVEB,
the project beneficiary, explains that, “the animals
are only allowed to graze a patch of land for a very
short period of time so as not to exhaust its value
as forage.” By maximising the productivity of the
grass in this way and allowing the meadows to
self-fertilise, the use of mineral fertilisers can be
limited.
Furthermore, the project is analysing the carbon
content of the soil to show the improved resilience
achieved by the PTD system and assessing potential economic benefits.
The natural and semi-natural grasslands in Lithuania targeted by LIFE Viva Grass are complex ecosystems that provide a range of ecosystem services – for example, the Silute grasslands are habitats
for many birds and attract budding birdwatchers
to the region. These sites, however, have suffered
as the result of intensive agriculture in productive
areas and marginalisation or land abandonment
in more remote areas. The LIFE project aims to
tackle this problem. “This is a policy project, where
we would like to develop the tool to increase integrated planning efficiency,” says Kęstutis Navickas
of the Baltic Environmental Forum (BEF) Lithuania,
the project beneficiary. He explains that the project
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/LT/000189/Zymantas Morkvenas
LIFE Viva Grass is training farmers to use a combination of grazing and mowing to maintain alvar meadows
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Photo: LIFE08 ENV/IT/000406
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Buffer strips improved the quality of surface waters polluted by agricultural run-off in the Pontine Plain
could lead to the development of recommendations that highlight the role that grasslands have
in regulating water availability.
One of the project’s partners is the Kurese farm
and it is applying a more ‘natural’ approach to
farming. The farmer, Urmas Vahur, uses a combination of grazing and mowing to maintain aluvar
meadows and wooden pasture. The cows, which
he rents from a neighbouring farmer, are used as
a means of land management and not a direct
source of income.
Efficient water use
Combating water scarcity and droughts – two noticeable impacts of climate change – is the driving
force behind the adoption of more efficient irrigation practices. Such efforts are in line with EU water policy, notably the Water Framework Directive
(2000/60/EC), and LIFE projects are demonstrating
how greater efficiencies can be achieved, including
the advantages of adopting drip or sprinkler irrigation systems (see boxes).
Another means of reducing water consumption is
through more selective irrigation. For example, the
AG_UAS LIFE project employed airborne sensors on
drones to identify the specific irrigation needs of
the crops in the Navarra area of Spain. The project tested two different sensors: an IR sensor that
measures soil moisture and a multispectral sensor
that allows the vegetation index to be calculated.
“With these sensors you are able to obtain a spatial representation (image) of the soil moisture and
therefore the spatial irrigation needs of the crop.
In this way you can save water,” explains project
manager Teo Vitoria.
A further problem relating to water security is the
rise in sea levels as global temperatures increase.
The intrusion of seawater can lead to freshwater sources become saline, and thus soil can also
become saline when this water is used for irrigation. To combat this problem, the Italian project,
WSTORE2 is introducing an innovative water management system in the Vallevecchia river basin
that channels and discharges poor quality water
into the sea, but stores excess water, which has
sufficiently low salinity, in canals and basins.
“When the data from the automatic system show
that there are the suitable conditions, we release
good quality water from the basin to the drainage
network (the canals, channels and ditches) so that
slowly a sweet water table forms above the saline one,” explains Lorenzo Furlan from the project
beneficiary. The success of this method has made
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Photo: LIFE09 ENV/ES/000456
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AG_UAS is using airborne sensors on drones to identify crop irrigation needs in Navarra
it possible to introduce several cash crops as well
as improving the yield and quality of staple crops
such as maize and soybean.
Irrigation can also be made more efficient by improving scheduling times. The IES (‘Irrigation Expert
Simulator’) project in Spain has devised a tool that
creates irrigation schedules based on the user’s
plot details and the meteorological conditions.
Registered users of the IES tool can also receive
recommendations based on how an expert would
have irrigated the same plot. “By comparing the
results with the help of a trainer during face-toface sessions or [by consulting] the manual in online sessions, farmers identify the best irrigation
practices to apply in their fields,” explains Josep
Pijuan of project partner, Eurecat.
Through these sessions, the project has already
reached more than 100 farmers and students and
expects resulting water savings to be considerable.
Financial savings will depend on regional variations
in water prices and energy prices relating to pumping.
The POWER project developed a model for improving crop irrigation efficiency in Zaragoza, Spain. It demonstrated water-efficient sprinkler irrigation on a small, 1 ha plot of corn crop, and a drip irrigation system on
a larger, 3 ha plot. According to Nieves Zubalez, the project manager, the
sprinkler system incorporated several innovations: remote control devices,
humidity sensors, fault and leak detection and usability across a range
of scales. The project also experimented with the use of drip irrigation on
crops normally irrigated using sprinkler systems as a means of improving
efficiency in water use.
The project’s model combines such water efficiency with the use of renewable energy – for example, photovoltaic panels at the pumping station. Water and energy savings offer farmers and land mangers a competitive edge
and the project was well received by stakeholders. A total of 10 irrigation
communities have voluntarily adopted the project’s good water governance
models, including the national association of irrigation communities. “Economic savings vary depending on the irrigation task and the objective price
of water,” says Ms Zubalez.
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Photo: LIFE08 ENV/E/000114
More efficient irrigation
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The MEDACC project is implementing aspects of the
Catalan Strategy for Adapting to Climate Change
as they relate to a number of areas, including irrigation. It is testing two types of irrigation systems
(drip and gravity), “because both have interesting
positive characteristics in terms of water sources
(amount and quality), crop needs, energy costs and
economic feasibility,” says Dr Robert Savé of IRTA,
a project partner. The project is also improving the
efficiency of water use by sharing knowledge of
crops’ water needs with farmers, by avoiding water
evaporation from the soil and by developing crops
in less dry areas.
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could allow for the sustainable intensification of
crop production in Mediterranean regions. Results
show that in some cases the solution is to plant
native species that are better adapted to changing
environmental conditions – e.g. native grapes have
the potential to help both increase the range of
wines produced and reduce the amount of pesticide and fertiliser required. Such an approach, however, does not work for all types of produce. Certain
native tomato species, for instance, adapt well to
new environmental conditions but produce lower
yields or have properties that lower their market
value.
Improving cultivation
Survival rates of around 80% were achieved without irrigation since the box captures rainwater and
dew. “After one or two summers the box can be taken off for re-use in another plantation as the roots
will have grown deep and wide into the soil where
it will further develop thanks to the restored capillary action,” Mr Kallen adds. Restoring desertified
areas is particularly effective for tackling the problem of climate change. The restored areas serve as
“green barriers” to further erosion and allow more
rainwater (especially from extreme rainstorms) to
be absorbed.
Trials with cash crops (trees for timber, cherries,
almonds, pistachios etc.) showed the economic viability of the project’s method. Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers also have been successfully cultivated in very arid areas in this way.
Climate-resilient durum wheat
agriculture
The Italian project LIFE SEMENte parTEcipata is seeking to improve the
resource-efficiency of commercial plant breeding activities by creating
composite cross population of durum wheat germplasm (Triticum turgidum subsp durum L.) and other Triticum species using genetic improvement
technology. The end result will be the promotion of agricultural systems
that are more resistant to climate change. To this effect, the project has
asked several germplasm banks for access to old varieties of durum wheat
that have been subjected to breeding before the introduction of chemical
fertilisation.
Professor Concetta Vazzana, the project manager, explains that these varieties have “retained the useful genetic characteristics for organic crop
production.” For example, they are more competitive in relation to weeds,
have better nutritional qualities and have a greater potential to respond to
climate change. The project is carrying out evaluations on organic farms in
the different project regions.
Organic farming is a “low-input system”, says Prof Vazzana, and requires
less fertiliser and soil tillage. The project is building on these benefits
through a three-year crop rotation cycle that consists of sunflower or
maize; chickpea, bean or multi-essence green manure; and durum wheat.
The legume crop reduces external nitrogen inputs, while the green manure
increases organic matter, resulting in soil structure improvements, better
weed control and less need for mechanical intervention. “The introduction
of a wide genetic variability within the material obtained makes the crops
more resilient, enabling them to respond successfully to climate variability,” concludes the professor.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/IT/001258
The need to improve cultivation techniques is perhaps more apparent in dry areas where the impact
of climate change is already visible. As its name
suggests, the Green Deserts project aimed to apply new planting techniques in desertified areas of
Spain. By combining these techniques with an innovative water box technology (Twinboxx), it showed
that even unpromising land could be made productive. The boxes, which hold 25 litres of water, offer
a novel way of planting trees that avoids the need
for irrigation. A wick below the box ‘leaks’ the water slowly to the plant’s roots. “It basically restores
the capillary function and forces the plant to grow
deep roots anchored in the soil,” explains project
manager Sven Kallen.
The MEDDAC project, mentioned earlier, is not only
focusing on irrigation, but also how farming management practices and plant breeding techniques
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Rising temperatures increase the number of pests
and diseases, as organisms expand their ranges to
warming climates. Milder winters also result in an
increased survival rate of many frost-sensitive insects. Higher rainfall and CO2 levels also help spread
crop diseases. Despite these challenges, it is possible
to manage pests without more pesticides. Integrated
pest management is a multidisciplinary, ecologically
based pest management system that allows growers
to minimise pesticide use and the risk of chemical
run off and water pollution. It can, moreover, facilitate responses to this increasing risk of pests and
disease.
LIFE’s Ecopest project demonstrated such an approach to pest management and thus shows how
the Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides
(Directive 2009/128/EC) can be implemented. It carried out pilot activities on an intensely cultivated
area north of Athens: “The challenge was to protect
the aquatic ecosystems and soils from the impacts
of high concentrations of toxic substances due to
excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers,” explains
project manager Kiki Machera.
The Ecopest project met this challenge by developing a ‘Low Input Crop Management (LCM) System’
and agro-environmental safety principles for human
health and the environment. Soil maps and a hydrogeological map of the Viotikos Kifissos basin were
used to determine where on the pilot area to locate
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/GR/000266/NEEMO EEIG/Gabriella Camarsa
Controlling pests
Ecopest used pheromone traps to monitor the presence of
pests
the sampling and monitoring sites. The participating farmers then implemented suitable systems incorporating new technologies that included a weed
seeker, spray drift control nozzles, a prototype for
controlling spraying machinery, a ‘heliosec’ system
for collecting liquid waste, and environmental modelling and predicting models.
Such innovations led to a 30% reduction in the
amount of pesticide used in crop production. Less
pesticide helps make soil more resilient by reducing pollution and increasing its organic content. The
project designed and operated a rolling programme
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/GR/000266/BPI/Chachalis
Farmers were trained to apply Low Input Crop Management systems on cotton, maize and plum tomatoes
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A key impact of the project was training farmers in
these methods. Some 220 farmers (63% of all of
those on the pilot site) were trained to use LCM systems for cotton, maize and plum tomato, enabling
them to implement non-chemical and alternative
control methods for weeds, pests and diseases. A
further 50 agronomists were taught how to better
advise farmers on regional pest types, when to spray
and what pesticides to use.
Spreading the word
Cooperating with stakeholders, such as farmers, has
been central to the success of the LIFE programme.
Moreover, LIFE projects have specifically aimed to inform the agricultural sector of best practices and the
latest technologies. The CHANGING THE CHANGE project in Spain, for example, gave Galicia’s agroforestry
sector information on activities to improve climate
change adaptation. Technicians at the 37 agrarian
offices in the region attended four-day training workshops and received daily bulletins to enable them to
offer the best environmental advice to farmers.
The engagement of farmers and other stakeholders has been one of the LIFE programme’s
strengths in relation to climate change adaptation. Encouraging farmers to actively engage with
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new techniques (often overcoming initial concern
about the impact on yields and incomes), is helping improve resilience. The fact that many farmers have adopted climate-friendly techniques and
continued to use them after projects end illustrates that such practices can be environmentally
and economically viable. Going beyond mere communication, active stakeholder involvement and
dialogue with the scientific community, agronomists and local planners has been central to the
success of projects. However, more can be done
at project design stage and at programme level
to improve synergies with local and regional authorities and encourage wider take up of ideas and
practices trialled by LIFE, investment in permanent
advisory bodies, or the roll out of effective tools
for decision-making concerning agricultural land
management.
Conclusions
LIFE projects have focused, in particular, on improving irrigation practices and on the introduction of
adaptation strategies such as no tillage and cover
crops. Some projects have even helped influence
policy (AgriClimateChange - see pp. 56-57) and the
incorporation of techniques into the measures foreseen by the Rural Development Programme. Despite
these successes, more can be done in other areas
of agricultural practice. Few LIFE projects have explored intercropping, the use of adapted crops and
improving the genetic traits of crops, for example.
Moreover, LIFE projects have yet to focus on animal
rearing conditions or livestock diversification in the
context of climate change adaptation.
agriculture
of soil sampling and monitoring. This good practice
provided results that were fed into a digital model
to provide a set of maps capable of measuring and
illustrating soil and water changes. Building maps for
water enabled the team to assess how contamination from soil infiltrates into water bodies.
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Photo: LIFE13 ENV/ES/000541/Rafael Navarro
LIFE has promoted stakeholder involvement, creating a dialogue between farmers, agronomists and local planners all over the EU
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ag ri c u lt u r e
Demonstrating good practice
to farmers and policy-makers
The AgriClimateChange project not only implemented good adaptation practices on the
ground. It also met Commission officials and MEPs and submitted proposals that have
informed policy-making at EU level
A
griClimateChange assessed the climate
change-related environmental performance
of farms in four countries, an international scope
that adding weight to its proposals. Of those farms,
24 were in France (mostly in the south-west), 48
in Spain (Valencia, the Canary Islands and Murcia),
24 in Italy (Umbria) and 24 in Germany (BadenWürttemberg).
The project developed a software tool to make its
farm-performance assessments drawing on the experience of the project partners, especially Solagro,
the French agriculture and environment association.
Experts from the project partners then used the
assessment data to develop action plans with
the participating farmers. Many of the measures
encouraged and assessed by the project can be
classed as adaptation measures – alongside those
that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy
consumption.
Assessing alfalfa cover crop: Jordi Domingo (left) with farmer Alfons Domínguez
Moreover, “some mitigation options have a close
relationship with adaptation problems that farmers are beginning to address,” says Jordi Domingo
of the Fundación Global Nature, the coordinating
beneficiary. These options include cover crops, irrigation efficiency, development of ecological infrastructure, integrated pest management and
self-sufficiency of food for livestock. Farmers are
increasingly aware of climate-related problems,
such as heat waves and erosion caused by heavy
rainfall, and are implementing these measures to
tackle them.
Mr Domingo was especially involved in working with
farmers in his native Valencia region of Spain. He
emphasises that it was important to trial as many
different farming systems as possible – 27 in total.
“Once you have this pool then the conclusions that
you can reach are really powerful,” he says.
Diverse measures
At one particular farm in the region, this diversification of measures is apparent. The organic citrus
fruit farmer, Alfons Domínguez, has planted species-rich hedgerows to afford his orange, lemon and
avocado groves better protection against the increasingly hot summers and to nurture natural pest
killers (preventing the need for pesticides). He is
also using a range of cover crops, including alfalfa
that can be used as animal fodder. This leguminous
plant helps to retain moisture and fix atmospheric
nitrogen in the soil.
The hedgerows also have the benefit of mitigating
the soil erosion that is a common problem for the
conventional farmers that are not practicing conservation measures. With the increased incidence
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For farmers such as Mr Dominguez the impact of
climate change is already evident. In short, rainfall
is down (wells half full) and temperatures are up to
the extent that he is now adding to his output more
‘tropical fruit’ (namely, mango, lime and papaya),
which were previously grown in Spain only farther
south in warmer parts. Such diversification has the
commercial advantage of allowing him to harvest
produce all the year round.
Mr Dominguez has met with other farmers eager
to understand the approach that he is taking on his
farm. Such word-of-mouth communication is essential if widespread change is to occur. Nevertheless, one of the goals of the project was to work
“side by side” with the farmers, he says. “Climate
change is a trend and some farmers are not interested in what ‘may’ happen in the future. 99.9% of
them don’t really understand the link between their
agriculture and the climate.”
Explaining this link isn’t easy, but he emphasises
that making the demonstrable business case for
adapting to a changing climate is the way to go. The
approach also needs to be adapted to local economic conditions. For example, technically difficult
solutions and those that require large investments,
such as biogas plants, may not be the priority for
Spain and, in particular, his region where farmers
own small plots.
One such local solution employed to good effect on
Mr Dominguez’s land is the use of manure as a fertiliser that significantly improves the structure and
fertility of the soil in the long term and, moreover,
has a low carbon footprint. He was able to share
these experiences with farmers from other regions
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at the project’s European Conference on Farming
and Climate Change in Toulouse.
But, as mentioned, it was not only within the agricultural sector that the LIFE project focused its
efforts. It also called on EU policy-makers to include climate change actions in European legislation. In order to support this goal, the project team
organised two meetings with Commission officials
and two breakfast meetings at the European Parliament. These meetings resulted in a request for
policy proposals and advice on how to present them
in the correct format, says Mr Domingo.
In spite of the comprehensive analysis of results
that the project had been able to perform, he was
initially “quite pessimistic” about the impact that
the results would have on the EU. “But we were
welcomed,” he says. “The project’s report to the
European Parliament included a set of measures
for achieving realistic climate change mitigation
and adaptation at farm level, including a short description of each measure, the expected impact at
the EU level, the constraints to be overcome and
a proposal for including the measures in different
regulations.” In this way, the report’s authors detailed the different possibilities, such as improving
the greening of CAP Pillar I or including agri-environmental measures in Pillar II.
The project was also invited to the 4th Meeting of
the Expert Group for Sustainability and Quality of
Agriculture and Rural Development. Furthermore,
it carried out lobbying activities in the four countries where it was active to influence regional and
national governments – for example, it held meetings with the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food
and Environment, the French Environment & Energy
Management Agency [ADEME], the Italian Agricultural Ministry and the government of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). “Some of the measures promoted and tested during the project were sent to
the Spanish Ministry to be considered in the Diffuse
Sectors Roadmap for Climate Change in Spain,”
adds Mr Domingo.
Project number: LIFE09 ENV/ES/000441
Contact: Eduardo de Miguel
Title: AgriClimateChange - Combating climate change
through farming: application of a common evaluation system in the 4 largest agricultural economies of the EU
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: Fundación Global Nature
C H AN G E
agriculture
of sudden weather events – such as torrential rains
– the hedges and cover crops serve to retain some
of the runoff in the fields. Indeed, the rich ochre of
the soil on Mr Dominguez’s farm stands in contrast
to the paler soil found on neighbouring farms and
is an immediate visual clue to the fertility of his
land.
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Website: www.agriclimatechange.eu
Period: 01-Dec-2006 to 30-Jun-2010
Total budget: €1 589 000
LIFE contribution: €794 000
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forests
Looking after the long-term
future of EU forest resources
LIFE is at the forefront of developing knowhow and transferable best practices that help
EU forests to adapt to climate change and thereby safeguard their multifunctional benefits
for future generations.
E
urope is home to more than 70 different forest types, which between them support a
huge range of flora and fauna as well as act as
popular recreational resources. The forestry and
forest products industries employ 3.5 million people, with some 450 000 forest-based businesses
representing 7% of EU manufacturing GDP.
Forests prevent soil erosion and desertification,
especially in mountains or semi-arid areas. They
do this mostly by limiting runoff and lowering wind
speed in their immediate surroundings. Tree roots
enrich soil, contributing to soil fertility, productivity and carbon sequestration. Forests also play a
major role in the storage, purification and release
of water to surface water bodies and subsurface
aquifers and help in conserving biodiversity.
Like other ecosystems, forests are susceptible to
changing climate patterns. Climate adaptation
measures for forests are therefore a high priority
for the EU and its Member States.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/SI/000148/Boris Rantaša
LIFEGENMON is conducting the genetic monitoring of beech canopy in Slovenia
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Photo: LIFE13 ENV/PL/000048/K.Pilch
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LIFE+ ForBioSensing PL is identifying changes in forest structure and tree species composition caused by climate change
“Climate change is projected to strongly affect forests in Europe,” says Dr Marcus Lindner, Head of
the Forest Ecology and Management Programme
at the European Forest Institute. “Forest management will have to adapt to changes in mean climate but also to increased variability with greater
risk of extreme weather events, such as prolonged
drought, storms and floods,” he explains.
The EU’s new Forest Strategy notes the importance
of both policy and practical actions that maintain
and enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity
of forests.
Special attention in this respect is paid to building
on actions proposed by the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change1, as well as the Green Paper
on Forest Protection and Information2. A key challenge is to adapt existing forest management to
take proper account of climate factors.
Trees’ long growth cycles (100 years or more for
some softwood plantation species) mean that adaptation policy measures for forestry need to be
1 COM(2013)216.
2 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:
2010:0066:FIN:EN:PDF
planned well in advance of expected changes in
growing conditions.
Member States are directing their strategic priorities towards bridging knowledge gaps and mainstreaming adaptation action through national forest plans, forest inventories and action plans under
the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) or
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
forests
Adapting forest policies
Protecting forestry
Climate change will impact forests through a number of factors: atmospheric CO2 increase; changes
in temperature; changes in precipitation and hydrology; changes in tree species composition; abiotic disturbances; and biotic disturbances.
Forests in different parts of Europe are affected differently by these impacts. Flooding incidents are increasing in some Member States, whilst droughts are
becoming more acute and frequent in other countries. Varying concentrations of atmospheric gases
can also affect the natural dynamics of tree growth.
A rise in ‘abiotic’ disturbances including fire incidents
and storm damage has different implications for different EU forests ecosystems (see Figure 1). These
ecosystems also face so-called biotic problems linked
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Bioclimatic Map of Europe (Rivas-Martínez et al., 2004)
Oceanic
Continental
Boreal
to the consequences of pests or diseases that extend
their range and move (often northwards) in response
to shifts in climate patterns.
A one-size-fits-all approach is therefore not suitable for stakeholders involved in adapting EU forests – forest management strategies need to be
flexible.
The LIFE programme is an important source of
support for implementing forest adaptation actions. It has been involved in co-financing some of
the EU’s earliest forest adaptation work (around
20 projects in all). Already funded LIFE projects
have tackled the impacts of warmer temperatures
and atmospheric pollution, changes in tree species
composition, forest fires and the spread of pests
and pathogens. They have also helped build capac-
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ity to adapt to climate change and raised awareness of issues.
LIFE projects “have provided valuable input, helping Member States to continue sustainable forest
management through a time of changing climate,”
says Jerzy Plewa, Director General for the European
Commission’s Directorate of Agriculture and Rural
Development. He adds that “the new LIFE 20142020 Programme provides additional opportunities
for forests, with extra attention for climate change.
This programme complements well the forestrelated measures carried out under [EU] rural development policy in support of sustainable forest
management.” As well as climate action grants for
adaptation actions, the programme now has the potential to increase its impact via the Natural Capital
Financing Facility (NCFF) (see pp. 14-15).
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Many forest projects tackling adaptation issues have
worked to clarify the extent of impacts of temperature increases and to test the validity of practical actions to help forests adapt to hotter, drier conditions.
LIFE’s potential for building knowledge bases about
how forests can be adapted to better cope with
warming temperatures is seen in the Italian project,
RESILFORMED, which is mapping Sicily’s forests to
identify the areas at greatest risk of desertification
and where urgent application of forest management
techniques aimed at increasing resilience is needed.
“In general silvicultural techniques aimed at increasing forest resilience are of two types: when
the forest has been degraded due to fires, over-
Life+ Pinassa will adopt silvicultural techniques that will improve the biodiversity, stability and
resilience of intensively exploited dense stands of forest
grazing or erosion, the measures aim to increase
foliage coverage and the stock of above-ground
biomass, reduce erosion, and restore the vegetative parts of damaged topsoil,” says project manager Luciano Saporito. “In forests in a normal state,
resilience is increased by promoting the internal
dynamic ecosystem through interventions that
promote arboreal biodiversity, reduce the level of
structural simplification, and improve the natural
potential in forests of artificial origin,” he explains.
forests
Higher temperatures have different impacts in different locations. In northern climes they can extend
the growing season of forests, potentially increasing pressure on water resources. In Mediterranean countries, a warming climate could stunt tree
growth as hotter conditions reduce precipitation
and photosynthesis. Temperature increases also
impact productivity and change species distribution
patterns, causing potential conflicts between species (see biodiversity chapter – pp. 100-106).
Photo: LIFE13 NAT/ES/000724
Warmer temperatures and
atmospheric pollution
Photo: LIFE11 ENV/IT/000215
Increasing resilience in Mediterranean forests
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RESILFORMED has developed a number of management models for forest resilience. It used cane
mats and increased tree density with native tree
species to enhance hydrogeological civil enegineering; artificial stands have been naturalised by
selective thinning and planting of native trees and
shrubs; degraded areas have been restored using
native shrub species; and the project has developed the structural complexity of stands. The projects methods will be included in a set of forest
management guidelines that will enable the implementation of a forest management plan for Sicily.
“It is essential to involve the government authorities and their planning tools,” believes Mr Saporito.
“In addition, it is important to reduce risks due to
human action,” he says. To this end, RESILFORMED
is involving local communities in forest protection
measures and establishing indicators to define the
role of communities and ecosystems in adapting
to climate change. “Local authorities should aim to
increase local community awareness of the importance of improved forest resilience to safeguard
the ecosystem services forests provide,” says Mr
Saporito.
As mentioned previously, varying concentrations of
atmospheric gases can affect the natural dynamics of tree growth. The FO3REST project studied the
impact of ozone (O3) levels on growth levels to enable new pollution benchmarks to be established
(see box).
Photo: LIFE10 ENV/FR/000208/G.I.E.F.S.
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Ozone-induced injury to the leaves of the European hornbeam
Changes in tree species composition
Climate change is expected to lead to competition
between tree species and changes in species distribution, differing according to the bioclimatic region
and local factors. To understand the nature of such
changes, there is a need for systems for forest
genetic monitoring that can give an early warning
of species’ response to environmental change on
a long-term temporal scale. LIFE is helping here
through actions such as those being developed by
the LIFEGENMON project (see box).
The Polish project LIFE+ ForBioSensing PL is identifying changes in forest structure and tree species
Thresholds for ozone levels
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The FO3REST project studied how changes in ozone (O3) levels
can affect the growth of forests. Mediterranean forests will be
especially vulnerable to the negative effects of this atmospheric
pollutant in a context of global warming. The current European
benchmark for measuring O3 levels is the AOT40 index, based
on concentrations in the air exceeding 40 ppb over the daylight
hours of the growing season. However, studies have shown that
vegetation is also affected by ozone uptake through the stomata
into leaves or needles, leading to impaired cell functioning and
death. An index, based on the stomatal ozone flux, called phytotoxic ozone dose above a threshold Y of uptake (PODY), has been
proposed as a new standard. However, in order to be considered
suitable as a new EU benchmark, the PODY index needs to be
validated in field conditions.
Results showed that there was a greater correlation between
POD0 and observed ozone-induced injuries in the field, confirming the findings of earlier lab studies. The LIFE project team defined critical levels of POD0 for six tree species (Pinus cembra,
Pinus halepensis, Pinus sylvestris, Pinus pinea, Pinus pinaster
and Fagus sylvatica) in cases where 5-15% of needle or leaf
area shows signs of ozone-induced damage. In doing so, it has
made a significant contribution to the development of methods
for quantifying ozone effects on vegetation at the regional scale,
particularly in a context of climate change.
FO3REST compared the performance of AOT40, total stomatal
ozone uptake (POD0) and threshold-based phytotoxic ozone dose
(POD1) for eight Mediterranean forest species in a large-scale
field investigation on some 80 plots in Italy and south-east France.
The beneficiary established strong links with national ministries,
regional forestry authorities and local forest managers, facilitating direct application of the results through adapted and sustainable forest management.
Project results have been widely disseminated to the scientific
community which will enable the results to be taken into consideration in future updates to legislation on forest protection
against ozone (e.g. EC directive 2008/50).
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composition that occur in the forest stands caused
by spruce and ash dieback, and hornbeam expansion. “We will be able to confirm which changes
are caused by climate change,” says Krzysztof
Stereńczak from the project. LIFE+ ForBioSensing
PL is carrying out airborne laser scanning of the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest to produce a new
baseline of maps and other key data (e.g. growing
stock, canopy cover, location of ash dieback, largescale spatial distribution of forest stands). Knowledge of different climatic parameters can be used
later in modelling and to understand the different
factors influencing the forest’s ecosystems. This in
turn will help national park and forest district managers implement relevant protection activities.
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Monitoring genetic changes
Led by a Slovenian beneficiary, the LIFEGENMON project is working on
guidelines for forest managers and a decision-support system that will
help predict when climate change may pose particular types of risks to
tree species and appropriate responses, including for early stage prevention. The project team is developing indicators that can be used to monitor
changes in genetic diversity across a transect from Bavaria to Greece for
two selected target species (the common beech, Fagus sylvatica and silver
fir, Abies alba). “The indicators include demographic and genetic verifiers,
on which the selection processes, changes in genetic variability and mating
system can be assessed,” says project manager, Tjaša Baloh.
“LIFE is helping us to determine the most cost-effective measurement methods and our results will be used in at least three countries (Germany, Slovenia
and Greece). Such outcomes can be very useful for informing policy-makers.
The project has strong strategic legislative goals,” says Ms Baloh.
forests
The guidelines produced by the project aim to feed into the preparation of
common forest adaptation and strategies and recommendations at national, regional and European scale.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/SI/000148
In addition to tree species composition, LIFE funding has been mobilised to increase understanding
of the future development of carbon and water
balances and their relationship to climate change
in boreal forests. To this end, the MONIMET project
in Finland is building a comprehensive platform for
analysing climate change effects on seasonal dynamics of various phenomena. To do so, it is collating data spread across a number of institutes
and from existing monitoring mechanisms (such
as Earth Observation – EO (satellite) – data), as
well as a new webcam network that is being established by the project to monitor the seasonal
cycle in boreal ecosystem carbon exchange. The
project’s actions will establish links between climate change indicators and their effects and create climate change vulnerability maps that can
be used by Finnish municipalities situated in the
boreal zone.
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Abiotic disturbances: forest fires
Climate change is forecast to cause more droughts,
higher temperatures and more high winds, raising
the likelihood and severity of fires. Some 500 000
ha of forest is destroyed by fire every year in the
EU3. Negative impacts include loss of life, damage to property, emissions of greenhouse gases
and other particles, reduced soil fertility and loss
of species and habitats. Active forest management
can help reduce fire risks.
Forest fire prevention was an explicit aim of the
LIFE+ Information & Communication strand (200713), and the LIFE programme as a whole has supported a cluster of projects that have tackled for3 Green Paper On Forest Protection and Information in the EU:
Preparing forests for climate change COM(2010)66 final
est fires through mapping and modelling, training,
knowledge transfer and awareness raising. By contrast, there have been no LIFE projects that address the impact of another type of abiotic disturbance, destructive storms.
Removing the biomass that feeds fires is one of the
goals of the Greek project, Flire. The project has
produced a forest fuel map based on the vegetation structure that will allow forest managers to
reduce the risk of fires starting and spreading. The
project’s online decision-support system includes
fire risk assessment and fire propagation modules
and weather forecasts. The system is designed to
be used by local authorities and other key responders who need early warnings of (potential) fires
and floods.
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ENERBIOSCRUB is a good example of how project
outcomes can contribute to climate mitigation policy as well as adaptation agendas. The project is
mapping an entire forested area in Castilla-Leon
and Galicia to determine the amount of flammable
scrub biomass that can be converted into solid biofuel. The mapping process will enable selection of
plots, types of biomass and management methods
(optimal season per plot and number of clearing
operations). Collaboration with landowners and
land managers will enable scrub clearance to take
place in line with the identified approaches.
In Catalonia, CPF, the autonomous public body responsible for the administration of private forests,
is coordinating two projects (LIFE+ DEMORGEST
and Life+ Pinassa) that are having complementary
impacts. “Our LIFE Environment project (DEMORGEST) is increasing awareness about fire prevention
via production-oriented measures and the LIFE
Nature project (Pinassa) is reinforcing the resilience of species’ habitats that have come under
increased fire threat,” explains Teresa Cervera, the
coordinator of both projects.
DEMORGEST aims to provide a practical demonstration that Catalonia’s ORGEST silvicultural
models (launched in 2004) are a viable means of
sustainably managing forests and protecting them
from megafires. The project is applying the models
in two pilot areas with high fire risk but with different socio-economic characteristics. Demonstration
sites are also being set up in seven different forest
typologies spread across Catalonia with the eventual goal of transferring the models to other Mediterranean countries. “For areas with high fire risk,
these models have two primary management ob-
Improving the vitality of Catalonia’s cork forests
“Cork forests in Catalonia have started to suffer from lower vitality and
productivity,” says Roser Mundet from the LIFE+ SUBER project. Pests such
as the cork beetle (Coraebus undatus) are causing worsening problems and
the scale and frequency of fires have increased.
The project is aiming to increase the long-term vitality of cork trees by decreasing risks from fire and enhancing natural regeneration potential. “We
are testing large-scale threat-control techniques that have not been tried
before on such a scale,” says Ms Mundet. Techniques include removal of
90-100% of shrub cover and development of open stands structures to ensure discontinuity of combustible material at strategic management points.
Results will be integrated in Catalonian’s ORGEST guidelines and disseminated by networks in France, Italy and Portugal.
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jectives: production of goods (wood, cork and pine
nut) and fire prevention. The tools help to identify
site quality and vulnerability to canopy fires,” says
Ms Cervera. Noting that only 30% of private forest owners in Catalonia have forest plans, she adds
that “the main aim [of DEMORGEST] is to advise on
the practical application of specialised knowledge
of forestry and promote forestry practices and
technology transfer in the sector.”
According to Ms Cervera, Life+ Pinassa “will adopt
recovery actions and silvicultural treatments that
will improve the biodiversity, heterogeneity, stability and resilience of intensively exploited mature
and young dense stands of forest.” Actions will be
tailored to individual stands based on ecological
inventories made by the project (see pp. 100-106).
Protecting biodiversity of high conservation value
at the same time as increasing the resilience of
forests to wildfires is the goal of both the LIFE
MONTSERRAT and LIFE+BOSCOS projects, also
from Spain. The two projects are working at landscape level to create a mosaic of habitats, including recovering abandoned farmland to restore connectivity between ecosystems.
In the case of LIFE MONTSERRAT, EU funding is
testing the viability of ecosystem-based measures
on small to medium-sized farms, implementing
grazing management and forest restoration plans
as tools to foster ecosystem services and multifunctionality. Project manager Leire Miñambres
says “the long-term effectiveness of this strategy
may depend on paying small and medium-sized
farms for providing services beyond their productive activity.”
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/ES/000255
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Biotic disturbances
Climate change can increase the levels of damage
caused by domestic forest pathogens and pests. It
can also bring new exotic infestations, whether introduced by people or natural migration. Biotic disturbance agents are influenced by atmospheric CO2
increase, changes in temperature, changes in precipitation and changes in abiotic disturbances. Climate
change will affect herbivores and pathogens directly
and indirectly through changes in plant nutritional
quality and plant resistance or through community
interactions. This could lead to an increase in the
frequency and consequences (intensity and scale) of
pest outbreaks.
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Forest Cities is establishing a national network of local authorities for forest fire prevention
Increased abiotic disturbances have consequences
for forest management: “winter harvests and storm
damaged trees must be collected from forests earlier, as bark beetles quickly colonise fresh dead wood
and damage risks to nearby forests dramatically increase,” says Dr Peltoniemi.
The Climforisk project explored relationships between
soils, climate and pests. “The simple general hypothesis is that trees suffer physiologically from drought
and cannot defend effectively against pests. The
mechanisms of this are, however, complex and vary
by pest species,” explains Dr Peltoniemi. The LIFE project analysed the impact of drought on specific tree
species in different soil types across a number of
The following feature article on Greece’s Adaptfor
project (pp. 67-70) shows how LIFE co-funding can
be used to assess the extent of threats from pathogen pests in a changing climate.
Forest manager carrying out ground-based measurements to analyse the dynamics
of the forest stands
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/PL/000048/K.Pilch
In Finland, the Climforisk project explored the interaction between abiotic (drought) and biotic
threats (pests/pathogens). “Pest problems start
earlier in the year in warmer temperatures and we
have also seen for the first time two generations
of a pest swarm in the same year,” explains Dr
Mikko Peltoniemi from the Climforisk team. “For
example, there were two generations of the European bark beetle in southern Finland in 2010. The
likelihood of such years happening is expected to
increase in future.”
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forests
LIFE+BOSCOS has demonstrated sustainable forestry management practice in the context of climate change on Menorca. “We have restored natural pastures that are adjacent to or within forests.
These will be maintained by livestock grazing,”
says project officer Agnès Canals. In addition to removing dense undergrowth to limit fire risks, the
project has produced guidelines on how to increase
genetic diversity in order to make Menorca’s forests more resistant and resilient to climate change.
“Our guidelines can be useful for other parts of
Europe that need to reduce water stress and limit
competition between trees,” says Ms Canals.
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Photo: LIFE08 ENV/GR/000553
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Dr Peltoniemi also notes that higher winter temperatures may increase the risk of damage to forests in
eastern and northern Finland from the European pine
sawfly, as well as heightening the risk of outbreaks
of autumnal and winter moths in birch forests in
Lapland. “Moisture conditions are also important for
some fungal pathogens.”
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frameworks in order to be able to monitor the damage and provide material for climate responses for
various biotic damage agents.”
Photo: LIFE08 INF/PL/000523
The Climforisk project has enabled the beneficiary to
provide online forecasts of potential pest development status. However, Dr Peltoniemi says more tools
are necessary to support foresters, private landowners and public bodies in managing biotic disturbances. “We need to develop climate scenarios and see
how all of these factors interact with one another.”
LIFE projects have trained foresters to reduce fire risks
permanent sample plots, finding that areas of bare
rock and hill summits may act as epidemic centres
for certain pests, such as pine sawflies, whilst scleroderris cancer benefitted from rainfall and moist
sites. “These two examples show that one cannot
capture any general trends across damage types under climate change,” he concludes.
“One of the key challenges regarding forests is to
predict if there are critical changes in the damage
regime,” says Dr Peltoniemi. “Present information is
not sufficient to make such conclusions. We think
it would be beneficial to develop forest inventory
Building capacity in Estonia
As temperatures increase, Estonia’s forests are becoming more prone to fires.
The FFPE project trained 179 firefighters (including volunteers) on how to prevent forest fires in the context of Estonia’s vegetation, topography and other
local factors. “Controlling forest fires is difficult in the Vihterpalu region due to
large, dry and sandy forest areas and low technical capacity,” says Mart Kelk,
NGO manager from the Estonian Forest Society, who took part in a “useful”
study trip to the region organised by the LIFE project.
As an added value of the project, the Tallinn Forest Owners Society was inspired to organise another seminar on forest fire prevention with its own
resources.
FFPE also initiated ongoing networking amongst specialists from the Ministry
of Environment, The Centre of Forest Protection and Silviculture, Rescue Service, Ministry of the Interior, State Forest Service and Environmental Board.
This was the first time these organisations with responsibility for forest management had come together to discuss fire prevention. Proposals emerging
from these meetings were recorded and submitted to the relevant higher
authorities.
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Capacity building
Capacity building within LIFE forest projects linked
to climate change adaptation comes in two forms:
projects have either developed monitoring and modelling tools that can be used to produce vulnerability
maps and adopt measures to increase forest resilience; or they have trained foresters to implement
specific techniques and methods that increase resilience, reduce biotic disturbances or reduce fire risks.
As an example of the former, the Forest Cities project
introduced a collaborative approach to fire prevention for municipalities within the Greek region of Attica, boosting their collective ability for rapid reaction
to outbreaks of fire through simplified shared information systems and local action plans.
Examples of the second type of capacity-building
project include FFPE from Estonia (see box).
Capacity building was an important element of the
previously mentioned Flire project, with its risk assessment models and improved decision-making
systems. LIFE+BOSCOS is also putting management
theory into practice, implementing actions recommended by its own good practice guidelines.
Future funding
As this article shows, LIFE funding has been used to
address a broad range of forest adaptation issues already. Other issues that the new generation of LIFE
projects could address include:
• Promoting adapted tree species compositions
within forests;
• Increasing overall diversity to strengthen forest
resilience;
• Increasing management intensity to decrease
threats and improve responses; and
• Landscape-scale management measures that extend adaptation coverage.
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fo r e s t s
LIFE helps Greek forests to cope
in a changing climate
LIFE’s AdaptFor project has improved understanding about the vulnerability of Greek forest ecosystems to climate change and informed national plans to develop and implement
appropriate adaptation strategies.
s one of the Mediterranean basin Member
States, Greece is projected to be among
the EU countries most vulnerable to the effects
of climate change. Forest adaptation strategies
and associated woodland management plans are
urgently needed to address these challenges, enhance biodiversity and enable the conservation of
healthy, productive Greek forests.
The LIFE AdaptFor project has made a valuable
contribution to this adaptation action by exploring
problems and solutions in four different Greek forest ecosystems.
“Climate change appears to have affected the
health of Greek forests. In particular, dieback and
decline of conifer species such as Scots pine and
Greek fir caused by fungi and insect pests have
been observed during the last decades as well
as intrusion of conifers into broadleaved forests,”
says Vasiliki Chrysopolitou, who led the AdaptFor
project.
Unless climate change impacts are taken into consideration in forestry management, the ecosystem
services that Greek forests provide will be degraded.
To provide a cohesive set of results that could
benefit a large proportion of the national forest
sector the project analysed four different types
of forest ecosystem in four locations: Mount Pieria – which hosts the southernmost distribution
limit of Scots pine in Europe; Aspropotamos and
Kalampaka – representing some of the country’s
most productive and intensively managed forests
(dominant species: fir, chestnut, oak etc.); Mount
Taygetos - where Greek fir is at its southern distribution limit in Greece; and Parnitha - a National
Park focused on biodiversity conservation where
Greek fir is the dominant tree species. All four
forests
A
Photo: EKBY Photo Archive/L. Logothetis
Greek firs have declined due to an increase of pests and pathogens, which has been exacerbated by climate change
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Forest Directorate of Pieria
“From now on, the main concern of our Directorate is the study and monitoring of Scots
pine regeneration rates and its adaptation to
climate change, using field data from permanent sampling plots, a meteorological
plot and pheromone traps established by
the LIFE project. The ultimate aim is to fully
restore this important forest ecosystem and
protect its biodiversity.” Mr Pantelis Klapanis,
Forester.
areas overlap with Natura 2000 network sites.
Quotes from project partners at the four sites are
presented in boxes.
AdaptFor’s adaptive management
AdaptFor employed an ‘adaptive management’ approach, says Vasiliki Tsiaoussi, head of biotic resources and management of protected areas at
EKBY. This began with “a vulnerability assessment
that provided significant information about the forest status and trends, under the effects of climate
change. Localised adaptation measures were then
Photo: EKBY Photo Archive/L. Logothetis
Assessing the presence of diseases and pests from sampling plots
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drafted along with new management objectives for
the forests,” he explains.
Assessing vulnerability was constrained by gaps in
meteorological, soil, tree growth, vegetation, forest
fire and tree disease data, says Panagiotis Drougas,
head of unit for planning and assessment of forest
policy and development at the Ministry of Reconstruction, Production, Environment and Energy. However,
Mr Drougas notes that “the collective actions of ministry staff and forest services, as well as the project’s
scientific experts helped overcome this weakness.”
The project employed a range of adaptation techniques. “In general, the first step was to set the specific
management objectives for each study area,” explains
Dr Argyro Zerva, forester at Directorate for Planning
and Forest Policy in Greece’s Ministry of Reconstruction, Production, Environment and Energy. To achieve
these objectives, the project drafted three types of adaptation measures for forest management:
1. Short-term adaptation measures for immediate
implementation.
2. Medium and long-term adaptation measures to
enhance forest ecosystems.
3. Supplementary measures to enable the adaptation measures to succeed and to protect forests
against biotic and abiotic factors.
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Measures were targeted at specific phenomena. For
instance, at the Ritini–Vria Forest on Mount Pieria,
“project work focused on the conservation of Scots
pine forest through prevention of tree dieback,” says
Dr Zerva. All dead, dying and infected trees were
logged immediately to limit the spread of this disease (so-called ‘sanitary logging’). To preserve and
enhance the genetic diversity of Scots pine the project established a seed bank and seed orchards and
erected fencing to encourage forest regeneration.
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Forest Service of Kalampaka
“It is really important that we were given the opportunity to participate in
a European project, with significant environmental impact for our region.
We anticipate the evaluation of the application of the adaptation measures
(through monitoring activities) after their implementation.” Mr Christos
Pissias, head of Forest Service and Mr Panagiotis Poulianidis, forester.
These areas will be enhanced “through the cessation of clear cuts to broadleaved forests and the
extension of the logging rotation period,” notes Dr
Zerva. “This will convert coppice forest to woodlands (high forest) with a higher sequestration
rate and storage capacity of CO2,” he adds. These
actions, are expected to improve the quality and
volume of wood products, enhance soil productivity, and reduce soil erosion and degradation risks
in forests that have been intensively managed for
timber for many decades.
Highlighting the individual nature of the adaptation
measures at good quality sites such as the Aspropotamos Forest, the project favoured the presence
of invasive fir species in order to create a mixed
deciduous and coniferous forest structure.
Multi-level support
Mr Tsiaoussi of the project’s coordinating beneficiary,
EKBY, says that the great achievement of AdaptFor
was its ability to operate at different levels: “The project demonstrated the approach of adapting forest
management to climate change at local level and
then integrated the findings to provide guidance and
training at regional and national levels.”
Adaptation measures trialled by the project have
been incorporated into the Forest Management
Plans of the four pilot sites, following consultation
with the competent authorities. In addition, says
Mr Tsiaoussi, “permanent monitoring plots and tel-
emetric meteorological stations have been established in each of the pilot sites, in order to assess
forest status and success of adaptation measures.
forests
In the Kalampaka-Aspropotamos forest, “the project focused on halting intrusion of conifer species
into stands where broadleaved species normally
prevail,” explains Dr Zerva. The goal was to prevent
firs extending beyond their lower thermal tolerance
limits into mixed oak woodlands and chestnut forest areas. Firs in these areas become vulnerable to
insect attacks and affect the quality of the broadleaved stands.
“Knowledge and experience gained at local level was subsequently used to deliver guidance to
Greek Forest Services personnel at regional and
national levels, through capacity building guidelines and training activities on how to adapt forest
management to climate change in Greece.”
No regrets
Although the Management Plans for each pilot site
combine silvicultural techniques and practices in a
totally new context, the skills required are based
on solid forest science so they are not completely
new to the foresters.
AdaptFor also considered the implementation costs
and social acceptability of adaptation measures.
“The proposed measures are mainly ‘no or low regret measures’, addressing a wide range of possible climate changes and being beneficial for forests
and local communities, under any circumstances,”
explains Ms Chrysopolitou. Their implementation
should enhance the productivity of forests and the
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“This forest is the biggest oxygen production factory for the capital of
Greece and also the biggest carbon sink, contributing to climate change
mitigation. This suburban ecosystem, so important for the residents of
Athens, will be managed from now on whilst taking into consideration climate change impacts, and using modern technologies and methodologies.
Causes of problems such as dieback of Greek fir, effects of the 2007 forest
fire, and expansion of red deer damage have been thoroughly investigated
and appropriate measures proposed.” Mr Georgios Zareifis, head of Forest
Service and Mr Ilias Doufas, Forester.
Photo: EKBY Photo Archive/L. Logothetis
Forest Service of Parnitha
services they provide, whilst having wider biodiversity and ecosystem benefits.
A lengthy and exhaustive consultation process was
another success factor for the project. “Forest stands
affected by the project’s adaptation measures are
going to be treated in a different manner from now
on, or even excluded from forest management - at
least from the traditional forest management used
for timber production,” “says Mr Tryfonas Daskalakis, director for planning and forest policy from the
Ministry of Reconstruction, Production, Environment
and Energy.
“This is expected to have a direct impact on the local, forest-dependent communities. All stakeholders
hence had to be informed on the matter and agree
to the proposals. Stakeholders’ reactions have been
Forest Service of Sparti
“Cooperation [with stakeholders] was strengthened through consultations
and this was the most important success factor of the project, enabling
an assessment of the vulnerability of Mount Taygetos Forest in correlation with climate change data. Consequently, new management plans were
drafted with integrated adaptation measures to combat climate change
impacts. These plans also integrate the continuous assessment (monitoring) of these measures and are necessary for the enhancement and sustainable management of Mount Taygetos Forest.” Mr Georgios Zakkas,
head of Forest Service.
Innovative actions
The AdaptFor project has pioneered adaptation of
forest management to climate change within the
Greek Forest Service. On the International Day of
Forests 2015, Ioannis Tsironis, deputy Minister of
Reconstruction of Production, Environment and Energy described AdaptFor as, “the inaugural effort of
the Forest Service to meet the challenge of climate
change, while developing synergies with other EU
policies such as the conservation of biodiversity.”
There is great potential for replicability within Greece
thanks to the Guidelines for the adaptation of Greek
forest management to climate change produced by
the project. “[These] provide a clear and specific reference to measures that can be adopted to tackle
the threats arising due to climate change,” says Konstantinos Dimopoulos, director general for the development and protection of forests and rural environment at the Ministry of Reconstruction, Production,
Environment and Energy.
Project number: LIFE08 ENV/GR/000554
Contact: Vasiliki Chrysopolitou
Title: AdaptFor - Adaptation of forest management to
climate change in Greece
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: Section of Biotic Resources and Management
of protected areas/ Greek Biotope Wetland Centre (EKBY)
Period: 01-Jan-2010 to 31-Dec-2014
Website: www.life-adaptfor.gr.
Total budget: €1 719 000
LIFE contribution: €833 000
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reflected in the adaptation measures. For example,
regarding the removal of fir and Black pine from Aspropotamos-Kalampaka Forest, the local community
insisted on only gradual logging of conifers. In all
cases, forest services were able to convince stakeholders about the long-term benefits of the measures’ implementation for both the environment and
society – the ecosystems will be strengthened and
timber will be improved in terms of size, volume and
quality.”
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water
policy
An introduction to water and
climate change adaptation
LIFE is supporting the efforts of policy-makers and planners to reduce the adverse impacts
of climate change on water systems. Projects are helping mainstream adaptation measures
and achieve the goals of EU water policy.
Mainstreaming climate adaptation
into water policy
The Water Framework Directive (WFD - 2000/60/
EC) was the first legal framework for protecting
Policy
This section of LIFE and climate change adaptation
focuses on three major climate change impacts at
the river basin level: water scarcity, water quality
and flooding. In particular, it looks at how the LIFE
programme helps EU Member States implement
water policy, and how LIFE projects have demonstrated adaptation measures for reducing the environmental and socio-economic consequences of
climate change impacts. The first two river basin
level impacts will be addressed together in a chapter on water management; this will be followed by
a chapter on flood control and natural water retention measures.
water
limate change will impact the whole hydrological cycle. Predicted temperature increases will shift patterns of yearly and seasonal
precipitation, alter groundwater levels, soil moisture, and snow cover, change river flows, raise sea
levels, and increase rates of evaporation and transpiration. Results will vary from place to place, but
may include water scarcity, flooding, reduced water
quality, coastal erosion, salinisation, degraded ecosystem services and changes in biodiversity and
the distribution of species.
Photo: LIFE06 NAT/A/000127/AKL8-Tichy
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LIFE has demonstrated how NWRM can reduce the vulnerability of water resources to climate
change
and restoring clean water across Europe. Given
the nature of catchment areas and river flows,
the WFD considers river basins as a logical unit of
administration.
Therefore, transboundary cooperation is vitally important for sustainable water management. Each
EU Member State is obliged under the WFD to draw
up River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) and to
achieve ‘good status’ for all waters in their national
territory, including lakes, rivers, canals, groundwater, wetlands and estuaries.
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a key strategy for building resilience. It was accompanied by an impact assessment and a policy paper
on water, coasts and marine issues. These stress the
crucial role that green infrastructure and ecosystembased adaptation approaches can play in protecting
biodiversity and ecosystem services, for example,
the restoration of wetlands to improve water quality
and to reduce downstream flooding. As part of the
actions instigated by the white paper, the Water Directors of Member States adopted a guidance document2 with the aim of climate-proofing RBMPs. The
document provides 11 guiding principles that align
WFD and climate adaptation objectives.
Although the first iteration of the WFD does not explicitly mention climate change, the step-by-step
and cyclical nature of its river basin management
process makes the directive well suited to addressing this issue.
The WFD is complemented by the Water Scarcity and
Droughts Policy (COM (2007) 414). The Policy identifies the importance of moving towards a watersaving economy, and recommends measures such
as water pricing and land-use planning to incentivise
efficient water use. The Floods Directive (2007/60/
EC) requires Member States to assess all river basins
and coastlines at risk of flooding, to map flood hazards, produce Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs),
and to set adequate objectives to reduce flood risk,
measures to achieve which will be reported to the
European Commission by March 2016. In the flood
risk management plans that Member States are required to draft, climate change should be taken into
account.
A European Environment Agency (EEA) report3 found
that only half of Europe’s freshwater lakes and rivers
will be of good ecological status by 2015, and will
require mitigation or restoration measures to meet
WFD objectives. The report noted the “indications
that water bodies already under stress from pressures are highly susceptible to climate change impacts, and that climate change may hinder attempts
to restore some water bodies to good status. Here
the establishment of good ecological and healthy
ecosystem conditions are extremely important.”
In a white paper published in April 20091, the
European Commission presented a framework
for policy and adaptation measures to reduce
Europe’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate
change. The white paper identified improvements
in water resource and ecosystem management as
Europe’s Water Blueprint
Photo: LIFE10 ENV/IT/000380
1 Adapting to climate change: Towards a European framework
for action (COM/2009/147)
As a result of such findings, in November 2012, the
European Commission adopted a Water Blueprint4,
which was based on an extensive evaluation of existing water policy, reports and public consultation. The
aim of the Blueprint was to identify obstacles to the
implementation of EU water policy and the means to
overcome them. It has helped to mainstream climate
change adaptation into water policy areas and intensified actions to reach WFD goals within the next
cycle of RBMPs (2015-2027).
The Blueprint’s impact assessment showed a trend
of increasing flood- and drought-related impacts
in recent decades. The implementation of green infrastructure, particularly Natural Water Retention
Measures (NWRMs), was again noted as a key priority for building resilience. The Blueprint stressed the
need for green growth to promote climate change
adaptation measures, noting that this could also
lead to significant economic benefits.
2 Common Implementation Strategy for the WFD: Guidance
Document no. 24 – River basin management in a changing
climate (WFD Technical Report 2009-040)
3 European waters – assessment of status and pressures, EEA
Report no 8/2012
4 A Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources
(COM/2012/673)
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Implementing adaptive water
management
D
roughts are temporary deviations from
the average natural water cycle, whilst
water scarcity represents a long-term imbalance
between water supply and demand. LIFE projects have not directly addressed drought situations – unlike the comparable work on climate
change adaptation planning, support to drought
management planning has been a notable gap in
the programme. Many LIFE projects have however
focused on water scarcity issues which, whilst not
as extreme in their short-term consequences as
drought, over time can have significant economic
and environmental impacts.
At regional level, water scarcity is often a consequence of demand exceeding recharge capacity in
abstraction areas. Climate change is predicted to
water
The CAMI project developed a model to help planners quantify groundwater stress for the Tagliamento river basin
management
Photo: LIFE04 ENV/IT/000500/Mauro Caffau
The LIFE programme has demonstrated the implementation of adaptation measures that
can reduce the severity of potential impacts on water abundance and water quality resulting from climate change.
reduce summer rainfall and diminish snow reservoirs, leading to lower river flows in southern Europe
and exacerbating water scarcity.
LIFE projects have addressed water scarcity by
demonstrating measures to increase supply and
measures to reduce demand. The former include
Did you know?
At least 11% of Europe’s population and 17%
of its territory have been affected by water
scarcity to date. Recent trends show a significant increase in water scarcity across Europe.
Source: COM/2009/147
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improved water infrastructure and natural water
retention measures such as aquifer recharge and
river restoration. Demand reduction has focused on
raising awareness and establishing incentives (e.g.
water pricing) for efficient water use.
Models improve water management
The LIFE programme has funded a cluster of projects that have improved data collection methods
and developed modelling tools in support of water
management. These projects have provided valuable inputs for achieving the objectives of River
Basin Management Plans (RBMPs), and have contributed to water scarcity management plans. Although developed for specific river basins, modelling tools developed by LIFE projects are readily
transferable across Europe.
The CAMI project collected and analysed data for
the whole hydrographic district of the Tagliamento river basin in north-east Italy. The project pioneered an integrated approach that combined data
on aquifers and groundwater flows, including noninvasive geophysical methodologies. Data fed into
a Regional Geohydrological Information System
(REGIS). This river basin model supports planners in
developing future scenarios for a more rational use
of water resources, and, in support of the require-
ments of the Water Framework Directive it can be
used to predict the effects of further groundwater
extraction for civil, agricultural and industrial uses
on water resources.
The LIFE projects WATER CHANGE and Trust developed models for water managers that take into
account climate change scenarios. WATER CHANGE
linked hydrological and water management models to predict available water resources for a range
of climate change scenarios in the Llobregat river
basin in Spain, which is greatly affected by scarcity
issues.
“Topographic and geological data, as well as information about climate scenarios, aquifers, and
water uses and quality were all entered in the custom-created Water Change Modelling System database,” says Suzy McEnnis of project beneficiary
CETaqua. The modelling system was used to test
65 global change scenarios (i.e. climate change,
land use change, and water demand as affected by
population changes) to evaluate the vulnerability
of water resources for three time horizons (2030,
2050 and 2100) and to propose different adaptation strategies in each case. With the results in
hand, CETaqua assessed which adaptation strategies could be best applied to the Llobregat river
basin in order to avoid future water shortages.
Climate change and the water cycle in the EU
Winter rainfall (floods)
Sea levels
Hotter and drier summers
Crop yields, range
Temperature, annual rainfall,
Water availability
Drought risk, heat stress
Crop yields
Suitable crop areas
Sea/Lake levels
Storms, floods
Hotter and drier summers
Growing seasons, crop potential
Pests
Permafrost thaw
Winter rainfall (floods)
Drought risks
Soil erosion risk
Length of growing season
Crop yields and range
Summer rainfall
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The high-, medium- and low-adaptation strategies
proposed respectively covered 70%, 50% and 30%
of the monthly water deficits. In the case study
done by the LIFE project, the medium-adaptation
strategy was identified as having the best ratio of
benefits to costs. In the real world, the CBA tool
will allow river basin authorities and water companies to combine different economic values with the
impact indicators and select different strategies.
The tool will thus help them in their medium- and
long-term planning activities and decision-making
processes, in particular, by supporting the implementation of environmental policies associated
with the WFD.
The Trust project developed a modelling tool to
forecast the effects of climate change on water
availability in the Veneto plain and Friuli in northeast Italy. “Monitoring data for the area going back
30 to 40 years showed a slow but significant and
ongoing decline of the water table,” says project
coordinator, Matteo Bisaglia. “We wanted to investigate the likely future effects of climate change
and land use on the availability of groundwater, to
include these aspects in successful water manage-
ment planning,” explains Andrea Scarinci, an engineer at project partner SGI Studio Galli. The Trust
team developed a hydrological model that showed
how climate change scenarios exacerbate this trend
by altering the flows of rivers feeding aquifers in
the river basin. These flows are predicted to increase in the winter and decrease in the summer,
spring and autumn: information that helps water
managers estimate future groundwater levels over
time for each of the 30 aquifers in the project area.
“The modelling showed that 8% of the groundwater
volume will decrease in the next 30 years due to climate change alone. By the end of the 21st Century
the annual aquifer recharge could be reduced by
7% in Veneto and 11% in Friuli,” notes Mr Bisaglia.
water
The beneficiary carried out a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the many temporary and permanent
adaptation measures available and proposed not
simply measures but three adaptation strategies:
“packages of measures that offer feasible solutions avoiding deficits in the basin whilst optimising investments and costs,” explains CETaqua researcher Mónica Reyes.
MANAGEMENT
The LIFE SEGURA RIVERLINK project is demonstrating the implementation
of green infrastructure to restore ecosystems and increase connectivity in
the Segura river basin (Spain). “Water scarcity is a constant threat in this
river basin, with significant decreases in water resources over the past 30
years, and the foreseen impact of climate change will make the situation
worse,” says project manager Eduardo Lafuente. He explains that the project’s measures will have clear benefits both for the resilience of the river
and for climate change adaptation. For instance, one of the main effects
of eliminating giant cane (Arundo donax) beds is a reduction in evapotranspiration: “These plants have an impressively rapid growth, several centimetres per day, and a huge evapotranspiration rate. In comparison, native
riparian forest not only has very positive environmental effects, in terms
of filtering pollutants and enhancing biodiversity, it also has an evapotranspiration rate four or five times lower. Therefore, replacing the giant reed
beds with riparian forest could increase the available water resources by
between 2 and 5%,” says Mr Lafuente.
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/ES/001140/Javier Murcia/Francisco Almansa
Increasing resilience to water scarcity
Avoiding unnecessary water loss
With climate change likely to increase the severity of water scarcity, it is essential to minimise
losses of water caused by leaky pipes and other
water infrastructure problems. Leaks cause overabstraction of groundwater, with valuable drinking
water being lost before it can even reach consumers. Repairing water supply infrastructure reduces
abstraction, which allows the piezometric pressure
within aquifers to increase. This enables aquifers
to regain equilibrium and also helps reduce the
risk of pollution and salinity intrusion into groundwater.
LIFE has targeted losses from leaky infrastructure
through both the A.S.A.P. and MAC Eau projects.
The former implemented an action plan to reduce
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hidden leaks, by developing models for an aquifer
and a water supply network in Italy’s Arno river plain.
The project team installed a continuous monitoring
system, based on applied dynamic flow/pressure
regulation, which promptly detected and prioritised
leaks for repair. This also enabled water pressure
to be maintained at the minimum level necessary
- higher pressures increase the amount of water escaping through leaks. The project cut water abstraction by 8.3% during the project, whilst also reducing
infrastructure maintenance costs.
MAC Eau is reducing pressure within an urban water supply system in the Gironde province of France.
A system check enabled the identification of sections where modulating pressure valves should be
installed. In one case, it was noted that night-flow
pressure could be decreased by as much as 55%.
The company’s first data analysis in 2015 showed
water savings of some 100 000 m3/year, or 20%
of the volumes lost by the water company, and a
4.5% reduction in the volume withdrawn from a
groundwater aquifer. As with the A.S.A.P. project, a
reduction in the need for system maintenance has
been reported.
Recharging aquifers
Aquifers are layers of permeable rock that contain
or transmit groundwater: an underground water
supply that can be extracted. Climate change is
projected to shorten the seasonal recharge period for aquifers, exacerbating what may already
be reduced water levels. A cluster of LIFE projects,
including AQUOR, Trust and WARBO, has demonstrated artificial recharge techniques. These counterbalance water loss in aquifers to tackle water
scarcity and water quality problems. AQUOR, for
instance, assessed techniques such as infiltration
wells and channels as part of a climate change
adaptation strategy. This strategy is supported by
the project’s integrated knowledge structure for the
hydrogeological system, which enables precise recommendations to be made regarding the siting of
aquifer recharge systems.
In addition to its abovementioned tools for modelling the effects of climate change on water availability, the Trust project used hydrological models
to assess the effectiveness of Managed Aquifer
Recharge (MAR) techniques in three demonstration
areas. Digging trenches and planting fast-growing
trees increased the water entering an aquifer in a
wooded area, whilst filling channels resulted in more
water seeping into aquifers on agricultural land. “The
hydrological model evaluated that MAR techniques
could restore groundwater by 25% and 70% of the
groundwater deficit induced by climate changes in
the Veneto and Friuli regions, respectively,” says
Andrea Scarinci from the project team. Even taking
into account the future negative impacts of climate
change, MAR techniques could help replenish over
two-thirds of the groundwater reserve in these regions. “Concrete measures to improve the water balance identified by the project will be included in the
revised river basin management plans from 2015,”
notes project coordinator Matteo Bisaglia.
One of the barriers to wider implementation of MAR
techniques has been a relative lack of legislation, an
issue addressed by the WARBO project in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-east Italy. The project developed a
model to assess aquifer response to recharge and
protocols for managing recharge that do not harm
the environment. The project’s three demonstration
sites, all located in ecosystems of Community interest with severe water scarcity problems, showed how
abandoned excavations and neglected ponds could
Photo: LIFE08 ENV/E/000117
ENSAT designed a Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT) method to improve groundwater quality and quantity
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distribution of free shower timers and water-efficient shower heads. AQUOR, on the other hand, targeted awareness-raising activities at schools and
installed 196 water flow limiters on farms.
be transformed into MAR infrastructure, which acts
to increase aquifer recharge capacity and to improve
surface water quality. MAR structures like these can
be used for contingency planning against high levels
of salinity or pollution (e.g. accidental groundwater
contamination), which will be exacerbated with lower
river flows caused by climate change. Water can be
poured into MAR structures to dilute contaminated
outflow to safeguard water quantity for consumers
and to protect biodiversity.
As well as improving the efficiency of water infrastructure in the Gironde, the MAC Eau team is
working with 392 local authorities to distribute
some 80 000 water-saving kits and 70 rainwater
tanks to local households. Project manager AnneClaire González says the project, which runs to
the end of 2016, is also installing water-saving
Aquifer recharge is not the only option in terms
of rainwater retention and the replenishment of
groundwater sources. The Hydro-climate Recovery
project in eastern Slovakia is using new water harvesting techniques in the construction of retention
ponds, rainwater gardens, flow control barriers in
streams, and the re-cultivation of old logging roads.
These methods will enable rainwater to be used
where it falls to fill groundwater sources and feed
vegetation, so revitalising the local hydrological cycle and contributing to the maintenance of a stable
climate.
Investing in Water
This project is raising awareness about water scarcity in Malta, where rainfall seeping through porous rocks forms sea-level aquifers - the country’s
only naturally occurring freshwater source. Malta extracts nearly 50%
more groundwater than is naturally recharged on an annual basis, and climate change predictions suggest annual rainfall could decrease by around
15%. “If this scenario comes to pass, Malta will become even more water
scarce,” says Joe Tanti, project leader and CEO of beneficiary Malta Business Bureau (MBB). This could force the islands to become increasingly
reliant on energy-intensive seawater desalination, with the production of
more greenhouse gases.
Fostering a water-saving culture
water
Photo: LIFE10 INF/MT/000091
MBB used the LIFE project to help enterprises implement best practice in
water saving. “This was done by identifying the best-performing enterprises, and the opportunities they saw and the measures they used to fulfil
their water savings potential,” recalls Mr Tanti. “The most effective action
has been water audits carried out by engineers engaged by the project,
working closely with enterprise staff.”
MANAGEMENT
The main water consumers in Malta are the agriculture, domestic and commercial sectors, including tourist hotels. “Industry is playing a role in water
conservation – over the past few years enterprises have collectively saved
enough water for the savings to be reflected in national statistics,” explains
Mr Tanti. Measures they have adopted “range from flow rate regulation
on showers and hand basins, to water recycling systems and wastewater
treatment plants. It is critical that all stakeholders do their part,” he adds.
EU Member States are implementing many awareness-raising activities to promote water-saving and,
working in partnership, they have developed the European Water Stewardship (EWS) scheme to promote
water-efficient practices using a certification system
linked to WFD objectives. The LIFE programme has
funded many projects that raise awareness about
water conservation, an important component of climate change adaptation strategies. The focus in this
particular article is mainly on LIFE’s efforts in educating citizens to conserve water.
To this end, the RENEW, AQUOR and MAC Eau projects combined awareness-raising with the distribution of water-saving devices in the UK, Italy and
France, respectively; whilst Investing in Water helped
implement best practice across a number of sectors
(see box). The approaches in these projects are readily scaled up and transferable.
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RENEW targeted both mitigation of and adaptation
to climate change in demonstrating an innovative
approach to improve consumer understanding of the
link between hot water and energy usage. The project
used a number of engaging ways of showing people
how they can save money, conserve water and reduce carbon emissions, including through surveys,
demonstration of a mobile shower simulator and
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equipment in public buildings in the Bordeaux area
to demonstrate how much water can be saved.
The environmental costs of water abstraction are
rarely taken into account when billing customers,
even in water scarce areas. However, economic
tools for addressing water scarcity are outlined
in the WFD, especially metering and water pricing
that reflect the true cost of maintaining the water
supply. A couple of LIFE projects have put the economic theory into practice.
Water Agenda introduced financial mechanisms as a
means of reducing consumption in the Anthemountas river basin (Greece). “It was clear that a more
coherent water policy was required, including a more
widespread use of metering and a more effective
and transparent system of water pricing,” says Sokratis Famellos, co-manager of the project. The project developed a model for water use and availability, which generated different water management
scenarios. These were used to develop water pricing
schemes that take into account usage and environmental costs. The system is cost-effective, because
the municipality recovers the full financial cost of
water supply and network maintenance.
Similarly, in Italy, the WATACLIC project recommended that a fair price be paid for water to reduce water abstraction, with tariff schemes being
adopted to discourage irresponsible water use.
A key goal was to find ways to achieve full cost
recovery whilst ensuring social equity and the financial sustainability of water services. The project suggested a two-part tariff with a fixed charge
(ultimately calculated according to the consumer’s
wealth) and a volumetric part with a sharply increasing marginal fee above the quantities that are
regarded as a target threshold.
Did you know?
Higher water temperatures and extreme weather events such as flooding and droughts also
impact upon water quality and exacerbate existing problems of pollution.
Source: COM/2009/147
Improving water quality
Climate change negatively impacts water quality
in rivers and lakes, mainly as a result of changes
in temperature and precipitation. Increasing temperatures in European rivers and lakes (recorded
as being up 1-3º C during the last century) reduce
available oxygen content, whilst flooding and water
scarcity can increase pollutant levels, for example,
by overflowing treatment plants and a process of
concentration, respectively.
The WFD requires EU Member States to achieve a
good status for groundwater. This is best achieved
when there is a balance between water abstraction
and the natural recharge of groundwater, as overexploitation of water can reduce drinking water
quality. Water balance can be improved by artificial
aquifer recharge, so LIFE projects already mentioned in this context also contribute to improving
water quality.
The natural filtration capacity of soil can be compromised by changes in water flow resulting from
climate change. With aquifer recharge, additional
measures can be taken to clean up infiltration water. This has been demonstrated by LIFE’s ENSAT
project, which focused on an aquifer remediation
technique called Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT), designed to improve groundwater quality. The project
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/IT/000475
The Trust project used an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to measure river flow
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Addressing climate change impacts on Vienna’s ‘urban lake’
The project’s practical experiences are
being converted into guidelines for climate change adaptation measures,
including measures to increase biodiversity that will promote ecosystem
resilience. “The aquatic macrophytes,
which are extremely important for the
water quality in this lake, are highly
dominated by just one species, Myrio-
phyllum spicatum,” says Mr Ofenböck.
“Changes in water temperature or consequential effects of climate change
might lead to a sudden extinction of
this plant species, which would have
serious consequences for the entire
system. Therefore we are trying to establish a number of other macrophyte
species to lower this risk.”
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/AT/000128
Eutrophication
Reduced oxygen content and altered nutrient
cycling processes, arising from climate change,
will make water bodies more susceptible to eutrophication, especially where high nutrient loads
already occur (e.g. areas of agricultural fertiliser
run off).
The GisBloom project constructed a cost-efficient
integrated model for the monitoring of water
quality, which was demonstrated in seven river
basins in Finland. This helps integrate climate
change into RBMPs, for instance, by predicting the
impacts of different climate change adaptation
scenarios on eutrophication and algal blooms.
“Our models can be used to estimate effects of
nutrient load and runoff on algal blooms in all
Finnish rivers, lakes and coastal areas,” says project manager Olli Malve. He notes that although
algal blooms are quite random by nature, the
model is able to predict their occurrence with
enough accuracy to enable cost-efficiency analysis of adaptation measures.
water
team installed a reactive organic layer in the bottom of an infiltration pond that feeds an aquifer
in Spain’s Llobregat river delta. This reactive barrier was shown to improve the quality of groundwater by enhancing the biological degradation of
organic compounds and promoting the removal of
micro-pollutants. LIFE Urban Lake used a soil filtering system to safeguard water quality in a different
context (see box).
MANAGEMENT
The ‘Alte Donau’, formerly the Danube’s
main course through Vienna, is now one
of Europe’s largest urban lakes and is
an important recreational resource.
The objective of the LIFE Urban Lake
project is to safeguard its water quality over the long term, by reducing its
vulnerability to the impacts of climate
change. The project is implementing
management plans aimed at enhancing
the lake’s hydrological balance; a key
measure being the construction of a soil
filter: “a large pool filled with mineral
material, through which inflowing water
is conveyed,” explains Thomas Ofenböck of Vienna’s Department of Water
Management: “The filter system enables an additional water supply from
the nearby Neue Donau to be used to
compensate for high evaporation rates
during hot periods in summer and to increase water exchange with groundwater in the shallow Alte Donau,” says Mr
Ofenböck. This also helps maintain favourable nutrient and mineral balances,
and contributes to a slight lowering of
water temperature.
The project’s results are accessible through two
interactive web portals: the information platform
Vesinetti and the mapping service JarviWiki. These
support the decision-making process for the management of eutrophication, and provide real-time
and forecast information on algal blooms for water managers and the public. Dr Malve explains
that the project’s operations model and tools have,
with the participation of the public and all relevant
stakeholders, been used to plan a programme of
measures to improve water quality for recreation,
households, fisheries and industrial uses.
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Here comes the flood
LIFE has helped map flood risks, provide early flood warnings and reduce the impact of
inundations through river restoration and natural water retention measures. In so doing,
projects have demonstrated ways of cost-effectively implementing the Water Framework
and Floods directives.
B
etween 1998 and 2009 floods in Europe
caused some 700 deaths, the displacement
of about half a million people and at least €25 billion in insured economic losses1. Floods threaten
housing, transport and other essential infrastructure, commercial and industrial property and agricultural land. They can cause ill-health through
disease outbreaks, destroy wetlands, harm biodiversity and affect water quality.
1 http://www.emdat.be/
Photo: LIFE06 NAT/A/000127/AKL8-Tichy
More than 30 LIFE projects have restored natural river and floodplain dynamics over hundreds
of kilometres of the Danube
Some European rivers have been more prone to
flooding in recent years than previously, but it
has not been possible to detect general climateinduced trends in the occurrence and intensity of
floods. This is partly due to the impact of changes
in land use and water management – it is difficult
to distinguish climate-related changes from these
concurrent factors. Nonetheless, future changes in
the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events combined with different land use policies are likely to cause an increase in flood hazard
across much of Europe.2
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the
Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) provide the policy
framework for managing flooding at river basin
level in Europe (see box). The need for EU and
Member State action to ensure that climate change
is taken into account in the implementation of the
Floods Directive was emphasised in the EC white
paper on adaptation (see pp.71-72 – water intro).
As a consequence, the Floods Directive requires
that Member States take into account climate
change throughout the full flood risk management
cycle, along with other hazards.
The Floods Directive states that the preliminary
flood risk assessment (Article 4) shall be based
on, amongst other things, the “impact of climate
change on the occurrence of floods” from the first
cycle, and article 14.4 states that the “likely impact on climate change on the occurrence of floods
2 Common implementation strategy for the water framework
directive (2000/60/EC) - Guidance document No. 24 RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT IN A CHANGING CLIMATE Technical Report
- 2009 – 040 (European Commission)
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shall be taken into account in the reviews [of the
preliminary flood risk assessment and the flood risk
management plans].”
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Floods policy
The Floods Directive required Member States to carry out a preliminary assessment by 2011 to identify the river basins and associated coastal areas
at risk of flooding. For such zones they needed to draw up flood risk maps
by 2013 and establish flood risk management plans focused on prevention, protection and preparedness by 2015. The Directive is to be carried
out in coordination with the WFD, meaning that the flood risk management
plans and river basin management plans are to be coordinated, with the
coordination of the public participation procedures in the preparation of
these plans. Member States are also obliged to coordinate their flood risk
management practices in shared river basins, including with third countries,
and shall in solidarity not undertake measures that would increase flood
risks in neighbouring countries.
LIFE’s role in flood protection
The LIFE programme has funded flood protection
projects of different kinds. Some projects have
helped develop flood risk maps and flood alert
systems. Other projects have attempted to reduce
the likelihood of flooding through the restoration
of natural river hydrology and functions (including
ecological functions in the case of LIFE Nature projects). This has often involved ‘re-naturalising’ waterways that have been channelised and otherwise
modified for transportation purposes.
Photo: LIFE09 INF/UK/000032/Environment Agency (UK)/Franz Kovacs
RiverWiki contains information on over 500 river restoration
case studies, such as the Danube
water
LIFE projects that have developed flood early warning systems (FEWS) include Stream of Usserød in
Denmark (see box) and the Greek project Flire,
which was featured in the forests chapter for its
work combatting forest fires. The flood-related
aspect of this project focused on developing and
implementing a flood alert hierarchy for the Rafina
catchment. “The FEWS produces Smart Alerts at
three different levels,” explains project manager
Maria Mimikou. These alerts - based on rainfall
forecasts (level one); storm activity (level two);
and real-time reports from flow gauges (level
three) – can help relevant authorities prepare for
and minimise the impact of flash flooding. Users
can also access daily flood hazard maps based on
the rainfall forecasts. The project has developed a
planning tool that will help stakeholders and local
authorities to strategically plan their activities by
suggesting optimum structural and non-structural
measures for the area, in terms of different flood,
urban development and fire scenarios associated
with climate change, explains Professor Mimikou.
floods
Photo: LIFE09 INF/UK/000032/Olli Toivonen
The feature article on the following pages (HydroClimateStrategyRiga – see pp. 87-89) developed
models to generate flood risk maps in Latvia. That
was also the aim of the FLOODSCAN project in Germany. There, the project team updated flood maps
for Bavaria using state-of-the-art aerial laser scanning technology. “Because this technology is much
cheaper and can map in more detail, it can be
much more extensive,” says project manager Dieter
Rieger. “It can include small water bodies, which can
also cause flooding, but which were not previously
mapped.” The new data were fed into a bespoke
web-based flood mapping service which allows users to see the potential impact of different flood
intensities (e.g. 30 year floods, 100 year floods
etc.). Mr Rieger believes the increased information
base enables better zoning, enabling municipalities to take more effective planning decisions: “The
FLOODSCAN project is very much in the spirit of
flood risk management – of enabling people to take
precautions because they have the information.”
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Stream of Usserød
take their own protective actions when flood risk
occurs.”
This project is developing a climate change adaptation toolkit for the stream that flows through
the municipalities of Rudersdal, Hørsholm and Fredensborg (Denmark). The toolkit comprises a computer model for the hydrodynamics of the Usserød
water system, a dashboard providing information
to water management professionals, and mechanisms for informing the public about current conditions and predicted flood risks. Input is continuously provided by automated measuring stations.
In the event of major floods, the national emergency apparatus takes over. A Joint Emergency
Plan developed within the LIFE project framework will be implemented in such cases. This will
involve, for example, the operation of a sluice
in Rudersdal and a new floodgate that is being
demonstrated in Hørsholm, which will divert flood
water to uninhabited areas rather than vulnerable housing areas downstream that were hit by
severe flooding in 2007 and 2010.
“Setting up a valid computer model for the entire
Usserød water system is a complex task, as the
river runs through highly urbanised areas with
very dynamic effluents from rainwater and sewage discharges,” says Klaus Pallesen of the coordinating Fredensborg Municipality; “As a result,
the water level will rise to critical levels within a
few hours after the start of heavy rainfall.”
Information generated by the project’s toolkit facilitates joint planning between the three cities
for immediate flood prevention actions, and provides the basis for future planning and the design
of climate change adaptation measures. “The
Usserød project has launched serious changemanagement effort at all levels,” concludes Mr
Pallesen. “We have established a feasible framework that achieves the desired results without
establishing surplus, parallel bureaucracy.”
Mr Pallesen explains that the purpose of the flood
forecast and warning system “is to provide people inhabiting flood risk areas with relevant and
meaningful information that enables them to
Letting nature takes its course
Natural water retention measures (NWRMs) are
methods used to safeguard and enhance the water
storage potential of landscapes, soils and aquifers.
They are a form of ‘green’ or ‘blue’ (i.e. land- or
water-based) infrastructure that works with nature
to reduce the vulnerability of water resources to
climate change and other anthropogenic pressures.
Photo: LIFE06 ENV/D/000461
Laser scanning and other remote sensing data enabled the project to create accurate models of
Bavaria’s water bodies
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This is achieved by restoring ecosystems, natural
features and characteristics of water courses and
using natural processes. Although they are primarily designed to regulate the water cycle these
measures also improve connectivity between
nature-rich areas and enhance landscape permeability. In addition, the areas benefiting from these
measures will often be multifunctional, allowing
farming, forestry, recreation and ecosystems conservation to operate together in the same space.
NWRMs are adaptation measures that use nature
to regulate the flow and transport of water so as
to smooth peaks and moderate extreme events
(floods, droughts, desertification, salinisation).
Measures may include sustainable forestry practices
(afforestation, riparian forests), sustainable agriculture (e.g. buffer strips, cover crops etc. - see pp. 4457), urban infrastructure (SUDS, green roofs – see
pp. 30-43) and measures for increasing groundwater
recharge (see previous chapter – pp. 76-77). In this
chapter we will focus on measures of another kind:
those designed to increase storage in catchments
and alongside rivers. LIFE projects provide many
examples of the use of hydromorphology measures
such as floodplain and wetland restoration, re-meandering and natural bank stabilisation.
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Floodplain restoration
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Restoring an urbanised floodplain in Italy
The LIFE RII project is implementing large-scale floodplain restoration at
the base of the Apennine mountains, where urbanisation makes interventions difficult. The goal is to increase the area’s water retention capacity and its resilience to climate change. Project actions have focused on
hydraulically-critical points within a network of canals and creeks.
The project is testing a number of novel management tools, such as ‘flooding servitude’ – payments to landowners for temporary, planned flooding
of their fields to avoid more damaging floods in urban areas downstream.
“This will allow substantial savings compared to more costly interventions
such as creating temporary flood reservoir areas or compensating for damage after flood events,” says project manager Alfredo Caggianelli.
water
“In the integrated approach of LIFE RII, the interventions for flood risk are
simultaneously solutions to improve the ecological status of watersheds,”
says Mr Caggianelli. He notes that the first field surveys already indicate
the start of a new dynamic in the waterways. A restoration programme is
being implemented through a public agreement, signed by multiple public
and private stakeholders, which will identify how shared objectives are to
be achieved.
MANAGEMENT
Techniques being trialled include the use of vegetation-filled gabions to
slow flood water flows, selective weirs to remove branches and other material that could stop water flowing smoothly, and maintaining embankments
along some stretches of waterway.
Photo: LIFE11 ENV/IT/000243/Bruno Boz
Afforestation is a natural water retention measure
for floodplains that can reduce soil erosion, enhance water-holding capacity, and improve water
quality in cases where precipitation infiltrates forest soils before flowing into reservoirs. The Emmericher Ward project in Germany is “establishing
a new area of floodplain forest along a secondary river channel that is being reconnected with
its floodplain,” explains project manager Klaus
Markgraf-Maué. This is being done to counteract
flooding caused by changing precipitation patterns. Reconnecting the river to the floodplain will
improve its ecological and hydrological functioning. Furthermore, the afforestation techniques will
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Also in Germany, the Elbauen bei Vockerode project
is restoring a natural floodplain landscape in the
middle Elbe using a range of different afforestation techniques, “depending on the local situation
and taking into account the land users’ objectives
In the case of the ongoing Dutch project, Floodplain development, the goal is to enlarge the
floodplains of the River IJssel to increase their water storage capacity, thereby improving water safety and reducing the risk of flooding in more heavily
populated areas. The use of buffer zones and storage infrastructure will slow water transfer between
the floodplain and the river, thereby spreading the
flow and thus decreasing flood intensity. The restoration work will also improve ecological connectivity between Natura 2000 network sites for species
susceptible to climate change. This LIFE initiative
is part of a more ambitious project, Rivierklimaatpark IJsselpoort, the aim of which is future-proof,
climate change adapted spatial development in the
upper floodplains of the IJssel.
Floodplains and afforestation
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minimise the barrier effect of the forest in the event
of flooding by integrating forest aisles with the sidechannel and with an amphibian transition zone.
Floodplains are areas bordering rivers that naturally provide space for the retention of storm waters.
Within the EU, almost all major and many minor
rivers have been separated from their floodplains
by dikes, sluice gates and other structures designed
to control water flow, or the floodplains have been
drained for agriculture or development. A number
of LIFE projects have restored floodplains to enhance biodiversity and to restore ecosystem functions, which build resilience against flooding and
climate change impacts. By allowing streams to
function naturally, with controlled flooding, floodplain restoration measures reduce the risk of flood
damage.
Showing the variety of LIFE’s work in this area, by
contrast the LIFE RII project is restoring a floodplain in a largely urban area (see box).
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in the long term,” says project manager Georg Rast
of WWF Germany. He adds that “there is a clear
trend over the last two decades for dry and very
warm springs, which slows the natural rejuvenation of some species of the floodplain forest.” To
adapt to this, the LIFE project is aiming “to establish typical floodplain forests with a site specific
mixture of native tree and shrub species. By that
we expect high tolerance against flooding and a
high resilience level, which is the best adaptation
to climate change,” says Mr Rast.
to climate change to by restoring the natural hydrology, raising water levels in ditches to improve
water quality and help reduce flooding.
Wetland restoration
In Italy’s Po floodplain, LIFE RINASCE is working to
reduce flooding incidents by restoring a network
of channels and sustainably managing vegetation.
“Planned interventions will aim to restore the hydraulic functions of the floodplain, improve its ecology, and reduce the risk of flooding,” says project
officer Aronne Ruffini. As well as renovating some
7 km of channels, the project will create 2 ha of
new wetland, thus helping to mitigate flood risks
through water retention and improve water quality
through natural filtration.
Wetland restoration and management can involve
measures over a large spatial scale (including the
installation of ditches for rewetting or the removal
of dikes to enable flooding) or small-scale measures such as tree clearance, changes in land use
and adapted cultivation practices. Wetlands can
be used to store water (useful in areas prone to
seasonal droughts) and they can slow the progress
downstream of surface water run off, helping to
reduce the impact of flooding.
An example of a project working at catchment
scale is Anglesey and Lleyn Fens, which restored
84 ha of alkaline fen and 104 ha of calcareous
fen found within a mosaic of wetland habitats in
north Wales, UK. The project increased resilience
Another type of wetland habitat, raised bogs, is the
subject of the LIFE+GP project in the Netherlands.
Restoration aims to increase resilience to extreme
weather events and climate change, by elevating
water levels, relocating a waterway and creating
ecological ‘stepping stones’ to facilitate exchange
between flora and fauna populations.
Re-naturalising rivers
A meandering river takes a natural winding form
across a landscape. When a river is straightened
by channelisation it cuts off meanders, leaving
oxbow lakes and dried-out river bed, and speeds
Photo: LIFE07 NAT/UK/000948
The Anglesey and Lleyn Fens project restored alkaline fens and calcareous fens in north Wales, helping to recover their natural hydrology and reduce flooding
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Photo: LIFE03 NAT/A/000009/Arbeitskreis Wachau/Haslinger
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
The WACHAU project restored gravel banks and islets in the Danube that serve as fish spawning grounds and as resting and breeding sites for aquatic birds
One of the earliest projects to develop the Danube’s green infrastructure was Donauauen (1998),
which made the first practical application of a
theory of flood defence for Vienna, based not
on the conventional wisdom of building dams,
strengthening dikes and straightening channels,
but on lowering river banks and altering weirs to
give the Danube more room to sprawl. The project
team drew up detailed technical plans and made
the first reconnections (at Orth and Untere Lobau)
between the main river and former side channels
The Donauaen project had an important demonstration value and conservation benefit, and side channel re-connection has subsequently been a feature
of other river engineering projects along the Danube and its Austrian tributaries (see box). For instance, the WACHAU project recreated gravel banks
and islets along one of the most picturesque and
culturally important stretches of the river in Austria – the Wachau gorge, between Krems and Melk.
The gravel used was recycled from the 400 000 m3
dredged annually from the Danube’s shipping channels and the project also drafted a ‘gravel plan’ for
re-use in the river of all gravel excavated from the
navigation channel between 2005 and 2020.
water
Many LIFE projects (for example, WALPHY,
GREENDANUBE and Nebenrinne Bislich-Vahnum)
have re-naturalised rivers by recreating meanders,
recovering oxbow lakes and seasonal streams, stabilising natural banks, returing river beds to a natural condition, reopening side channels and generally
enhancing horizontal connectivity. The EU’s longest
river, the Danube, has benefitted in particular from
such projects, which have introduced NWRMs all the
way from Austria to the river delta in Romania.
in the floodplain. Later, the dike closest to the river
was breached, allowing the old floodplain itself to
become a retention basin. Increasing the “permeability” of the riparian forests for flood events led
to noticeable and impressive results. Indeed, the
subsequent self-restoration of floodplain dynamics
exceeded all expectations.
MANAGEMENT
the flow of water and its drainage from wetland
areas. When this higher flow speed combines with
increased precipitation caused by climate change,
the result is forecast to be an increase in flooding
events.
Another project on a Danube tributary, running almost concurrently with WACHAU, showed how it is
possible to restore a heavily modified waterbody
in an urban environment. LIFE LiRiLi redesigned a
5.5 km stretch of the river Liesing, turning a concrete
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Re-naturalising the river Drava
Like many rivers in northern and western Europe, the Drava, a major tributary of the Danube, had been
channelised in the name of ‘development’. By the early 1990s, the outcome of river straightening was
“catastrophic floods, erosion of the river bed and a falling groundwater level,” explains Norbert Sereinig
from the Carinthia regional government’s flood control authority. At this time the authority began work
to restore its stretch of the river to a semi-natural state, later accessing LIFE co-funding to support its
efforts through the Obere Drau and Obere Drau II projects, the latter coordinated by Mr Sereinig. Obere
Drau II involved widening the river, removing hydraulic structures and embankments at targeted local
river reaches to allow river bank erosion to occur and the creation of new or restoration of old water
meadows. An important aim of the second LIFE project was to solve management challenges thrown up
by Obere Drau I, including stabilising the river bed and groundwater level (using bed load material), continuing habitat management measures and proposing cross-border strategies for water and ecological
management of the Drava river basin (which takes in Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary).
Obere Drau II exceeded its aims, renaturalising 5 km of river and carrying out interventions at key points
to reconnect side channels, oxbows and standing waters. Significantly, many of the restoration actions
were designed to allow the river to further develop through natural processes rather than active management. Monitoring in July 2013 showed that the riverbed was stable and even rising in some places,
whilst the increased water retention capacity was helping to protect downstream areas from floods and
the stabilisation of the groundwater level had benefits for agriculture in the river valley.
channel into a semi-natural river that is still capable
of meeting relevant flood protection requirements.
The project capitalised on the demonstration value
of its large-scale restoration works through significant media coverage and international networking
with experts.
A number of LIFE Nature projects restoring rivers
to conserve fish have also increased the resilience
Stabilising the river bed has enabled the LIFE Obere Drau II project team to improve flood
protection in the Drau Valley
of river systems to floods and climate change. For
example, HAPPYFISH in Estonia reconnected 10
oxbow lakes to a river system, and the HOUTING
project reintroduced natural meandering to a 20
km stretch of river. The LIFE-TripleLakes project
is restoring lakes in Sweden to conserve aquatic
ecosystems and increase their resilience to climate
change; with fish and other species in cold water
habitats having low nutrient levels being particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Photo: LIFE06 NAT/A/000127/Dapra
Water: a success story for LIFE
In conclusion, it should be noted that around onethird of LIFE Environment projects have worked to
improve aspects of the hydrological cycle. These
projects are helping overcome barriers to the implementation of EU water policy. LIFE was an early
source of funding for projects demonstrating climate
change adaptation measures for water systems. The
programme continues to provide good examples of
how to improve resilience in European river basins.
Did you know?
The RiverWiki developed by the Restore project
to share best practice on river restoration includes, at the time of writing, 882 river restoration case studies from 31 European countries in
its searchable database, many also with flood
prevention objectives.
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LIFE helps Riga plan for
increased flood risk
The HydroClimateStrategyRiga project produced maps, models and guidance to help Riga
City Council plan measures for safeguarding the Latvian capital against the increased risk
of flooding predicted by climate change scenarios.
One of the first project actions was the development of a Riga City Relief Model, which provided
the basis for all subsequent modelling and analysis. The scientific collaborators METRUM collected
LiDAR data, and The Centre of Processes’ Analysis
and Research (PAIC) constructed the Relief Model,
which can be updated as new information becomes
available. The model helped establish the complex
structure of the water bodies that comprise up
to 16% of the Riga City area. “The relief model is
the reason we have very good modelling results,”
notes Mr Locmanis.
The project team then developed innovative modelling tools and software programmes, which were
used to produce 60 scenario maps for three projected time frames. These showed how a series of
bottlenecks (e.g. lake entrances) particularly affect
flooding, and enabled the identification of the types
of flooding that present the greatest threat to Riga
in the future.
Aerial view of the River Daugava
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“We have an interesting hydrological system in
Riga, with the River Daugava connecting to three
lakes, and through these to other rivers,” says Andris Locmanis, senior spatial development planner in the Strategic Planning Division of Riga City
Council’s City Development Department. “You cannot put one solution in the river mouth; it needs a
more complicated set of solutions.”
levels, and other parameters with respect to the
most reliable Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) scenarios.
MANAGEMENT
C
limate change models predict an increased
risk of flooding in northern Europe. In Latvia,
more frequent and severe flash floods are a threat
to the capital Riga, as well as surrounding Natura
2000 areas. Therefore, a LIFE project was initiated
to develop the tools necessary for assessing how
long-term climate change scenarios will change
flood risk in Riga, so that adaptation measures can
be incorporated into the city’s planning system.
Understanding water flows
PAIC produced a detailed study of the hydrological
processes affecting Riga for the LIFE project. This
involved modelling and assessing precipitation,
flooding, coastal erosion, changes in groundwater
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“Flooding probability maps show that storm surges
are the main priority,” explains Mr Locmanis. Wind
surges in Riga Bay during the autumn and winter
can push water in the River Daugava, which is some
500-700 m wide and 12 m deep as it flows through
Riga, back through the city. This represents the
most serious long-term flood risk, but other threats
were also identified. “Rainwater floods are not important yet, but looking long-term (e.g. 100 years)
they become more frequent, as climate change
models predict heavier and more frequent rainfall,”
he says.
The project’s overlaid colour-coded scenario maps
enable trends to be identified, and show the areas
likely to flood at least once every 100 years for current (blue), near-future (green) and long-term future (pink) climate change projections. In the longterm, almost all river and coastal areas are liable to
such flooding, while key roads not considered at risk
of flooding today are revealed as being vulnerable.
“It is important that we can see where the biggest
differences are between today and the long-term
future. In some places, there is not so much difference, but close to the city centre is an area where
there will be a big difference,” says Mr Locmanis.
Modelling tools were used to produce scenario maps for three projected time frames
This area includes densely populated residential
areas and areas of historical importance. However,
the scenarios suggest that there is time to implement adaptation measures to reduce the economic,
social and environmental impacts of flooding.
The HydroClimateStrategyRiga team visited Antwerp (Belgium), Hamburg (Germany), and The
Hague and Rotterdam (the Netherlands), to see how
these cities are using long-term flood risk modelling
to increase resilience to flooding. “We found these
visits very useful for getting information on modelling periods, flood risk probabilities, and the variety
of flood protection solutions and how to integrate
them into public spaces,” recalls Mr Locmanis. In
Antwerp, the team were told that it is not possible just to keep building higher and higher dams; at
some point you should look for other solutions. Antwerp has, for instance, left areas on river banks free
of construction and allowed them to flood when water levels rise.
Flood Risk Management Plan
The Flood Risk Management Plan (FRMP) was the
main outcome of the LIFE project. It was developed to manage flood risk in a way that balances
environmental, social and economic needs, and
it incorporates a process for periodic monitoring, evaluation and revision. The FRMP proposes
a series of alternative climate change adaptation
solutions for Riga and for six flood risk zones in
areas surrounding the city. In each case, the FRMP
includes an assessment of potential economic
losses, a cost-benefit analysis, and technical
parameters for the infrastructure solutions proposed, such as the height of dams or how much
streets will need to be raised.
A priority within the FRMP is to ensure rescue
roads are kept open, for example, by being made
higher in cases where they connect to populations
at risk of being cut off by rising flood waters. Another consideration is the management of Natura
2000 areas with habitats that require flooding
during part of the year.
The project produced a series of Methodological
Guidelines, in parallel with the FRMP. The guidelines
included the lessons learned from the study visits
and other best practice examples, with a focus on
the most promising solutions and principles for the
enhancement of flood prevention and adaptation in
Riga.
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A choice of adaptation measures
On a drive outside the city, Mr Locmanis explains the
alternative flood adaptation measures proposed in
the FRMP for three flood risk zones. At the first site
(Sarkandaugava), where urban areas are threatened
by flooding in the long term, the project team recommend reconstructing and building new dams and
raising the level of land in the neighbouring Free Port
district. At the second site (Milgrāvis), where a bottleneck connects Lake Ķīšezers and the River Daugava,
one solution is to build a navigable gateway below
an existing bridge. “This measure will be expensive to
build and maintain. The alternative is to make a lot
of small solutions, which can be done using a stepby-step approach and will not require so large an
investment at one time,” he says. “The next step is
to do a more complex analysis, with indicators and
public involvement.”
At the third site (Vecdaugava), a navigable gateway
is also one of the alternative solutions proposed, but
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The project created a navigable gateway which allows to flood the Natura 2000 wetland areas
with a more complex system for opening to allow
through sufficient water to flood Natura 2000 wetland areas. The other alternative comprises a series
of measures involving dams and raising street levels; though where houses are close to the water and
on both sides of streets these measures become
more complicated. Finding a compromise between
people and the environment is crucial; for example,
high dams stop residents and visitors enjoying views
in an area where water is considered an aesthetic
resource.
These are the type of planning decisions being supported by the tools developed by the LIFE HydroClimateStrategyRiga project. “We are really happy about
all the modelling processes,” concludes Mr Locmanis.
“It was an example of very good cooperation between
Riga City Council and scientists. There has been a lot
of interest from other countries and cities, mostly
from stakeholders wanting to use the modelling processes developed by the project in similar situations
elsewhere. The scientists who were involved in the
project, for instance, are now working on other Latvian
projects involving flood risk modelling.”
Project number: LIFE08 ENV/LV/000451
Contact: Andris Locmanis
Title: HydroClimateStrategyRiga – Integrated Strategy for
Riga City to Adapt to the Hydrological Processes Intensified
by Climate Change Phenomena
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: Riga City Council
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“The Riga Waterfront Thematic Plan also started
this year,” notes Mr Locmanis. “The guidelines were
a good starting point for this, as they provide general best practice.” A riverside leisure area with a
sandy beach recently has been constructed in a
location where building is prohibited, for example, while streets close to the waterfront may be
moved to create more public space between them
and water bodies.
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The guidelines are already informing day-to-day
planning decisions in the flood risk zones, and also
the ‘Sustainable Strategy of Riga until 2030’ and
the ‘Development Programme of Riga for 20142020’ that are currently being implemented by
the City Development Department. For instance,
regulations currently prevent building construction
in areas where flooding probability is once every
10 years, but longer term flooding scenarios (e.g.
once every 100 years) are now being considered
as climate change becomes mainstreamed into the
planning system.
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Photo: NEEMO EEIG/Stephen Nottingham
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Website: www.rigapretpludiem.lv
Period: 01-Feb-2010 to 30-Nov-2012
Total budget: €662 000
LIFE contribution: €329 000
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coastal
Stepping up to the climate
change challenge
Europe’s coastal and marine areas are particularly vulnerable to climatic changes. LIFE has
co-financed projects that address these threats and act to prevent or minimise damage, by
building resilience and mapping risks related to land-sea interactions.
M
ore than 52 million EU citizens live in
low elevation coastal zones. These areas,
which cover more than 480 000 km2, are already experiencing the physical impacts of changing weather
patterns, including flooding, erosion, saltwater intrusion and loss of ecosystems. Such climate-induced
challenges are expected to become more prevalent
in coming decades, with major socio-economic and
ecological implications.
Key adverse impacts of climate change in coastal
areas include: rising sea temperatures; rising sea
Photo: LIFE05 NAT/IT/000037/Archive Park MSRM/L. Gorreri
LIFE projects have been at the forefront of restoring coastal dunes and wetlands
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European action in coastal areas
The vulnerability of coastal areas has led to their
identification by policy-makers as one of the key
sectors for mainstreaming climate change adaptation. The challenge of climate change needs to
be addressed through integrated and ecosystembased approaches and instruments, such as integrated coastal management. These are crucial to
build the foundations for sustainable coastal management and development, supporting socio-economic development, biodiversity and ecosystem
services.
Integrated coastal management is an acknowledged tool to deal with current and long-term
coastal challenges, including climate change and
its impacts. As far back as 2002, an EU Recommendation on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) referred to the threat to coastal zones
posed by climate change as the basis for a strategic approach to coastal management.
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Adapting to climate change: key policies and tools
The Maritime Spatial Planning Directive supports the implementation
of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy. The MSP Directive specifies a need
for climate change adaptation in coastal and marine areas.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive is the environmental pillar
of IMP. It establishes a framework within which European countries need
to take measures to achieve or maintain good environmental status in the
marine environment by 2020. The MSFD specifies that Member States – in
developing their respective national marine strategies – need to specify
any evidence of climate change impacts.
Other policies relevant to climate change adaptation in coastal and marine
areas include:
•
•
•
The Floods Directive – this calls on EU countries to identify river basins and coastal areas at risk of flooding and to establish flood risk
management plans;
The Water Framework Directive (see previous chapter) – this requires
that waters in coastal areas up to one nautical mile from a country’s territorial baseline achieve ‘good ecological status’ and waters up to 12 nautical miles from the same baseline achieve ‘good chemical status’; and
The Birds and Habitats Directives and the Natura 2000 network
of protected areas – here the priority to protect marine ecosystems
and their aquatic species has been reinforced by the EU Biodiversity
Strategy to 2020. The Commission has also published guidelines1 on
climate change and Natura 2000 for site managers and policy-makers
and commissioned a study promoting an ‘ecosystem-based approach’
to climate change adaptation and mitigation in Europe.
1 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/climatechange/pdf/Guidance%20document.pdf
1 Communication: “An EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate
Change», COM (2013) 216
2 ICZM involves a strategic, integrated and cross-sectoral approach that supports socio-economic development, biodiversity and ecosystem services. MSP is a tool for regulating human
uses of the sea, whilst also protecting marine ecosystems and
marine biodiversity.
Photo: LIFE13 NAT/ES/001001
The 2013 EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy1
proposes that ICZM and a second tool - Maritime
Spatial Planning (MSP) 2 - be taken into account
within the framework of the Integrated Maritime
Policy (IMP), Marine Strategy Framework Directive
(MSFD) and Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The
Strategy also includes a Staff Working Document
that addresses adaptation, coastal and marine issues, as well as highlighting knowledge gaps and
efforts that Member States need to take to overcome them.
In 2014, the EU adopted the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive as a means of achieving coherence
between ICZM and MSP (see box).
ADA P TAT I O N
coastal
levels; coastal erosion; all of which lead to flooding and underground salt-water intrusion. These
changes have had subsequent effects on ocean circulation and acidification, loss of biodiversity and
ecosystems and socio-economic impacts. Climate
change impacts exacerbate existing pressures on
coastal zones and marine waters from urbanisation, drainage of coastal marshes for development,
intensive agriculture and overfishing.
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In addition to European-level initiatives, Member
States are developing integrated coastal management strategies at national level to address
the challenges climate change poses to coastal
areas. These strategies need to take a long-term
perspective, incorporate the precautionary principle and adaptive management, take account of the
diversity of local conditions and work with natural
processes to ensure coherence between planning
and management.
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Drawing from the well of LIFE
LIFE projects provide a font of learning and best
practice about how to adapt to climate change in
coastal zones. LIFE beneficiaries have addressed
impacts including higher sea temperatures, sea
level rise, coastal erosion and loss of ecosystem
services. Projects have demonstrated risk mapping
and modelling tools for assessing the full extent
of those impacts and ways of increasing the resilience of Europe’s coastal ecosystems.
LIFE’s new sub-programme for Climate Action can
build on the lessons from current and former projects,
as well as tackling coastal and marine climate change
impacts that LIFE has not yet addressed, such as
ocean acidification and shrinking sea ice cover.
Dealing with rising sea temperatures
Global warming causes absorption of additional
heat energy at the earth’s surface, leading to higher
sea surface temperatures. Thermal expansion is
one of the factors causing sea-level rise; another
is melting land-based ice.
Whilst there is considerable variability, the surface
temperature of Europe’s seas has risen significantly over the past century. According to the EEA3,
the greatest increases have been in the North Sea
and Baltic Sea. Higher sea surface temperatures
– together with changes in precipitation, wind and
salinity – influence sea ice coverage, as well as the
diversity and number of marine species.
In the eastern Baltic catchment, global warming
poses an increasingly serious threat to an endangered seal species, the ringed seal (Pusa hispida
hispida). The LIFE project Baltic MPAs has carried out inventories to better understand threats
to the species including climate change (see box).
Lessons from the project are being used to help
the even rarer subspecies, the Saimaa ringed seal
adapt to milder winters (see Biodiversity chapter pp. 100-106).
Adapting to rising sea levels
Ice melt spells disaster for ringed seals
Thermal expansion of seawater and melting ice is
accelerating the trend for sea levels to rise. In combination with storm surges, rising sea levels could
increase flood risk, coastal erosion and saltwater
intrusion into groundwater resources, rivers and
estuaries. This intrusion will affect biodiversity and
the quantity and quality of ecosystem services that
coastal areas can provide.
The outlook is bleak for the southern Baltic ringed seal population, says Ivar
Jussi, a project officer with the NGO Pro Mare, a partner in the Baltic MPAs
project. “There are almost no measures that can be adopted to avoid the
decline of the species in the event of warm winters continuing. Effort must
be made to reduce human-caused mortality (by-catch in fisheries) and disturbance during the breeding season,” he says.
As sea levels rise, many unique coastal wetland areas are being lost or degraded at an alarming rate,
with significant impacts on biodiversity.
Photo: LIFE05 NAT/LV/000100/I. Jussi
Ringed seals breed in ice lairs, an evolutionary adaptation designed to
protect against polar bear attack. However, as Heidrun Fammler from the
Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia, former project manager of Baltic MPAs,
explains, because of global warming “for many years there has been insufficient ice coverage.” When ice melts before seal pups have been weaned,
they lack sufficient blubber to survive long in the cold water. They are also
more vulnerable to predators (wolves, foxes, stray dogs, white-tailed eagles) and human disturbance.
“Climate change is affecting our seas, causing
sea level rise and an increase in extreme weather
events which increase flooding events along our
coasts. In the UK the projected relative sea level
increases for 1990 to 2095 are approximately 21–
68 cm for London. As little terns nest just above
the high water mark on open, shallowly sloping
sand and shingle beaches there is an obvious concern for the viability of current nesting sites,” says
Susan Rendell-Read, project manager of LIFE Little Terns, which is working with 29 colonies of the
protected species across the UK. With hard coastal
3 EEA Report No 6/2006 The changing faces of Europe’s
coastal areas
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Photo: LIFE12 NAT/UK/000869/Kevin Simmonds
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Sea level rise and an increase in flooding events along coastal areas have brought a decline in the little tern’s population
LIFE Little Terns is trialling the use of decoys and
tape lures to encourage the species to breed on
higher, safer areas of the beach. If tern nesting
sites can be moved even short distances this may
prevent nests being flooded out by high tides. An
important adaptation to climate change will be the
ability for little terns to colonise new sites or recolonise former sites, and so the project is supporting
a number of habitat creation and habitat restoration actions, for example through shoreline management plans and coastal flood defence schemes.
Such actions may involve high investment – such
as creating nesting areas through shingle recharge
and designing rafts as nesting platforms. Increasing our understanding at the micro-scale, such as
nesting substrate preferences and whether the
use of chick shelters on the beach afford effective protection, is also important. “Measures to increase productivity, and therefore resilience, could
help mitigate some negative impacts of climate
change,” says Ms Rendell-Read.
One consequence of rising sea levels (and over-abstraction of water close to the coastline) is saltwater intrusion - the penetration of saline water into
freshwater aquifers. LIFE SALT investigated the affect
of saltwater intrusion in the Esino river basin of the
Marche region of central Italy.
The project set out to get a clearer picture of the
amount and quality of groundwater available in the
river basin and, using this baseline data, simulated the
impact of climatic changes on saline intrusion trends
through a modelling tool that could also be used to
develop a regional risk assessment procedure to support groundwater management in different scenarios.
The simulations indicated significant changes in temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration in the
project area between the reference period (19712000) and the end of the 21st Century. Average temperatures are projected to increase by four degrees
Celsius and evapotranspiration is expected to rise by
10% in summer.
The project presented the main results in the form of
maps of exposure, risk and damage. These maps will
enable decision-makers to identify and prioritise risks
and potential damage arising from climate change and
assign priorities for intervention in adaptation plans for
the Esino river basin. Risks related to saline intrusion,
for instance, have been assessed as affecting a strip of
land several hundred metres across throughout the
territory.
coastal
defences on the landward side, sea level rise also
reduces the area of available beach habitat for little terns. The last full UK seabird census noted a
decline in numbers from more than 2 500 breeding
pairs (in the 1980s) to fewer than 2 000 (in the
year 2000).
There is high potential to replicate the project’s
methodology. The EEA notes that large areas of
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Photo: LIFE05 NAT/D/000152/Hauke Drews
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BALTCOAST restored a total of 34 coastal lagoons and meadows in five Baltic Sea countries (Denmark, Germany, Sweden,
Estonia and Lithuania)
the coastal Mediterranean, especially in Italy, Spain
and Turkey, are affected by saltwater intrusion.
LIFE and coastal erosion
Coastlines are variously subject to shoreline dynamics such as erosion and deposition of sediments depending on the nature of the coast (hard/
rocky or softer sediments) and upon the coastal
processes of sediment transport and water movements (waves and currents). Coastal erosion is a
natural phenomenon that has been occurring for
millions of years. However, the gradual natural
erosion processes have become accelerated in
recent years by human activities and by climate
change-influenced factors such as rising sea-levels
and heavier storms, higher waves and changes in
prevalent wind and wave direction.
Approximately one-quarter of the European coastline for which data are available is eroding, with
the coasts of Mediterranean, Atlantic and northern
seas at highest risk. Erosion and coastal retreat
pose serious problems for homes, infrastructure,
communities and livelihoods – annual losses run
into the tens of millions of euros. Wetlands and
biodiversity are also affected.
Numerous interventions have failed to resolve
coastal erosion. Indeed, some traditional ‘heavy’
Photo: LIFE07 NAT/GR/000296/Remoundou Ilektra
Junicoast installed sand stabilising fences for vegetation-free dunes subject to severe wind erosion on the Greek island of Chrysi
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coastal defence solutions - i.e. building sea-walls
or other hard structures - may actually have worsened the deterioration, especially in the long term,
or simply shifted the problem elsewhere.
coastal dune species are planted such as European
beach-grass (Ammophila arenaria) and sand couch
(Elymus farctus), thus increasing the resilience of
the whole dune system.
The challenge for policy-makers at the local, regional, national and international level is to devise and implement appropriate and ecologically
responsible coastal protection measures that balance economic, social and environmental concerns.
EU policies intended to address coastal erosion
call for a coordinated and participatory approach,
which is why Member States have been called upon
to put in place national strategies towards ICZM.
The project managed to gather precise information
about the prevailing wind pattern at the beach, the
sedimentary nature of the sand and the dynamics
of the Urdaibai estuary. Since climate change can
cause changes in wind direction that make erosion
worse, the information on wind patterns will enable
EBRO-ADMICLIM’s eco-engineering approach
Working to support the ICZM policy, LIFE projects
have developed methods and implemented various
practical actions to tackle the diverse problems associated with erosion of Europe’s coastlines, such
as Spain’s Ebro delta, one of the most important
wetland areas in the Mediterranean (see box).
Some 150 ha of wetland were lost from the mouth of the Ebro between
1957 and 2000. Upstream retention of river sediments (in reservoirs and
behind dams) is responsible for this coastal regression, but the problem
is being made worse by sea level rise and natural subsidence (each some
2-3 mm/year).
“It is predicted that around 50% of the delta’s surface area (15 000 ha)
could be affected by this phenomenon during this century,” says Albert Rovira, technical coordinator of the LIFE EBRO-ADMICLIM project.
Many examples of LIFE project actions to restore
sand dunes, coastal lagoons and other coastal
habitats are included in the LIFE Focus brochure,
LIFE and coastal management4. This includes examples of projects that have prevented coastal
erosion in highly developed areas through innovative beach and dune management measures.
The Catalan government estimated that the traditional engineering solution – building dikes and artificially depositing sand – would cost around
€300 million, excluding maintenance. It could also lead to further deterioration of the wetlands.
Both delta regression and subsidence can only be redressed in the long
term by measures aimed at recovering the input of (inorganic) river sediments and the generation of organic matter in the wetlands and rice fields.
The EBRO-ADMICLIM project is applying new eco-engineering techniques
to achieve this goal. The adaptation techniques will be subject to a modelling and a pilot phase during the project, which runs until June 2018. For
the modelling phase, satellite radar imagery will be used to determine the
distribution of sediment and historical and actual subsidence rates.
More than 20 LIFE projects (such as SOSS DUNES
LIFE and DuneTosca) have targeted Mediterranean
dune habitats, carrying out a range of actions including restoration of dune morphology and dynamics and ‘stabilisation’ of the dunes using artificial barriers. The JUNICOAST project, for example,
installed sand stabilising fences for 200 m of vegetation-free dunes subject to severe wind erosion
on the Greek island of Chrysi. In other cases, dunes
have been rehabilitated by controlling access to
them or by eradicating non-native species.
One of the techniques being tested is the use of ‘flushing flows’ that enable
sediment trapped upstream to bypass blockages. Mr Rovira explains that
these flows should be able to transport 2 million m3 of sediment at a cost
of only €1-2 million, “much less than traditional techniques.”
coastal
Following the trials and consultations with the main socio-economic stakeholders, the project will produce a climate action plan for the delta (PACDE).
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/ES/001182
More than 80% of the Laida beach dunes in Spain’s
Basque Country has been lost and with them important flora and fauna. Climate change is accelerating the speed of loss. The LIFE Dunas Laida project erected ‘sand fences’ made of willow branches
or wicker facing into the prevailing winds. These
act as barriers helping to trap the sand and enabling dune belts to build up over time. Once a sufficient volume of sand has been established, typical
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4 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/publications/lifepublications/lifefocus/documents/coastal.pdf
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Photo: LIFE04 NAT/E/000031/NEEMO EEIG/Ainhoa Darquistade
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Dunas Laida erected ‘sand fences’ made of willow branches that help trap the sand and enable dune belts to build up over time
more effective interventions to counteract erosion.
Restoration of the dunes has increased the number
of visitors to the area, with economic benefits for
local businesses.
More recent LIFE projects have focused on developing ecosystem-based approaches and demonstrating soft measures to counteract coastal erosion such
as beach nourishment, dune rebuilding, and coastal
revegetation with native species that are adapted to
sand, such as the umbrella pine (Pinus pinea).
Coastal erosion represents one of the main threats
to ecosystems in the Sentina Reserve, a coastal wetland in the Marche region of Italy. LIFE’s Re.S.C.We.
project delivered a programme of bioengineering
works in favour of dune recovery, creating windbreaks out of driftwood and planting bayberries to
stabilise the dunes. It also created micro-habitats
using dead trunks, excavated small ponds just behind the dune line and shaped new dune cordons using the excavated sand.
Coastal ecosystem services
Coastal ecosystems such as dunes and sandy barriers, mangroves and salt marshes deliver a wide
range of services to people. They protect against
storms and floods, control erosion, store carbon,
provide habitats and are a source of food, income
and wellbeing (e.g. through tourism and recreation).
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In order to plan and deliver effective programmes
of adaptation measures, it is necessary to assess
the impact on ecosystem services of intensifying
climate change. The influential LIFE project VACCIA
did just that, feeding into the process of updating
Finland’s national climate change adaptation strategy (see strategies and planning chapter, pp. 20).
Increasing ecosystem resilience
Coastal wetlands (or tidal marshes) are saltwater
and brackish water wetlands located in coastal areas. As well as being important habitats for fish,
shellfish and birdlife, they provide natural defence
against coastal flooding and storm surges. Tidal
wetlands can serve to improve degraded waters
by recycling nutrients, processing chemical and organic wastes and capturing sediment loads; the
cleansed water helps maintain aquatic organisms.
The restoration of coastal wetlands and managed realignment are important tools for adaptation of coastal areas to climate change. There
are several means of re-establishing the natural
functions of degraded wetlands. One method is to
add sediment to raise land above the water level
and allow wetland plants to colonise, or modify,
erosion processes that are degrading wetland areas. Alternatively, blocking ditches and reducing
groundwater extraction is an effective restoration
technique for (drained) brackish wetlands. A more
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
resource intensive technique involves transplanting vegetation from healthy marshes or specialised nurseries.
LIFE Nature funding has been one of the main drivers of coastal wetland restoration across the EU,
implementing ecosystem-based approaches that,
as well as aiding protected flora and fauna, are
making these habitats more resilient in the face of
climate change impacts such as flooding, storms
and sea level rise. One of the most ambitious projects of this kind has been BALTCOAST, which restored a total of 34 coastal lagoons and meadows
in five Baltic Sea countries (Denmark, Germany,
Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania).
“We restored the natural hydrology of lagoons by
re-opening natural connections to the sea and by
closing pipes draining the lagoons,” explains project
manager, Hauke Drews. The BALTCOAST team also
removed excess vegetation and silt from natural
depressions and prevented further eutrophication
of lagoons by rerouting nutrient-rich runoff around
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the lagoons or by establishing nutrient retention
ponds for drainage water.
In the UK, a key objective of the Alde-Ore project
was to enhance the resilience of two sites rich in
birdlife in East Anglia (at Orford Ness and Havergate Island) to changing climatic conditions, especially rising sea levels. At Orford Ness, new water
management infrastructure has created an additional 3 ha of coastal lagoon habitat, along with
2.4 km of new ditches and a further 4 km of linear
scrapes (foot drains).
Grant Lohoar, East Suffolk Coast & Countryside Manager for the National Trust, which led the LIFE project,
explains that the deepened scrapes and new ditches
increase the water carrying capacity of the site, allowing it to hold water for longer into the summer
and early autumn. “The linked system allowed improved management of water at appropriate times
of the year to maintain optimum water levels for key
bird species,” he says. During the winter months, a
“new, more efficient pumping system” can evacuate
VACCIA identifies coastal changes
The project also found that a warmer climate is having an impact on shoreline species and vegetation, including the coastal
meadows of the Bothnian Bay, where the critically endangered
plant creeping alkaligrass (Puccinellia phryganodes) and the
southern dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii), a wading bird, are
found. Climate warming has also resulted in earlier spring migration and later autumn migration of water birds. On an average, autumn migration is 0.37 days/year later.
VACCIA assessed the potential impact of climate change on ecosystem
services, such as food production
coastal
The project found a trend for decreasing salinity in coastal areas of the Gulf of Finland, which may be linked to climate change
(the connection has not been verified). However, evidence does
confirm that the combined impact of various changes in the
Baltic Sea ecosystem has “caused clear changes in several marine species”, says Prof Forsius. Predicted changes in the temperature of water bodies and ice cover will affect fish spawning
times, hatching dominance of species and migration.
trawling season (because of shorter ice cover); for coastal areas, it would mean changes in agricultural practices (e.g. buffer
zones, less fertiliser) to limit the impact of more rainfall and
floods on runoff.
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000141/METSÄHALLITUS/WESTERBOM Mats
VACCIA investigated the impact of climate change on changes in
chemical, physical and biological variables relating to coastal ecosystems. Results showed that increasing eutrophication has reduced the turbidity of water in the Gulf of Finland. VACCIA’s models predict that “more frequent occurrence of floods and heavy
rains is likely to increase the loads of nutrients and suspended
matter even further,” explains project manager Martin Forsius.
Different adaptation measures are needed to address each of
these impacts. For surface waters these could focus on reducing runoff, erosion and nutrient loads; for the fishing industry, it
would mean adapting to changing fish stocks and an extended
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are prevented from migrating landwards due to
the presence of sea walls. At Titchwell Marsh, tidal
surges in 1994 and 1996 were an early warning
that climate change was going to pose an increasing threat to this Natura 2000 network site. In the
1996 incident saltwater breached the northern sea
bank, entering the freshwater marsh.
excess rainfall into the estuary system. This also
“proved its value” following a North Sea tidal surge
in December 2013, which led to significant incursion
of tidal water into the site.
At Havergate Island, the project fully restored saline
lagoons and replaced six tidal sluices to ensure that
water levels are favourable to target species. “The new
sluices allow more efficient influx of river water to refresh the marshes and reduce salinity,” says Mr Lohoar.
In 2007, the RSPB, which manages Titchwell Marsh,
secured LIFE funding for TacTICS, a project which
combined protective measures with managed realignment. “The measures that were adopted involved
breaching the existing sea wall to allow a brackish marsh to be naturally converted to mostly tidal
marsh, which now acts as a first line of defence in
absorbing pressure from the sea,” says senior site
manager, Robert Coleman.
Other important wetlands in East Anglia are threatened by ‘coastal squeeze’, where intertidal habitats
Increasing the resilience of Spain’s lagoons
Delta-Lagoon is a project working to increase the resilience of the Alfacada and Tancada coastal lagoons in Spain’s Ebro Delta, an area, as we
have already seen, that is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate
change. Project manager Carles Ibáñez explains that actions have focused
on improving the hydrological status and connectivity of the lagoons. For
instance, it has removed dikes to reconnect the Tancada lagoon with the Alfacs Bay, helping to restore salt marshes damaged by intensive fish farming. In the Alfacada lagoon, work is focusing on the restoration of original
lagoon areas that have been converted to rice fields or which were formerly
used for aquaculture.
Further inland, the bank that previously separated
the brackish from the freshwater marsh was rebuilt
and strengthened to become the new sea wall. Behind this, the area of freshwater habitat was managed to ensure a mix of freshwater marsh, islands
and reedbeds to provide for all the habitat needs of
the local wildlife.
“Climate change will continue to impact on the North
Norfolk coast, but LIFE project actions have helped
to establish a natural protective infrastructure and a
collective will among local stakeholders that should
now ensure the survival of the Titchwell Marsh SPA
and its rich diversity of coastal habitats,” believes
Mr Coleman.
Adaptation to rising sea levels involves “the re-establishment of hydrological connectivity between the lagoons and the sea, in order to increase the
sediment inputs to the lagoons during marine storms,” says Dr Ibáñez.
Sea level rise and sea storms are also affecting the La Pletera saltmarsh
in the flood plain of the Ter estuary, near Girona. The site is of high ecological importance due to the presence of brackish and hypersaline coastal
lagoons. The ongoing project, LIFE-PLETERA, is restoring all aspects of the
coastal lagoon system – including foredune, mobile coastal dunes, a gradient zone of mixed sand and clay substrates, permanently-flooded lagoons
and wetland flood belts – with the specific aim of enabling it to respond to
predicted climate change impacts.
Photo: LIFE09 ENV/ES/000520/IRTA
Risk management and mapping
Improving knowledge and understanding of the effects of climate change in coastal areas is a prerequisite to developing effective adaptation strategies. By incorporating climate change data and
scenarios into coastal risk mapping and long-term
planning, local and regional authorities can take
steps to divert new development away from areas
of risk, and seek to modify or reduce risks in areas
of existing development. The UK project, Response,
provides a framework for understanding and better preparing for the impacts of climate change
around Europe’s coastline.
In partnership with nine organisations from the
UK, France, Italy and Poland, it collected data on
coastal behaviour systems in five study areas.
Going beyond previous macro-scale classifications, the methodology allows for an assessment
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IMAGINE all the ‘at risk’ coastal areas …
‘V-shaped’ storm systems, once rare in the Mediterranean, are becoming more frequent due to the
increase in the average temperature of the oceans. The terrain and morphology of Liguria and Tuscany,
together with increased urbanisation and soil sealing, makes them particularly exposed to the impacts
of extreme rainfall events, including landslides. There have been 13 floods in the two regions since
2000, causing extensive damage and loss of life.
The aim of the LIFE+ IMAGINE project is to be able to better predict extreme events in coastal zones
and monitor and implement the changes required to optimise current and future developments,” says
project manager Giorgio Saio.
The project will provide managers of coastal areas in Liguria and Tuscany with applications that address relevant scenarios, including predictions of the impacts of soil sealing, flooding and landslides.
The project will develop a means of harmonising heterogeneous spatial information (SEIS, INSPIRE,
GMES) into a tool that can be used to produce vulnerability maps and indicators for coastal planning. By
providing a cost-benefit analysis of different climate adaptation measures, the tool will enable users to
incorporate the most appropriate measures into ICZM plans, thus reshaping the planning process and
allowing for informed decisions based on spatial data and climate scenarios.
“We have identified two ‘at risk’ areas for pilot activities,” says Mr Saio: in Liguria, the towns of Monterosso
and Vernazza that were particularly severely hit in the 2011 landslides; and a 60 km-stretch along Tuscany’s coast that regularly experiences landslides following heavy rains or storms.”
of local coastlines to provide detailed forecasts
of likely future scenarios. It was tested in five regional coastal study areas with a variety of coastal landforms: “This has tremendous potential”,
says the project, to improve local coastal planning
around the world.
Meanwhile, in Italy’s coastal zones – researchers say
there has been a marked increase in the past 10
years of periods of heavy rainfall and flooding – as
witnessed by the catastrophic landslides of October
2011 in the “Cinque Terre” district of Liguria – where
coastal towns suffered loss of life and substantial
damage to infrastructure and buildings. According
to a new project, LIFE+IMAGINE (see box), “scenarios
simulated for next 50 years demonstrate that the
likelihood of such extreme weather events will increase over the next 50 years”.
coastal
Photo: LIFE09 NAT/IT/000608
The Re.S.C.We. project restored pre-existing wetlands and dune formations which increases resilience to risks of sea level rise
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biodiversity
Enabling biodiversity to adapt
Photo: LIFE13 NAT/GR/000909/NCC
LIFE project actions have been improving the conservation status of Europe’s protected species and habitats, boosting ecosystem resilience and thus making biodiversity more “fit” to
adapt to climate change.
Climate change is affecting biodiversity, threatening the survival of species such as the Eleonora’s Falcon
C
limate change has both direct and indirect
impacts on species and ecosystems. For
species these include: increased population fluctuations and local extinctions, movement to higher
altitudes and latitudes (upwards and northwards),
changes in species relationships (e.g. mismatching
in lifecycle events in food webs), loss of habitat,
and local extinctions. In terms of habitats, negative impacts include: erosion, drought, flooding,
changes to the nutrient balance/eutrophication, as
well as increased frequency and severity of fire,
flooding and storms.
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Impacts of climate change will often interact with
existing pressures: for example, eutrophication
may be enhanced by increased fluctuations in water tables; changes in geographical distribution of
species as a response to climate change will be
limited by habitat fragmentation and the availability of habitat in new areas that are climatically
suitable.
The Arctic fox provides a vivid illustration of how a
species can be impacted by the need to adapt to climate change as well as existing pressures (see box).
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The tale of the Arctic fox
these improvements, the Arctic fox remains at risk. in particular,
from climate change. “With a warmer climate we will have lower
peaks of rodents and less pronounced cyclicity,” says Mr Angerbjörn. Climate change also pushes the tree line northwards and
hence the range of the red fox, resulting in more competition.
The possibility of reintroducing the Arctic fox to Finland is made
more difficult by changes to the landscape linked to a warming
climate (e.g. tundra habitat being replaced by boreal forest).
In mainland Europe, the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus syn. Alopex
lagopus) is found above the tree line in the mountain tundra of
Fennoscandia. The species’ population plummeted at the beginning of the 20th Century because of over-harvesting by the fur
industry and remained low thereafter. In 1997, the adult population in Fennoscandia was estimated to be lower than 100 animals.
The manager for both projects, Anders Angerbjörn, says the key
threats to the Arctic fox are low availability of food and competition from the larger red fox (Vulpes vulpes) for territory and den
sites. To combat these, extra food in the form of commercial dog
pellets was provided to dens with litters of Arctic foxes, and in
winter reindeer carcasses were hidden nearby under the snow.
In Sweden, this action was combined with culling of red foxes
during winter.
These methods managed to stop the Arctic fox’s decline and
boost the number of litters born, in combination with an increase
in the lemming population, one of its main food sources. Despite
Through nature-based approaches to adaptation
and mitigation, opportunities exist to strengthen
the resilience of ecosystems, and thus reduce
impacts of climate change on biodiversity, whilst
helping to mitigate climate change.
Nature-based approaches to adaptation and mitigation provide both adequate responses to climate
change challenges and sustain ecosystem functions in the long term. Such approaches to adaptation are ready to use and are easily accessible.
As highlighted by a 2011 report for the European
Commission, Assessment of the potential of ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation in Europe1, they often bring
multiple benefits at comparatively low cost.
Guidelines for climate change
adaptation
In 2013, the European Commission produced a set
of guidelines on climate change and Natura 2000
network sites2 aimed at the managers of these sites.
The guidelines seek to underline benefits from
Natura 2000 sites in mitigating the impacts of climate change, reducing vulnerability and increasing
resilience. A decision framework is included to help
identify opportunities for sensible adaptive planning to protect target species and habitats whilst
tackling the effects of climate change.
1 Report available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/
climatechange/pdf/EbA_EBM_CC_FinalReport.pdf
2 Guidelines on Climate Change and Natura 2000: Dealing
with the impact of climate change On the management of
the Natura 2000 Network of areas of high biodiversity value
[Technical Report - 2013 - 068; http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/climatechange/pdf/Guidance%20document.pdf
biodiversity
The EU aims to secure the long-term protection of
biodiversity through the Birds Directive, Habitats Directive and the Natura 2000 network. In 2012, it also
adopted the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, which
sets out the Union’s long-term (2050) vision on biodiversity policy and a range of mid-term targets and
actions, including some that address climate change.
The headline mid-term target is “halting the loss of
biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, and restoring them in so far
as feasible, while stepping up the EU contribution to
averting global biodiversity loss.”
Photo: LIFE03 NAT/S/000073
The LIFE SEFALO project was launched in 1998 as a joint conservation effort between Sweden and Finland aimed at halting
the Arctic fox’s decline and increasing its breeding population.
Completed in 2002, the project helped stabilise the population
but was unable to increase numbers. Consequently, a follow-up
project was carried out during 2003-2008, SEFALO+, which also
included Norway.
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The guidelines include six main categories of adaptation measures, of which the five key ones are:
• To reduce existing pressures;
• To ensure ecosystem heterogeneity;
• To increase connectivity;
• To ensure abiotic conditions; and
• To manage impacts of extreme events.
As the main funding tool for Natura 2000 network
conservation, the LIFE programme is already demonstrating how each of these categories of measures may be applied in practice.
Reducing existing pressures
Existing pressures on species and habitats may be
reduced through restoration measures, development
of buffer zones and the defragmentation of infrastructure (for example, through green tunnels and
bridges).
The EC Guidelines on Climate Change and Natura
2000 cite the example of the LIFE project Dutch
dune revival, which runs from 2010 until the end of
2015, and which is featured in the coastal chapter
of this publication. Other projects that have developed buffer zones include SPIN4LIFE on Sicily, whilst
projects such as LIFE + OZON in the Sonian Forest in
and around Brussels and LIFE BEAR DEFRAGMENTATION, which is linking brown bear habitats in Spain’s
Cantabrian mountains, are addressing the problem of
fragmentation. The latter project is building on the
work of LIFE Corredores oso (2009-2011) by taking
action to connect two isolated bear sub-populations
along a 50 km transit corridor: improving connectivity
between habitats, reducing the potential for harm in
transit areas (i.e. road and rail crossing points), and
raising awareness in the local community by working
“with local people, with cattle breeders, beekeepers,
landowners, stakeholders, hunters, trying to create a
good social environment for the bear to come and to
use these corridors,” says project manager, Fernando
Ballesteros.
Increasing ecosystem heterogeneity
The heterogeneity of ecosystems may be increased
through enhancing structural gradients (mosaics
of habitats) and by allowing natural processes to
take effect. One example with positive adaptation
impacts used by many LIFE projects is to increase
shade along streams. As the Guidelines for Climate
Change and Natura 2000 indicate, “Tree roots make
banks stable and offer long-term protection against
erosion. In general, recovery of stream shade (and
therefore temperature) is expected within decades,
and is accelerated by deliberate planting.” ForestForWater, a Swedish LIFE Environment project that
ran from 2003 to 2007 used riparian shade to reduce thermal stress on freshwater organisms and
planted floodplains with woodland species to alleviate downstream flood risks. More than 120 LIFE
projects have implemented actions for the restoration of riparian habitats.
Photo: LIFE07 NAT/E/000735 - Fundación Oso Pardo
The corridor that connects the two Cantabrian brown bear populations is dependent on habitat availability and connectivity
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Photo: LIFE10 NAT/IT/000241
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
The TIB project is creating underpasses to allow species to cross roads
Connectivity between Natura 2000 network sites
and other green spaces may be increased by the
development of corridors/stepping stones, wider
landscape management, the creation of new nature areas and spatial planning.
LIFE has done much to connect nature across Europe. For instance, in Cyprus, the ICOSTACY project
restored connectivity and mitigated the impacts of
land-use change and climate change by improving
the ecological coherence of the country’s Natura
2000 network for various targeted species. The
project, which ran from 2010 to 2014, carried out
a climate change scenario analysis for those species, which include the Cyprus whip snake (Coluber
cypriensis), Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus euryale) and Jersey tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria). This showed, for instance, that habitats
of the latter species, a type of day-flying moth, are
not currently fragmented, but that “based on climate change scenarios, it is expected that suitable
habitats will decline,” says project manager Elena
Stylianopoulou. The project also produced habitat
suitability maps for species. “These could be used
to advise and inform about conservation and protection of the species across their range and distribution,” says Ms Stylianopoulou.
Ongoing projects such as TRANS INSUBRIA BIONET (TIB) in Italy and LIFE ElClimA in Greece are
currently working to increase connectivity through
nature-friendly adaptation solutions. TIB aims to
combat the negative effects of climate change by
facilitating the mobility of animal and plant species along an ecological corridor between Campo
dei Fiori and the Ticino River Park, an area covering
some 15 000 ha and including 14 Natura 2000
network sites. The project will improve habitats in
the corridor and install underpasses to allow species to cross roads.
The LIFE ElClimA project is targeting actions at one
keystone species, Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae), with the goal of facilitating its adaptation to
ongoing and future climate change. It plans to implement a series of targeted conservation actions
to improve the species’ breeding performance and
the quality and availability of its foraging areas.
These actions will include constructing 1 000 artificial nests, eradicating rats and planting fruit trees
on migration routes. It will assess the bird’s foraging
behaviour and habitat quality, as well as the impact
on these habitats of land-use changes and climate
change.
The network level
Larger scale (network level) adaptation measures
facilitate movement of species between different Natura 2000 sites, as well as between Natura
2000 sites and suitable habitat in their surroundings. Network level measures allow species to disperse into future suitable climate zones. As the
Guidelines on Climate Change and Natura 2000
note, “facilitating range shifts will require well connected, green infrastructure over large distances.”
biodiversity
Increasing connectivity
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The concept of Green Infrastructure describes ecological networks in their wider context. It emphasises the importance of maintaining and restoring
the provision of ecosystem goods and services for
society and the value of functionally and connected, healthy ecosystems.
Green infrastructure could contribute to the coherence of the Natura 2000 network by improving landscape permeability and thus adding to the resilience
of ecological networks to climate change. Many implementation coalitions can be developed with other
land uses and functions, such as agriculture, forestry
and water management. The Commission issued a
Communication on Green Infrastructure in 20133,
which provides an enabling framework for naturebased adaptation solutions.
LIFE has begun to address the issue of network-level
adaptation measures through recently funded projects such as EcoCo LIFE Scotland (see box) and LIFETripleLakes. The latter project is developing a model
3 (COM(2013) 249 final)
The protocol is being developed through workshops involving experts, stakeholders and partner organisations. “These workshops refine and
direct the use of habitat mapping and ecosystem
services mapping to produce a framework which
can be applied across the project area,” says Mr
White. The framework will be tested on selected
sites during the project and also used to identify
new sites for habitat restoration work.
ing suitable will become more ecologically robust
and will display a range of variation in habitat
structure, maximising opportunities for biodiversity resilience in the face of changing climatic
conditions. Secondly, the focus on enhancing connectivity, and dispersal opportunities, will assist
with improving the permeability of the landscape
within the project area, affording species the opportunity to move in response to climate change.
The protocol will allow ‘pinch points’ and potential
corridors to be identified, and will enable work to
be targeted towards areas which can contribute
to enhancing and aiding the movement of species. Thirdly, the project’s focus on catchment
scale restoration will allow geomorphological opportunities to be identified and mapped, resulting in, for example, rivers being reconnected with
their floodplains, natural flood management opportunities being developed, and areas of habitat
being created in response to changing climate
events.”
Mr White explains that the protocol will help improve the resilience of habitats and species to
changing climatic conditions, “in a number of
ways. By improving ecological coherence at the
site level, sites which have been identified as be-
Amongst other habitats, the project is targeting
degraded lowland raised bogs with recovery potential. Work on these sites will provide connectivity and allow for dispersal, as well as ensuring
that an important carbon sink is maintained.
The EcoCo LIFE Scotland project is implementing
integrated habitat networks to improve ecological coherence across the Central Scotland Green
Network. As project coordinator Alistair White of
Scottish Natural Heritage explains, “the ecological coherence protocol will be a framework for
determining the best places to carry out habitat
management and creation within Central Scotland, to improve ecological coherence at a series
of scales (site, local, regional) whilst also taking
into account benefits to wider socio-economic
benefits and ecosystem services.”
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Photo: LIFE13 BIO/UK/000428/East Ayrshire Coalfields Environmental Initiative
Improving Scotland’s ecological coherence
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An ongoing project in Catalonia, Life+ Pinassa, is working to increase the resilience of black pine forest to large fires and climate change. According to
project coordinator, Teresa Cervera Zaragoza, ”for areas with high fire risk,
we use the ORGEST (‘Guidelines for Sustainable Forest Management’) models,
which have two primary management objectives: production of goods (wood,
cork and pine nut) and fire prevention.” In terms of the latter role, she explains
that the models “have keys for identifying vulnerability to canopy fire in pine
stands and some parameters - fire prevention requirements - to improve the
type of structure for a forest stand.”
Indicators used to assess the biodiversity of these forests will include “characteristics of tree, shrub and herbaceous cover; deadwood and suitable natural
cavities for birds and bats; floristic composition; and bioindicators,” adds Ms
Cervera Zaragoza.
for adaptive catchment management for high conservation value aquatic ecosystems in Sweden that
takes into account climate change. “To strengthen
resilience we need to improve the conditions for typical species within the catchments and the habitat
types to reduce stress. Therefore we need to work
to diminish physical, chemical and biological impact
to create high-quality habitats and a minimum of
stress from different kinds of land use and human
activities in general,” says project manager, Malin
Bernhardsson. Specific actions will include restoring
watercourses and removing dams and other barriers to the free passage of species, creating and
restoring spawning beds, conducting an inventory
of wastewater treatment plants to reduce nutrient
loads and demonstrating good water management
practices in forestry and agriculture.
Ensuring abiotic conditions
Maintaining the hydrological integrity of a site
is often key to delivering species and habitat
Photo: LIFE13 NAT/ES/000724
Fire protection in Spain’s black pine forests
objectives. Increased water scarcity and drought
are expected and, as a secondary effect, this may
lead to increased levels of nutrients (especially
nitrogen) and pollutants. Higher temperatures in
combination with more rainfall can also lead to
an increase in biomass, requiring changes to management measures such as mowing regimes.
Many technical measures exist to ensure adequate
water quality, water quantity or nutrient balance
for Natura 2000 sites (see pp. 71-86). Furthermore, numerous LIFE projects have helped restore
or maintain the hydrological integrity of Natura
2000 network sites. One notable example comes
from England, where the Alde-Ore Estuary project
enhanced the resilience of the sites on Orford Ness
and Havergate Island to changing climatic conditions. The new water management infrastructure
created an additional 3 ha of coastal lagoon habitat, along with 2.4 km of new ditches and a further
4 km of linear scrapes (foot drains) (see coastal
chapter – pp. 84-93).
biodiversity
“Climate change is becoming one of our biggest management problems.
The climate is changing so rapidly, in front of our eyes. We speak to our
old salters and they say we never had rain in the summer; now this is very
common. Biodiversity is really affected – so many eggs and chicks are lost
because of the summer storms. Of course we have to adapt to that, so in
our management plan and in our guidelines for reconstruction works, we
are adding height. We know that the sea level is higher and we are trying
to adapt to this yearly change of distribution of rain and storms. We are
dredging out separate dikes and ditches so the excess water in summer really can drain down.” Andrej Sovinc, Project Manager, MANSALT, Slovenia.
Photo: LIFE09 NAT/SI/000376/Davorin Tome
Slovenia’s salt pans under threat
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Managing impacts of extreme events
The increasing prevalence and severity of extreme
events (fires, floods, storms, droughts) is one of the
most apparent and most challenging impacts of
climate change (see MANSALT box).
In terms of helping biodiversity to adapt, LIFE is
showing the way through projects such as Life+ Pinassa (see box) and EstepÁrias. The latter project,
which ran from 2009 to 2012, worked to conserve
the great bustard, little bustard and lesser kestrel
in Portugal’s Baixo Alentejo cereal steppes. Potential climate change scenarios were examined by
the project to evaluate their potential impact on
these steppe birds. These scenarios were used to
establish emergency intervention procedures, including drought mitigation measures, which were
subsequently integrated into good practice manuals designed for use by those involved in agri-environment management.
As a ‘last resort’ for the most vulnerable species,
the 2013 EC Guidelines propose relocation to new,
suitable sites.
Where relocation is not feasible, LIFE has shown
that there are other ways to help the most vulnerable species adapt, as shown by the case of the
Saimaa ringed seal in Finland (see box).
LIFE Saimaa Seal
“The Saimaa ringed seal (Phoca hispida saimensis) is categorised as a critically endangered subspecies both nationally and
internationally. It inhabits a freshwater lake in Finland [Lake
Saimaa] and there are some 300 seals left, and around 60
pups are born annually,” explains Raisa Tiilikainen, manager of
the LIFE Saimaa Seal project, which runs from 2013 to 2018.
“The major threats to the population are by-catch mortality,
small and scattered population size, habitat deterioration and
climate change,” she says. One of the goals of the project is to
help the seals adapt to climate change by developing a method
of producing artificial snow drifts to improve their lairing conditions during mild winters.
The LIFE project is implementing an artificial snowdrift method
that was developed specifically for this purpose at the University of Eastern Finland. ‘The drifts are piled up using snow shovels and pushers at the breeding sites of the seals. Snow used
in the drifts is collected at the vicinity of the drift site,” says Dr
Tiilikainen.
During the mild winter of 2014, 240 artificial snowdrifts were
piled up in the Saimaa ringed seal’s breeding area. More than
90% of the pups born that year were born at lairs with artificial snowdrifts, highlighting the usefulness of the technique. In
2015, “around 70 man-made snowdrifts were constructed at
the main breeding areas of the seals where snow conditions
were not sufficient for breeding,” adds Dr Tiilikainen.
Photo: LIFE12 NAT/FI/000367/Mervi Kunnasranta
“The breeding success of the Saimaa ringed seal, like other
ringed seals, is dependent on sufficient ice and snow cover. The
seals give birth to a single pup in a subnivean snow den (known
as a lair) that is situated at snowdrift formed on shoreline of
islands. The lair provides shelter against predators and harsh
climate, and mother-pup pair use it over the nursing period,”
explains Dr Tiilikainen.
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LIFE & Climate change adaptation
project list
Here is a complete list of LIFE projects that are featured in LIFE and Climate change adaptation. Arranged by theme, the
list highlights more than 130 LIFE projects relevant to climate change adaptation. These are drawn from a total of 24 EU
Member States. For more information on individual projects, visit the online database at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/
life/project/projects/index.cfm
Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
PLANNING
LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000138
CHAMP
Climate Change Response through Managing Urban Europe-27 Platform
20
LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000141
VACCIA
Vulnerability assessment of ecosystem services for climate change
impacts and adaptation
20, 21
LIFE07 INF/FIN/000152
CCCRP
Climate Change Community Response Portal
20, 21
LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000145
Julia 2030
Mitigation of and Adaptation to the Climate Change in the Helsinki
Metropolitan Area - From Strategy to Implementation
20, 22,
23
LIFE09 INF/PL/000283
DOKLIP
A Good Climate For Counties
23
LIFE13 INF/PL/000039
LIFE_ADAPTCITY_PL
Preparation of a strategy of adaptation to climate change with use of city
climate mapping and public participation
23
LIFE08 ENV/IT/000436
ACT
Adapting to climate change in Time
24
LIFE11 ENV/IT/000119
BLUE AP
Bologna Local Urban Environment Adaptation Plan for a Resilient City
24
LIFE10 ENV/CY/000723
CYPADAPT
Development of a national strategy for adaptation to climate change
adverse impacts in Cyprus
26-29
urban
LIFE10 ENV/FR/000215
R-URBAN
R-URBAN / Participative strategy of development, practices and networks
of local resilience for European cities
30
LIFE00 ENV/E/000415
GREEN BELT
A proposal for sustainable territorial planning
34
LIFE02 ENV/E/000200
GALLECS
Demonstration project on land use and environmental management of
the physical planning in Gallecs as a biological and stable connector in the
fringe space of Barcelona metropolitan area
35
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000567
LIFE ZARAGOZA
NATURAL
Creación, gestión y promoción de la Infraestructura Verde de Zaragoza
35
LIFE13 ENV/BE/000212
LIFE-GREEN4GREY
Innovative design & development of multifunctional green & blue infrastructure in Flanders grey peri-urban landscapes
35, 36
LIFE09 ENV/IT/000074
GAIA
Green Areas Inner-city Agreement “GAIA”
36
LIFE10 ENV/IT/000399
EMoNFUr
Establishing a monitoring network to assess lowland forest and urban
plantation in Lombardy and urban forest in Slovenia
36
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE98 ENV/S/000482
Roof greening
Extensive roof greening
37
LIFE07 ENV/UK/000936
GRACC
Green roofs against climate change. To establish a UK green roof code to
support climate change mitigation and adaptation.
37
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000092
life-QUF
Quick urban forestation
37
LIFE12 ENV/MT/000732
LifeMedGreenRoof
Constructing two demonstration green roofs to illustrate the potential of
meeting environmental and energy targets
37
LIFE07 ENV/S/000908
GreenClimeAdapt
Green tools for urban climate adaptation
LIFE12 ENV/UK/001133
LIFE Housing
Landscapes
Climate-proofing Social Housing Landscapes
38
LIFE08 ENV/E/000099
AQUAVAL
Sustainable Urban Water Management Plans, promoting SUDS and
considering Climate Change, in the Province of Valencia
38
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000538
PLATAFORMA
CENTRAL IBERUM
Sustainable urban development in “PLATAFORMA CENTRAL IBERUM”
38
LIFE11 ENV/FI/000911
Urban Oases Keidas
Shaping a Sustainable Future through Environmentally Functional
Landscape Features
39
LIFE11 ENV/FR/000746
SeineCityPark
Development of an urban green infrastructure in the Chanteloup loop
37, 39
41-43
agriculture
108
LIFE04 ENV/ES/000269
Humedales
Sostenibles
Integrated management of agriculture in the surroundings of community
importance wetlands (sustainable wetlands)
45
LIFE08 ENV/GR/000570
HydroSense
Innovative precision technologies for optimised irrigation and integrated
crop management in a water-limited agrosystem
45
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000615
IRRIGESTLIFE
Telemanagement network using free controllers conected to a gis for an
optimized irrigation in vitoria-gasteiz
45
LIFE10 ENV/ES/000471
Crops for better soil
Profitable organic farming techniques based on traditional crops:
contrasting soil degradation in the Mediterranean
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000535
OPERATION CO2
“Operation CO2”: Integrated agroforestry practices and nature
conservation against climate change
46
LIFE05 ENV/E/000288
ALMOND PRO-SOIL
Soil protection in Mediterraanean areas through cultivation of new
varieties of almond tree
47
LIFE11 ENV/GR/000942
oLIVE-CLIMA
Introduction of new olive crop management practices focused on climate
change mitigation and adaptation
47
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000426
LIFE RegaDIOX
Fixation of atmospheric CO2 and reduction of greenhouse emissions by
sustainable management of irrigation agriculture
47
LIFE13 ENV/FR/001512
Life ADVICLIM
ADapatation of VIticulture to CLIMate change : High resolution observations of adaptation scenarii for viticulture
47
LIFE08 ENV/E/000129
LIFE+AGRICARBON
Sustainable agriculture in Carbon arithmetics
48
LIFE13 ENV/ES/000541
Life+ ClimAgri
Best agricultural practices for Climate Change: Integrating strategies for
mitigation and adaptation
48
LIFE12 ENV/IT/000578
LIFE HelpSoil
Helping enhanced soil functions and adaptation to climate change by
sustainable conservation agriculture techniques
LIFE06 ENV/F/000132
CONCERT”EAU
Collaborative Technological Plateform for implementation for WDF within
agricultural context
49
LIFE08 ENV/IT/000406
REWETLAND
Widespread introduction of constructed wetlands for a wastewater
treatment of Agro Pontino
49
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000579
REAGRITECH
Regeneration and reuse of runoff and drainage water in agricultural plots
by combined natural water treatment systems
49
46, 48
48, 49
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE12 ENV/SE/000800
SOLMACC Life
Strategies for Organic- and Low-input-farming to Mitigate and Adapt to
Climate Change
49
LIFE13 ENV/FR/001315
PTD LIFE
Dynamic rotational grazing
50
LIFE13 ENV/LT/000189
LIFE Viva Grass
Integrated planning tool to ensure viability of grasslands
50
LIFE09 ENV/ES/000456
AG_UAS
Sustainable water management at regional scale through Airborne
Remote Sensing based on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
51
LIFE11 ENV/IT/000035
WSTORE2
Reconciling agriculture with environment through a new water governance
in coastal and saline areas
51
LIFE08 ENV/E/000114
POWER
Project for Optimisation of Water and Emissions Reduction
52
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000621
IES
Irrigation expert simulator
52
LIFE09 ENV/ES/000447
The Green Deserts
The Green Deserts: new planting techniques for tree cultivation in
desertified environments to face Climate Change
53
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000536
LIFE MEDACC
Demonstration and validation of innovative methodology for regional
climate change adaptation in the Mediterranean area
53
LIFE13 ENV/IT/001258
LIFE SEMENte
parTEcipata
Modelli di selezione vegetale e di tecniche agronomiche adatti alle
condizioni pedo-climatiche locali
53
LIFE07 ENV/GR/000266
EcoPest
‘Strategic plan for the adaptation and application of the principles for the
sustainable use of pesticides in a vulnerable ecosystem’
54
LIFE07 INF/E/000852
CHANGING THE
CHANGE
LIFE+campaign ‘Changing the change’. The Galician agriculture and forest
sector facing climate change.
55
LIFE09 ENV/ES/000441
AgriClimateChange
Combating climate change through farming: application of a common
evaluation system in the 4 largest agricultural economies of the EU
55-57
forests
LIFE11 ENV/IT/000215
RESILFORMED
Resilience to Climate change in Mediterranean forests
61, 62
LIFE10 ENV/FR/000208
FO3REST
Ozone and Climate Change Impacts on French and Italian Forests:
Refinement of criteria and thresholds for forest protection
62
LIFE13 ENV/PL/000048
LIFE+ ForBioSensing PL
Comprehensive monitoring of stand dynamics in Białowieża Forest
supported with remote sensing techniques
62, 63
LIFE12 ENV/FI/000409
LIFE MONIMET
Climate change indicators and vulnerability of boreal zone applying innovative observation and modeling techniques
63
LIFE13 ENV/SI/000148
LIFEGENMON
LIFE for EUROPEAN FOREST GENETIC MONITORING SYSTEM
63
LIFE11 ENV/GR/000975
FLIRE
Floods and fire risk assessment and management
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000730
LIFE+ DEMORGEST
Life+ Cost-efficient integration of megafire prevention into forest
management in the Mediterranean
64
LIFE13 BIO/ES/000094
LIFE MONTSERRAT
Integrated silvopastoral management plan: An innovative tool to preserve
biodiversity and prevent wildfires
64
LIFE13 ENV/ES/000255
Life+ SUBER
Life+ SUBER: Integrative management for an improved adaptation of cork
oak forests to climate change
64
LIFE13 ENV/ES/000660
LIFE ENERBIOSCRUB Sustainable management of shrubs formations for energy purposes
64
LIFE13 NAT/ES/000724
Life+ Pinassa
Sustainable management for conservation of Black pine (Pinus nigra
subsp. salzmannii var pyrenaica) forests in Catalonia
64
LIFE07 ENV/E/000824
LIFE+BOSCOS
Sustainable forestry management of Menorca in a context of climate
change
64-66
63, 66
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE09 ENV/FI/000571
Climforisk
Climate change induced drought effects on forest growth and vulnerability
65, 66
LIFE08 ENV/GR/000553
Forest Cities
Local Authorities Alliance for Forest Fire Prevention
66
LIFE08 INF/EE/000260
FFPE
Raising awareness for forest fires and training of forest fire agents and
volunteers in Estonia
66
LIFE08 ENV/GR/000554
AdaptFor
Adaptation of forest management to climate change in Greece
67-70
water M A N A G E M E N T
110
LIFE04 ENV/IT/000500
CAMI
Water-bearing characterization with integrated methodologies
74
LIFE07 ENV/E/000845
WATER CHANGE
Medium and long term water resources modelling as a tool for planning
and global change adaptation. Application to the Llobregat Basin.
74
LIFE07 ENV/IT/000475
TRUST
Tool for regional scale assessment of groundwater storage improvement
in adaptation to climate change (TRUST)
75, 76
LIFE12 ENV/ES/001140
LIFE SEGURA
RIVERLINK
RIVERLINK
LIFE06 ENV/IT/000255
A.S.A.P.
Actions for systemic aquifer protection: implementation and
demonstration of a Protocol to scale down groundwater vulnerability to
pollution due to overexploitation
75, 76
LIFE11 ENV/FR/000745
MAC EAU
Reducing Consumption of Drinking Water: Implementation and Evaluation
of Integrated Measures in Gironde (France)
75- 77
LIFE10 ENV/IT/000394
WARBO
Water re-born - artificial recharge: innovative technologies for the
sustainable management of water resources
LIFE10 ENV/IT/000380
AQUOR
Implementation of a water saving and artificial recharging participated
strategy for the quantitative groundwater layer rebalance of the upper
Vicenza’s plain
LIFE07 INF/UK/000932
RENEW
Regional Environmental Networks for Energy & Water
77
LIFE10 INF/MT/000091
Investing in Water
Achieving Reduction in Water Consumption by Business in Malta
77
LIFE11 ENV/SK/001019
Hydro-climate
recovery
Revitalisation of the climate in dried-out communities in Eastern Slovakia
via hydro-climate recovery
77
LIFE04 ENV/GR/000099
Water Agenda
Development and implementation of integrated water resources
management policy to a river basin, through the application of
a social wide local agreement, based on the principles of
Agenda
78
LIFE08 ENV/E/000117
ENSAT
Enhancement of Soil Aquifer Treatment to Improve the Quality of
Recharge Water in the Llobregat River Delta Aquifer
78
LIFE08 INF/IT/000308
WATACLIC
Water against climate change. Sustainable water management in urban
areas
78
LIFE09 ENV/FI/000569
GISBLOOM
Participatory monitoring, forecasting, control and socio-economic impacts
of eutrophication and algal blooms in river basins districts
79
LIFE12 ENV/AT/000128
LIFE-URBANLAKE
Integrated Lake Management of the Urban Lake “Alte Donau”
79
LIFE06 ENV/D/000461
FLOODSCAN
LArge scale adjustment of new technology for fast, precise and cost-efficient hydraulic 2d-modelling of flood (hazard) areas by combining laser
scanning with remote sensing data
81
LIFE11 ENV/GR/000975
FLIRE
Floods and fire risk assessment and management
81
LIFE11 ENV/DK/000889
Stream of Usserød
Intermunicipal cooperation on Water Management and Climate Change
Adaptation for The Stream of Usserød
82
75
76
76, 77
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE08 NAT/D/000013
Elbauen bei
Vockerode
Improvement and Long-Term Safeguarding of the Natura 2000 Site
“Dessau-Wörlitz Elbe Floodplain”
83
LIFE10 NAT/DE/000010
Emmericher Ward
River and floodplain improvement Emmericher Ward within the EU Bird
Area Unterer Niederrhein
83
LIFE11 ENV/IT/000243
RII
LIFE hydrological and environmental integrated restoration of brooks in
the piedmont area of Emilia Romagna
83
LIFE11 NAT/NL/000771
Floodplain
development
Nature development in the Natura2000 upper floodplains of the river
IJssel
83
LIFE07 NAT/UK/000948
Anglesey and Lleyn
Fens
Restoring Alkaline and Calcareous Fens within the Corsydd Mon a Llyn
(Anglesey & lleyn Fens) SACs in Wales
84
LIFE13 ENV/IT/000169
LIFE RINASCE
Naturalistic Restoration for the integrated hydraulic-environmental
Sustainability of the Emilian Canals
84
LIFE13 NAT/NL/000079
Life+GP
“More water, more raised bogs in the Groote Peel”
84
LIFE98 NAT/A/005422
Donauauen
Restoration and management of the alluvial flood plain of the River Danube (Alluvial Zone National Park)
85
LIFE02 ENV/A/000282
LiRiLi
Living River Liesing - Demonstrative Ecological Reconstruction of
a Heavily Modified Waterbody in an Urban Environment
85
LIFE03 NAT/A/000009
WACHAU
WACHAU
85
LIFE06 NAT/RO/000177
GREENDANUBE
Conservation and integrated management of Danube islands Romania
85
LIFE07 ENV/B/000038
WALPHY
Design of a decision tool for hydromorphological restoration of water
bodies in Walloon Region
85
LIFE08 NAT/D/000007
Nebenrinne
Bislich-Vahnum
Restoration of a side channel of the river Rhine near Wesel
85
LIFE99 NAT/A/006055
Obere Drau
Combine of the flood plain-forests of the Upper Drau-river valley
(Kärnten)
86
LIFE06 NAT/A/000127
LIFE Obere Drau II
Life in Upper Drau River
86
LIFE05 NAT/DK/000153
Houting
Urgent actions for the endangered Houting “Coregonus oxyrhunchus”
86
LIFE07 NAT/EE/000120
HAPPYFISH
Saving life in meanders and oxbow lakes of Emajõgi River on Alam-Pedja
NATURA2000 area
86
LIFE09 INF/UK/000032
RESTORE
RESTORE - Rivers: Engaging, Supporting and Transferring knOwledge for
Restoration in Europe
86
LIFE13 NAT/SE/000116
LIFE-TripleLakes
Triple Lakes – Catchment restoration and preventive action for aquatic
habitats in a climate change perspective
86
LIFE08 ENV/LV/000451
HydroClimateStrategyRiga
Integrated Strategy for Riga City to Adapt to the Hydrological
Processes Intensified by Climate Change Phenomena
87-89
coastal
LIFE05 NAT/LV/000100
Baltic MPAs
Marine protected areas in the Eastern Baltic Sea
92
LIFE12 NAT/UK/000869
LIFE Little Terns
Improving the conservation status of the little tern in the UK through
targeted action at the most important colonies
LIFE07 ENV/IT/000497
SALT
Sustainable management of the Esino river basin to prevent
saline intrusion in the coastal aquifer in consideration of climate
change
93
LIFE05 NAT/IT/000037
DUNETOSCA
Conservation of ecosystems in northern Tuscany
95
LIFE13 ENV/ES/001182
LIFE EBROADMICLIM
Adaptation and mitigation measures to climate change in the Ebro Delta
95
92, 93
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE13 NAT/IT/001013
SOSS DUNES LIFE
Safeguard and management Of South-western Sardinian Dunes A project for the pilot area of Porto Pino
LIFE04 NAT/ES/000031
Dunas Laida
Dune regeneration on Laida beach (Urdaibai)
95, 96
LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000141
VACCIA
Vulnerability assessment of ecosystem services for climate change
impacts and adaptation
96, 97
LIFE09 NAT/IT/000608
Re.S.C.We.
Restoration of Sentina coastal wetlands
96, 99
LIFE05 NAT/D/000152
BALTCOAST
Rehabilitation of the Baltic coastal lagoon habitat complex
97
LIFE08 NAT/UK/000199
Alde-Ore
The Alde-Ore Estuary - Securing a sustainable future for wildlife
97
LIFE07 NAT/UK/000938
TaCTICS
Tackling Climate Change-Related Threats to an Important Coastal SPA in
Eastern England
98
LIFE09 NAT/ES/000520
Delta-LAGOON
Restauración y gestión del hábitat en dos lagunas costeras del Delta del
Ebro: Alfacada y Tancada
98
LIFE03 ENV/UK/000611
Response
Responding to the risks from climate change developing sustainable
strategies for management of natural hazards in coastal areas taking
account of the impacts of climate change
98
LIFE12 ENV/IT/001054
LIFE + IMAGINE
Integrated coastal area Management Application implementing GMES,
INspire and sEis data policies
99
LIFE13 NAT/ES/001001
LIFE-PLETERA
De-urbanizing and recovering the ecological functioning of the coastal
systems of La Pletera
98
95
biodiversity
112
LIFE03 NAT/S/000073
Arctic Fox Northern Saving the endangered Fennoscandian Alopex lagopus (SEFALO+)
Sweden and Finland
100,
101
LIFE12 NAT/BE/000166
Life – OZON
Restoration of natural habitats for critically endangered species by
defragmentation of the Sonian Forest.
102
LIFE12 NAT/ES/000192
LIFE BEAR
DEFRAGMENTATION
Habitat defragmentation for brown bear in the Cantabrian mountains
102
LIFE12 NAT/IT/000370
SPIN4LIFE
SPIN Strategy for the Implementation of Natura 2000 in Sicily
102
LIFE09 NAT/CY/000247
ICOSTACY
Improving the Conservation Status of Fauna Species in Cyprus: from
microhabitat restoration to landscape connectivity
103
LIFE10 NAT/IT/000241
TIB - TRANS INSUBRIA BIONET
Habitat connection and improvement along the Insubria ecological corridor between the Alps and the Ticino valley
103
LIFE13 NAT/GR/000909
LIFE ElClimA
Conservation measures to assist the adaptation of Falco eleonorae* to
climate change
103
LIFE13 BIO/UK/000428
EcoCo LIFE Scotland Implementation of integrated habitat networks to improve ecological
coherence across the CSGN
104
LIFE13 NAT/SE/000116
LIFE-TripleLakes
Triple Lakes – Catchment restoration and preventive action for aquatic
habitats in a climate change perspective
104
LIFE07 NAT/P/000654
EstepÁrias
Conservation of Great Bustard, Little Bustard and Lesser Kestrel in the
Baixo Alentejo cereal steppes
105
LIFE08 NAT/UK/000199
Alde-Ore
The Alde-Ore Estuary - Securing a sustainable future for wildlife
105
LIFE09 NAT/SI/000376
MANSALT
Man and Nature in Secovlje salt-pans
105
LIFE13 NAT/ES/000724
Life+ Pinassa
Sustainable management for conservation of Black pine (Pinus nigra
subsp. salzmannii var pyrenaica) forests in Catalonia
105
LIFE12 NAT/FI/000367
LIFE Saimaa Seal
Safeguarding the Saimaa Ringed Seal
106
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Available LIFE Environment publications
LIFE Environment brochures
LIFE and Climate change mitigation (2015,
92 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-43946-9 – ISSN
1725-5619)
LIFE and Air quality (2014, 76 pp. – ISBN 97892-79-38305-2 – ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE and Soil protection (2014, 68 pp. – ISBN
978-92-79-38305-2 – ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE creating green jobs and skills (2013, 76 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-25091-0 – ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE’s Blueprint for water resources (2012, 80
pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-27206-6 – ISSN 17255619)
LIFE and coastal management (2012, 96 pp. –
ISBN 978-92-79-25091-0– ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE and Resource Efficiency: Decoupling
Growth from Resource Use (2011, 72 pp. – ISBN
978-92-79-19764-2 – ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE and local authorities: Helping regions and
municipalities tackle environmental challenges
(2010, 60 pp.– ISBN 978-92-79-18643-1 – ISSN
1725-5619)
Other publications
Best LIFE Environment projects 2013 (2014, 68 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-40171-8)
Environment Policy & Governance Projects
2013 compilation (2014, 134 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-37961-1)
Information & Communication Projects 2013
compilation (2014, 12 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7937957-4)
Best LIFE Environment projects 2012 (2013, 48 pp.
– 978-92-79-32961-6)
Environment Policy & Governance Projects
2012 compilation (2013, 157 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-29479-2)
Information & Communication Projects 2012
compilation (2013, 14 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7929475-4)
Best LIFE Environment projects 2011 (2012, 24 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-28217-1)
Environment Policy & Governance Projects
2011 compilation (2012, 122 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-25247-1)
Water for life - LIFE for water: Protecting
Europe’s water resources (2010, 68 pp. – ISBN
978-92-79-15238-2 – ISSN 1725-5619)
Information & Communication Projects 2011
compilation (2012, 17 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7925248-8)
LIFE among the olives: Good practice in
improving environmental performance in the
olive oil sector (2010, 56 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-14154-6 – ISSN 1725-5619)
Best LIFE Environment projects 2010 (2011, 32 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-21086-0)
Getting more from less: LIFE and sustainable
production in the EU (2009, 40 pp. – ISBN 97892-79-12231-6 – ISSN 1725-5619)
Breathing LIFE into greener businesses: Demonstrating innovative approaches to improving
the environmental performance of European
businesses (2008, 60 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7910656-9 – ISSN 1725-5619)
Environment Policy & Governance Projects
2010 compilation (2011, 113 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-20030-4)
Information & Communication Projects 2010
compilation (2011, 19 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7920027-4)
Best LIFE Environment projects 2009 (2010, 32 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-16432-3)
A number of LIFE publications are available on the LIFE
website:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/
life/publications/lifepublications/
index.htm
A number of printed copies of
certain LIFE publications are
available and can be ordered
free-of-charge at:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/
life/publications/order.htm
113
KH-AJ-15-001-EN-N
LIFE
“L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environnement” / The financial instrument for the environment
The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action
Period covered 2014-2020
EU funding available approximately €3.46 billion
Allocation of funds
Of the €3.46 billion allocated to LIFE, €2.59 billion are for the Environment subprogramme, and €0.86 billion are for the Climate Action sub-programme. At least €2.8 billion (81% of the total
budget) are earmarked for LIFE projects financed through action grants or innovative financial instruments.
About €0.7 billion will go to integrated projects. At least 55% of the budgetary resources allocated to
projects supported through action grants under the sub-programme for Environment will be used for projects
supporting the conservation of nature and biodiversity. A maximum of €0.62 billion will be used directly by DG
Environment and DG Climate Action for policy development and operating grants.
Types of projects
Action Grants for the Environment and Climate Action sub-programmes are available for
the following:
> “Traditional” projects – these may be best-practice, demonstration, pilot or information, awareness and
dissemination projects in any of the following priority areas: LIFE Nature & Biodiversity; LIFE Environment
& Resource Efficiency; LIFE Environmental Governance & Information; LIFE Climate Change Mitigation;
LIFE Climate Change Adaptation; LIFE Climate Governance and Information.
> Preparatory projects – these address specific needs for the development and implementation of Union
environmental or climate policy and legislation.
> Integrated projects – these implement on a large territorial scale environmental or climate plans or
strategies required by specific Union environmental or climate legislation.
> Technical assistance projects – these provide financial support to help applicants prepare integrated projects.
> Capacity building projects – these provide financial support to activities required to build the capacity of
Member States, including LIFE national or regional contact points, with a view to enabling Member States
to participate more effectively in the LIFE programme.
Further information More information on LIFE is available at http://ec.europa.eu/life.
How to apply for LIFE funding
The European Commission organises annual calls for proposals. Full
details are available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/life.htm
Contact
European Commission – Directorate-General for the Environment – B-1049 Brussels ([email protected]).
European Commission – Directorate-General for Climate Action – B-1049 Brussels ([email protected]).
European Commission – EASME – B-1049 Brussels ([email protected]).
Internet http://ec.europa.eu/life, www.facebook.com/LIFE.programme, twitter.com/life_programme, www.flickr.com/
life_programme/.
LIFE Publication / LIFE and Climate change adaptation
doi:10.2779/429595
Climate change
adaptation
LIFE
Environment
& Climate
Action
Environment
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION
ENVIRONMENT DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
LIFE (“The Financial Instrument for the Environment and Climate Action”) is a programme launched by the European
Commission and coordinated by the Environment and Climate Action Directorates-General. The Commission has
delegated the implementation of many components of the LIFE programme to the Executive Agency for Small and
Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).
The contents of the publication “LIFE and Climate change adaptation” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the
institutions of the European Union.
Authors: Gabriella Camarsa (Environment expert), Justin Toland, Jon Eldridge, Stephen Nottingham, Tim Hudson,
Wendy Jones, Kirsten Heppner, João Silva (NEEMO GEIE), Christophe Thévignot (NEEMO GEIE, Communications Team
Coordinator). Managing Editor: Hervé Martin (European Commission, Environment DG, LIFE Environment Unit).
LIFE Focus series coordination: Simon Goss (LIFE Communications Coordinator), Valerie O’Brien (Environment DG,
Publications Coordinator). Technical assistance: Iva Rossi, Inta Duce, Laura Nocentini, Anastasia Koutsolioutsou,
Aixa Sopeña, Christina Marouli (NEEMO GEIE). The following people also worked on this issue: Humberto Delgado Rosa (DG-CLIMA Director of Mainstreaming Adaptation & Low Carbon Technology Directorate), Juan Pérez Lorenzo (DG-CLIMA - Policy Officer – Adaptation Unit) Jelena Miloš (DG-CLIMA – Policy Officer - Adaptation Unit), Nancy
Saich (EIB - Senior climate adviser - Environment, Climate and Social Office), James Ranaivoson (EIB - Managerial
advisor – Structured Finance for Climate Action & Environment), Santiago Urquijo-Zamora, Alexis Tsalas, François
Delcueillerie, (Environment DG, LIFE Environment Unit). Production: Monique Braem (NEEMO GEIE). Graphic design:
Daniel Renders, Anita Cortés (NEEMO GEIE). Photos database: Sophie Brynart (NEEMO GEIE). Acknowledgements:
Thanks to all LIFE project beneficiaries who contributed comments, photos and other useful material for this report.
Photos: Unless otherwise specified; photos are from the respective projects. Cover photo: LIFE08 ENV/LV/000451.
Photos banners inside: p.18: LIFE11 ENV/ES/000615/Quintas Fotografos, LIFE09 ENV/DK/000366/Kenneth Lovholt,
p.30: LIFE10 ENV/FR/000215, p.44: LIFE09 ENV/ES/000441, LIFE08 ENV/GR/000570/S.Stamatiadis, p.58: LIFE13
BIO/ES/000094/Toni Llobet, LIFE13 ENV/ES/000255, p.71: LIFE06 ENV/DK/000229, LIFE02 ENV/A/000282, p.90:
LIFE13 NAT/IT/001013, LIFE04 NAT/E/000031/NEEMO EEIG/A. Darquistade, p.100: LIFE04 NAT/DE/000028/DREWS
Hauke, LIFE07 NAT/P/000654/CUNHA Rui.
HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS
Free publications:
• via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu);
• at the European Commission’s representations or delegations. You can obtain their contact details on the Internet
(http://ec.europa.eu) or by sending a fax to +352 2929-42758.
Priced publications:
• via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu).
Priced subscriptions (e.g. annual series of the Official Journal of the European Union and reports of cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union):
• via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union (http://publications.europa.eu/
others/agents/index_en.htm).
Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union.
Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11
(*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed.
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015
ISBN 978-92-79-52307-6
ISSN 2314-9329
doi:10.2779/429595
© European Union, 2015
Reuse authorised.
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Foreword
T
he new global climate deal to be agreed in Paris is a unique opportunity to accelerate the transition
to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies worldwide. This requires ambitious action to both reduce
emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
ADA P TAT I O N
Photo: European Commission
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Miguel Arias Cañete
EU Commissioner for
Climate Action and Energy
The EU has made a clear pledge to contribute to the global effort. We are committed to a binding, economywide greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
We also want the Paris Agreement to provide a long-term vision to enhance climate-resilient sustainable
development. The impacts of climate change are already widespread and are likely to increase. In Europe, key
climate risks include increased economic losses and a growing number of people affected by flooding, heat
waves, droughts or forest fires.
Adaptation action can address many of these risks. For instance, it has been estimated that each euro spent
on flood protection could save six euros in damage costs.
Adaptation also means taking advantage of opportunities that may arise. As these pages show, this relatively
new field offers room for creativity and for developing innovative approaches and technologies, which often
bring co-benefits.
As President Juncker recently noted in his State of the Union 2015 speech, the battle against climate change
will be won or lost on the ground and in the cities where most Europeans live and work. Adaptation measures
will play an important role in this.
Action is needed at all levels – from local to international. The EU Adaptation Strategy, adopted in 2013, promotes adaptation action in all Member States to contribute to a more climate-resilient Europe. The strategy
focuses on three key objectives: promoting action by Member States; ‘climate-proofing’ action at EU level; and
better informed decision-making.
We are already making good progress. For instance, the number of Member States with a national adaptation
strategy has risen from 13 in 2013 to 20 today. The Mayors Adapt initiative is helping cities and towns across
the EU develop adaptation plans at the local level. The Climate-ADAPT platform is informing users about climate change adaptation, and work is progressing on knowledge gaps related to adaptation.
Adaptation to climate change, together with mitigation, has been included in all relevant EU funding programmes for 2014-2020, in line with our objective of spending at least 20% of the EU budget - as much as
€180 billion - on climate-related action.
This funding includes €864 million available through the LIFE sub-programme for Climate Action for projects
targeting both mitigation and adaptation efforts. The new round of funding builds on the €307 million that
the LIFE programme has already mobilised to advance climate change adaptation. This has supported actions
that range from strategic planning to specific measures in sectors such as agriculture, water management
and forestry.
The European Commission will report to the European Parliament and Council in 2017 on the implementation of the EU adaptation strategy. The potential revision of the strategy offers the opportunity to reinforce
certain aspects of key importance for the future. Lessons from LIFE projects included in this publication can
contribute to that process.
1
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CONTENTS
Foreword.............................................................................................1
3
I ntroduction
Adapting to climate change: EU action for a global
problem..................................................................................................3
58
forests
Looking after the long-term future of EU forest
resources............................................................................................58
LIFE helps Greek forests to cope
in a changing climate..................................................................67
LIFE and climate change adaptation.....................................7
Meeting adaptation challenges:
DG CLIMA’s perspective..............................................................12
Meeting adaptation challenges:
the EIB’s perspective....................................................................14
LIFE’s impact on adaptation....................................................16
P lanning
18
water
71
An introduction to water and climate change
adaptation..........................................................................................71
Implementing adaptive water management..................73
Here comes the flood..................................................................80
LIFE helps Riga plan for increased
flood risk.............................................................................................87
LIFE helps roll out adaptation plans and strategies...18
Developing an adaptation strategy for Cyprus............26
urban
30
Making cities and towns more climate resilient ..........30
Developing eco-corridors for improved
environmental resilience............................................................41
coastal
90
Stepping up to the climate change challenge...............90
biodiversity
100
Enabling biodiversity to adapt.............................................100
Project list...................................................................107
agriculture
44
Adapting agriculture for a sustainable future...............44
Demonstrating good practice
to farmers and policy-makers................................................56
2
Available LIFE Environment publications.........113
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I n t r o d u c tio n
Adapting to climate change:
EU action for a global problem
Photo: LIFE04 NAT/DE/000028
The success of EU climate policy requires an integrated approach to climate adaptation.
Mainstreaming adaptation into all relevant sectors is vital to this.
LIFE has shown how nature-based approaches to adaptation strengthen the resilience of ecosystems whilst increasing biodiversity
I
n his first State of the Union address, President
Juncker highlighted the need for the European
Union to push for an “ambitious, robust and binding” climate deal at the global COP21 summit in
Paris this December (see box - “The road to Paris”).
“My Commission will work to ensure Europe keeps
leading in the fight against climate change,” he
said.
covered EU policy on climate change mitigation
and the work of the LIFE programme in its implementation in a LIFE Focus brochure published at
the beginning of 2015. In this latest brochure, we
focus on LIFE and climate change adaptation.
The European Union is devoting at least 20% of its
budget from 2014-2020 to climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. We have already
The delayed impacts of past and current greenhouse gas emissions mean that even if global warming targets are achieved, adaptation
The EU climate change Adaptation
Strategy
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A global agreement to tackle climate change
The EU stresses that an increase in the global average temperature needs
to be kept below 2°C above the pre-industrial level in order to prevent the
worst impacts of climate change. Therefore, the EU supports a global, fair,
ambitious and legally-binding international treaty that will prevent global
warming from reaching dangerous levels. Ambitious action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and a clear pathway to achieving the below 2° objective will have to play a key role in the new agreement.
The EU further stresses that adaptation needs to be addressed with the
same priority and urgency as mitigation in a balanced agreement. This
agreement offers a unique opportunity to provide for renewed visibility on
the importance of adaptation and gives all parties a long-term vision on
adaptation.
The Environment Council conclusions adopted in September 2015 support
a balanced Paris Agreement including strong action to cut greenhouse gas
emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change as well as adequate
support for financing climate action.
measures will be necessary. The central plank of
EU policy in this area is the EU strategy on adaptation to climate change, which was adopted by the
European Commission in April 2013.
The Strategy aims to make Europe more climateresilient and takes a coherent approach by complementing the activities of Member States.
Environmental sensitivity to climate change
promotes adaptation action across the EU, enIt
suring that adaptation considerations are addressed in all relevant EU policies (mainstreaming), promoting greater coordination, coherence
and information-sharing.
The EU is promoting action by encouraging all
Member States to adopt a comprehensive national adaptation strategy. Through Mayors Adapt,
now incorporated into the New Covenant of Mayors for integrated climate and energy action, the
EU is encouraging a voluntary commitment for
cities (see pp. 30-39). The Strategy also outlines
the EU’s commitment to provide financial support
for adaptation through LIFE.
Member States are increasingly recognising that
adaptation is an iterative process and that learning from existing practices and new information
from research helps to improve adaptation interventions. Challenges in this regard include addressing knowledge gaps, such as on costs and
benefits of adaptation, local-level analyses and
risk assessments. The Strategy addresses key
knowledge gaps and also aims to refine and identify ways to address them. LIFE is recognised as
one of the relevant tools in this regard as well.
In addition, the European Commission and the
European Environment Agency (EEA) are improving access to information through Climate-ADAPT,
the European Climate Adaptation Platform that
serves as a ‘one-stop shop’ for adaptation information in Europe1.
Promoting adaptation in key vulnerable areas will
be achieved through mainstreaming adaptation
measures into EU policies and programmes, as a
way of ‘climate-proofing’ EU action. This includes
integrating adaptation under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Cohesion Policy and
ensuring more resilient infrastructure.
Implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy is
based on eight actions (see box).
How implementation is proceeding
Work is ongoing on all eight actions of the Strategy,
and results are beginning to show. To give a couple of examples, as part of the Adaptation Strategy
package the Commission provided guidelines to help
Member States formulate adaptation
strategies.
Copyright: European Environment Agency (EEA).
4
Source: ESPON Climate, 2011
1 http://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/
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Eight actions to implement the EU Adaptation Strategy
5. F urther develop Climate-ADAPT as the ‘onestop shop’ for adaptation information in
Europe
6. F acilitate the climate-proofing of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Cohesion
Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)
7. E
nsure more resilient infrastructure
8. P
romote insurance and other financial products
for resilient investment and business decisions
1. Encourage all Member States to adopt comprehensive adaptation strategies
2. P
rovide LIFE funding to support capacity
building and step up adaptation action in Europe (2014-2020)
3. Introduce adaptation in the Covenant of Mayors framework (2013/2014) (Mayors Adapt
and the New Covenant of Mayors))
4. B
ridge the knowledge gap
The EU Adaptation Strategy also proposes monitoring and evaluating the status and progress of climate
change adaptation in the EU. In 2017, the European
Commission will report to the European Parliament
and the Council on the state of implementation of
the EU Adaptation Strategy, and propose its review,
if needed.
Mainstreaming adaptation
The scale of the challenge presented by climate
change makes it imperative to mainstream climate
adaptation across sectors and funding mechanisms.
The AQUOR project aims to develop an adaptive strategy to support the sustainable
governance of upper Vicenza’s groundwater
Photo: LIFE10 ENV/IT/000380
To date, 20 Member States have developed a national adaptation strategy (compared with 13 NAS
in 2013), and several more are under preparation.
Mayors Adapt – the Covenant of Mayors Initiative
on Adaptation to Climate Change was launched in
March 2014. Cities signing up to the initiative commit to contribute to a more climate-resilient Europe
(i.e. the overall aim of the EU Adaptation Strategy),
to develop local adaptation strategies or to mainstream adaptation into relevant existing plans within
the first two years of signing and review the outcomes on a biannual basis.
In April 2014, the EEA published a report on National
adaptation policy processes in European Countries2.
This report found that adaptation has most often
been implemented by applying ‘soft measures’ (e.g.
mainstreaming); that project-based support has
been the most important financing mechanism for
implementing adaptation; and funds from government budgets for adaptation have been allocated
mainly to the water and agriculture sectors.
Water, agriculture and forestry are the sectors most
advanced in terms of implementing portfolios of adaptation measures at all administrative levels, notes
the EEA report, with biodiversity a sector where options were being identified at national level.
2 http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/national-adaptationpolicy-processes
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Mainstreaming adaptation through ESIF
There are opportunities to mainstream climate adaptation into all five European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF):
European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) - at least 5% of national
ERDF resources should be allocated to integrated actions for sustainable urban
development. This could help tackle climate challenges affecting urban areas.
Manchester City Council‘s ‘City Green Infrastructure Plan’ is one mainstreaming
example supported by ERDF under the 2007-2013 financial framework.
European Social Fund (ESF) - The ESF can support the labour force in
shifting to a low-carbon economy through training for the workforce and
the unemployed, creating networks of skilled advisers, supporting social
enterprises and devising curricula for green skills in vocational training.
The Cohesion Fund (CF) - The CF could be used to support a number of
climate adaptation measures, including ‘blue infrastructure’ to provide additional flood storage capacity and reduce overheating risks in urban areas.
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) - Climate adaptation can be mainstreamed into agriculture through Rural Development Programme (RDP) measures. In Austria, for instance, adaptation
has been addressed through the protection of biodiversity by conserving
hedgerows, environmentally sustainable farm operation through adapted
plant selection, and reduced pesticide inputs; in Scotland, the RDP includes
support for investments to improve the resilience of forest ecosystems.
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) - Support for planning
initiatives such as Marine Spatial Planning, Integrated Coastal Zone Management and sea-basin strategies can help to improve the climate change
resilience of fishing communities. EMFF can also support community-led local development that involves local approaches to adaptation. For instance,
where climate change impacts will lead to changes in fish stocks, local
development strategies could encourage diversification of fisheries and
aquaculture and the diversification of the local economy into other sectors.
Further examples of mainstreaming climate action into ESIF can be found
in a series of fact sheets 1.
1 Mainstreaming of climate action in the European Structural and Investment Funds
2014-2020; available at: http://ec.europa.eu/clima/publications/index_en.htm
Many mainstreaming initiatives in national sector
legislation are driven by EU legislation that recognises adaptation. For example the Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive have led to EU Member
States making legislative changes that have taken
into account the need to adapt to climate change.
As part of the Adaptation Strategy package the Commission has provided guidance on how to further
integrate adaptation into the CAP, Cohesion Policy
and the CFP. This guidance aims to help managing authorities and other stakeholders involved in
programme design, development and implementation during the 2014-2020 budget period. Member
States and regions can also use funding under the
2014-2020 Cohesion Policy and CAP to address
knowledge gaps, to invest in the necessary analyses,
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risk assessments and tools, and to build up capacities for adaptation.
In February 2013, based on a Commission proposal,
the European Council concluded that “climate action
objectives will represent at least 20% of EU spending
in the period 2014-2020 and therefore be reflected
in the appropriate instruments to ensure that they
contribute to strengthen energy security, building a
low-carbon, resource-efficient and climate-resilient
economy that will enhance Europe’s competitiveness
and create more and greener jobs.”
The European Structural and Investment Funds
(ESIF)3 represent more than 43% of the EU budget in
the period 2014-2020. ESIF thus have a significant
role to play in reaching the “at least 20%” overall
target for climate related expenditure and contributing to Europe’s transition to a low-carbon and
climate-resilient economy. To make this happen, climate action has been included in the relevant legal
basis for ESIF, such as the Common Provisions Regulation4 (CPR), a number of fund-specific regulations,
implementing regulations and acts.
There is scope for a wide range of climate action,
both mitigation and adaptation, across all the 11
thematic objectives and the corresponding investment and Union priorities. More importantly, there
are two thematic objectives that are exclusively
dedicated to contributing towards the achievement of climate change objectives i.e. thematic
objective 4 supporting the shift towards a lowcarbon economy in all sectors and thematic objective 5 promoting climate change adaptation, risk
prevention and management.
Preliminary data indicates that the overall share
of climate-related expenditure in the indicative
ESIF budget for 2014-2020 will be about 25%. This
money will support such climate change-related actions as development of renewable energy sources,
energy efficiency, sustainable urban mobility, climate
adaptation measures, green infrastructure, ecosystem services, sustainable agriculture and forestry,
climate-related innovation, business development
and green jobs.
3 include five funds: the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), Cohesion Fund (CF), European Social Fund (ESF), European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and
the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
4 Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament
and the Council of 17 December 2013.
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LIFE and climate change
adaptation
LIFE has been one of the main funding sources for demonstration projects that have
facilitated the implementation and enforcement of EU climate adaptation policy and mainstreamed adaptation in many other policy areas.
S
ince 2000, the LIFE programme has cofunded nearly 150 projects that focus –
in whole or part - on climate change adaptation.
These have mobilised some €307 million for climate change adaptation (with an EU contribution
of €152 million), a figure that excludes the many
millions spent, for instance, on agri-environmental
measures relevant to adaptation but not branded
as such, or on green infrastructure to increase ecosystem resilience.
LIFE has helped mainstream adaptation in many
policy areas, bringing stakeholders together to
work on common objectives and raising awareness
on adaptation issues. The programme has been
most active in mainstreaming climate adaptation
in water policy (43 projects), including a strong
f ocus on water scarcity and floods; in agriculture
(25 projects); and in creating resilient urban and
peri-urban areas (22 projects).
Adaptation projects have been led mainly by NGOs,
universities and local and regional authorities,
and they have involved as stakeholders farmers,
agronomists, forest managers, citizens, businesses
and public authorities.
There has been a significant increase in the number of
LIFE climate change adaptation projects since climate
change became a policy priority under the LIFE+ programme (2007-2013). The first LIFE+ projects mainly
tested single solutions and defined best practice for
adaptation. More recent projects have tended to adopt
integrated or ecosystem-based approaches to flood
Photo: LIFE10 NAT/IT/000241
LIFE is adopting nature-based solutions to increase resilience
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management, agriculture and urban resilience. There
have been fewer LIFE Nature & Biodiversity projects
than LIFE Environment projects that have directly targeted climate adaptation.
Integrated Projects (see box) and the Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF – see. pp. 13-14).
The implementation of adaptation policies and
measures is still at a relatively early stage. This,
together with the need to maintain political commitment to adaptation and related expenditure,
makes it imperative to understand which adaptation actions work in which contexts and to know the
reasons why. LIFE 2014-2020 funding can support
projects that help monitoring and assess the progress of adaptation measures. To do this, proxies
for measuring ‘reduced vulnerability’ or ‘increased
resilience’ will have to be developed. Projects can
also help in developing indicators that provide evidence that a certain condition exists or certain results have or have not been achieved.
Since 2007, nine LIFE projects have supported the
development of climate adaptation strategies or
plans (total budget: €16 million), including one project to develop a national adaptation strategy (for
Cyprus – see pp. 26-29). The majority of projects
have worked at sub-national level, helping to turn
strategies into action plans at regional or local level.
The current funding period offers significant scope
to finance projects that improve or extend best
practices developed by earlier LIFE projects in areas such as adaptation planning, forestry practices
or green/blue infrastructure. It can also address
the opportunities presented by newer developments such as nature-based approaches, ecosystem services, monitoring and measuring resilience.
Importantly, action grants for ‘traditional’ projects
are now supplemented by newer tools such as
LIFE projects have also focused on capacity building and providing tools for risk and vulnerability
assessments, modelling and monitoring. Adaptation planning should integrate mitigation and adaptation measures, rather than treating them as
distinct issues.
Strategies and planning
An important aspect of these LIFE projects has
been the involvement of stakeholders, which
should increase acceptance and implementation
of proposed adaptation measures. Future projects
could also involve stakeholders in monitoring and
reviewing measures.
In the current funding period, the LIFE sub-programme
for Climate Action can continue to support adaptation
planning at national, regional and local level.
Urban resilience
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/UK/000936/NEEMO EEIG/Donald Lunan
LIFE has trialled green roofs in Mediterranean and northern European countries
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The LIFE programme has co-funded 22 urban resilience projects since 2000 to the tune of €44
million. Spain, Italy, and France have been the recipients of most of this support. Beneficiaries in
Member States across the EU also could use LIFE
co-funding to demonstrate best practices and solutions for urban areas.
Since 1998 a small cluster of projects have demonstrated the adaptive potential of ‘green infrastructure’, including the ability of green roofs to
reduce storm water run-off and the positive effects
of requalifying green areas and creating green
belts and corridors in peri-urban areas. In recent
years, there has been a noticeable evolution in
the scope of LIFE projects funded, moving beyond
single solutions (e.g. a green roof or a sustainable
urban drainage system – SUDS) to integrated, ecosystem-based solutions for whole districts or even
whole cities. This has been achieved by integrating green and blue infrastructure in local planning,
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by creating collective participation and a sense of
responsibility, and by getting businesses on board.
With urban resilience as a funding priority for the
current period, there is an opportunity for new projects to build on these achievements by developing
and deploying innovative adaptation technologies
within the water, energy and construction sectors,
and increasing the focus on health-related issues.
There is also scope for capacity-building and increased stakeholder collaboration.
LIFE has supported the development of best practices in agriculture that help to increase resilience.
Since 2004, there have been nearly 30 adaptation projects in this sector, with a total budget of
€54 million. Many of these projects, particularly
those in Spain and Italy, have been closely linked
to the implementation of EU water policy. In tackling water scarcity issues, they have implemented
sustainable irrigation techniques that avoid overabstraction of groundwater and increase water
availability during the droughts and dry spells that
will be more frequent because of climate change.
A sizable cluster of projects have focused on demonstrating and disseminating resilient agricultural
practices such as no-tillage, crop rotation, use of
cover crops, afforestation and reduced grazing.
These methods increase soil fertility and reduce
soil erosion, thus increasing resilience. Some projects have even helped influence policy and led to
measures being included in Rural Development
Programmes. A great strength of LIFE is that projects actively engage with farmers; those featured
in this publication have provided training in climate
resilient agricultural techniques and built support
networks involving agronomists and farmers. The
demonstration effect has been visible in the use
of the same techniques elsewhere on participating farms or on neighbouring farms, even after the
projects have ended.
Despite these successes, more can be done in
other areas of agricultural practice. Few LIFE projects have explored pest control, intercropping or
the use of adapted crops, for example. Moreover,
LIFE projects have yet to focus on animal rearing
conditions or livestock diversification in the context
of climate change adaptation. LIFE could also apply research done by other programmes into the
effects of climate change on certain crops.
Photo: LIFE 08/ENV/GR/000554/EKBY Photo Archive/L. Logothetis
Agriculture
Climate change can increase the damage caused by domestic forest pathogens and pests
Forests
The LIFE programme has been an important source
of support for implementing forest adaptation actions. It has been involved in co-financing some of
the EU’s earliest forest adaptation work (some 20
projects in all) with a combined budget of €38 million. Projects have tackled the impacts of warmer
temperatures, especially forest fires in the Mediterranean region, changes in tree species composition, and biotic disturbance such as the spread of
pests and pathogens. They have also built capacity to adapt to climate change and raised awareness of the issue amongst specialist audiences
and the general public. Completed LIFE projects
have helped Member States to adopt forest management techniques that enable climate change
adaptation.
With its greater focus on climate action, the LIFE
Programme for 2014-2020 provides additional
opportunities for forest-related projects. The new
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eneration of projects could focus on tackling the
g
effects of atmospheric pollution, promoting adapted species compositions within forests and promoting advanced forest management to decrease
threats and improve responses. In addition to climate action grants for adaptation actions, the programme now has the potential to increase its impact via the NCFF, which could be used to support
projects that adopt ecosystem-based approaches
that enable forest managers to address identified
risks associated with current and projected impacts of climate change.
Water management and flooding
The impact of the Water Framework Directive, the
Floods Directive and the Water Blueprint Initiative,
policies that seek to mainstream climate adaptation, means that there have been more LIFE climate adaptation projects related to water than to
any other sector: 43 projects with a total budget of
€93 million. These projects are helping overcome
barriers to the implementation of EU water policy
where climate change adaptation has been mainstreamed.
Regarding water management, LIFE has been particularly good at funding projects that concern water scarcity issues, by developing modelling tools
or exploring different managed aquifer recharge
methods. It has also addressed water quality and
eutrophication issues and has been at the forefront
of promoting a water saving culture. More could be
achieved on determining variations in river flows.
Additional attention could be paid to identifying
and finding solutions for the effects that poorer
water quality exacerbated by climate change can
have on species composition, organism abundance
and productivity, and phenological shifts in some
freshwater ecosystems.
More LIFE projects have targeted flooding than any
other climate adaptation theme: 26 projects with a
budget of €63 million. LIFE has helped map flood
risks, provide early flood warnings and reduce the
impact of inundations through river and wetland
restoration. It has demonstrated the practical value and cost effectiveness of natural water retention measures. In so doing, projects have shown
ways of cost effectively implementing the Water
Framework and Floods Directives. In the future
more emphasis should be given to projects that
use ecosystem-based approaches and to increasing cross-border cooperation amongst Member
States (again possibly through Integrated Projects
and the NCFF).
Coastal areas
Europe’s coasts are amongst the areas most vulnerable to climate change and thus mainstreaming
adaptation measures is of particular importance,
especially considering the ecosystem services
that coastal areas provide. To date, 16 LIFE projects (budget: €35 million) have addressed climate
adaptation issues, including higher sea temperatures, sea level rise, coastal erosion and loss of
ecosystem services. Projects have demonstrated
risk mapping and modelling tools for assessing the
full extent of those impacts and ways of increasing
Photo: LIFE02 NAT/D/008456
LIFE has helped restore wetlands thus helping to regulate floods and droughts
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Future LIFE projects should focus on addressing
climate change needs through integrated coastal
management, maritime spatial planning and ecosystem-based approaches. The latter is of particular importance to those responsible for establishing priorities for coastal management.
Biodiversity
A small percentage of LIFE Nature & Biodiversity
funding has directly targeted climate change adaptation (15 projects with direct actions, with a total
budget of €41 million). Many more projects have
indirectly increased climate resilience by applying restoration measures, reducing fragmentation
and increasing connectivity in ecological networks
through the development of green infrastructure.
Habitat restoration actions have also made landscapes more permeable for species dispersion and
water flow, increased landscape diversity and restored the range of functions, services and goods
provided by ecosystems. This makes them more
resilient and more likely to withstand risks and vulnerabilities such as fires, droughts, floods and alien
species invasions.
Projects have increased spatial connectivity by
linking the habitats of threatened species (e.g.
brown bears, European mink, migratory fish and
amphibians) to strengthen populations through genetic exchange.
Other defragmentation actions have focused on
habitat types listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive. Projects have reconnected prime core habitats or linked core areas with newly restored sites
through green corridors and ecological stepping
stones. Examples include: reconnecting rivers with
floodplains; continuous grasslands; coastal meadows; networks of bogs and mires; old growth and
boreal forests.
To further help biodiversity adapt to climate change,
LIFE could in future fund more projects that trial
ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation and, in
particular, projects that trial methods that experts
can subsequently use to measure their impact on
Photo: LIFE98 NAT/S/005371/Alf Kjellström
the resilience of Europe’s coastal ecosystems. The
greatest strength of the programme has been to
fund projects that have tackled coastal erosion
and that have increased coastal resilience through
the restoration of coastal lagoons and wetlands
through the LIFE Nature strand.
LIFE has aimed to halt the Arctic fox’s decline and increase its
breeding population
increasing resilience. Aside from traditional LIFE
Nature and LIFE Climate Action projects, the NCFF
could be used for this end. The new funding facility can finance projects that use new approaches
to ecological restoration and/or conservation or innovative business models to protect biodiversity or
increase the resilience of communities.
Integrated Projects (IPs)
LIFE Climate Action Integrated Projects are jointly funded projects operating on a large territorial scale that aim to implement climate policy into
other policy areas. The first Climate Action Integrated Projects will be chosen from applications submitted in the 2015 LIFE call for proposals. There
is scope for Integrated Projects to address climate adaptation challenges
in all the thematic areas covered in this brochure. Some specific examples
are presented below:
Strategies and planning: IPs could potentially address transboundary issues relating to adaptation (e.g. relating to shared water basins).
Urban resilience: IPs could contribute to the goals of building capacity
and increasing stakeholder collaboration, as well as helping local and regional authorities to take an integrated approach to mitigation and adaptation action that starts at the planning phase.
Water management and flooding: Member States could propose Integrated Projects that address flood management in a cross-border river/
coastal area, thus creating synergies with the water, coastal and urban
policies.
Coastal areas: IPs could be a tool to enable Member States to address
transboundary hazards (disaster risk reduction) and to ensure coastal management is able to adapt effectively to climate change impacts.
Biodiversity: IPs could be used to implement climate change adaptation
strategies, plans or address specific climate change vulnerabilities and synergies with other environmental policies such as biodiversity.
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Meeting adaptation challenges:
DG CLIMA’s perspective
Humberto Delgado Rosa is Director responsible for Mainstreaming Adaptation & Low Carbon
Technology, DG CLIMA. In this interview, he talks about adaptation at Member State and
local level and his expectations of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris
in December 2015.
ational adaptation strategies are key
to improving the coherence of Member
States’ adaptation planning activities, policies and
measures. When the EU strategy on adaptation to
climate change was adopted in 2013, 15 Member
States had adopted national adaptation strategies.
Now 20 have done so, and there are more strategies in the pipeline. Due to the relative novelty of
the field, these strategies are quite heterogeneous
and some are already in the process of being revised and improved.
These achievements demonstrate Member States’
commitment to adaptation despite the challenges
existing in this sector. We are making progress in the
implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy as a
whole and getting closer to our goal of having national adaptation strategies in all EU Member States
by 2017.
There are numerous tools that are used to achieve
this goal. They include the upgraded European Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-ADAPT), the
highly successful urban initiative on adaptation
Mayors Adapt, and the LIFE Programme, of course,
for which two calls for proposals have already
been published under the new Climate Action subprogramme. Work is also being done as part of the
research framework programme Horizon 2020: climate-related expenditure should exceed 35% of the
programme’s total budget. In addition, a large share
of the European Structural and Investment Funds
(ESIF) are being invested in climate change mitigation and adaptation. At least 20% of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 must be
earmarked for climate action, opening up substantial
sources of financing for climate adaptation.
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Photo: European Commission
“N
Humberto Delgado Rosa
A joint effort
The Commission is engaging with Member States to
share knowledge and best practices. In collaboration
with DG RTD, the Joint Research Centre, the European Environment Agency and the Member States,
several knowledge gaps have been identified where
more research and development are needed. These
areas include information on damage costs and
costs and benefits of adaptation, regional and locallevel analyses and risk assessment frameworks,
linking adaptation knowledge and decision-making,
and developing the means to monitor and evaluate
adaptation efforts. Knowledge gaps are fed into the
calls for research projects under the Horizon 2020
programme. Similarly, LIFE will be used as the ideal
tool to test, pilot or demonstrate adaptation actions.
Adaptation has been successfully mainstreamed into
a number of EU policies. Mainstreaming is one of the
key elements in the national adaptation strategies
of Member States. However, it is an ongoing process.
We are now turning our attention to vulnerable sectors such as energy, transport, health, and measures
such as ‘green’ and ‘grey’ infrastructure. Moreover,
climate change impacts have to be taken into account to a greater extent in disaster insurance, a
powerful tool to induce adaptation measures.
The role of LIFE
The LIFE Programme plays a crucial role in tackling
climate adaptation. LIFE covered climate-related topics well before the creation of the sub-programme
for Climate Action, funding projects in areas such as
water, coastal management and adaptation planning. Cyprus, for instance, received financing to develop a national adaptation strategy (see pp.26-29).
Under the new LIFE programme 2014-2020, funding
is available in the form of both ‘traditional’ as well as
newly introduced ‘integrated’ projects to tackle the
priorities identified in the EU Adaptation Strategy.
As a new addition to our toolkit, integrated projects
are designed to facilitate the implementation of adaptation strategies on a significant cross-sectoral
and geographical scale.
In the current LIFE funding period, around €190 million is earmarked for increasing resilience to climate
change up to 2017, with a similar amount expected
for the period 2018-2020. Besides vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies, the focus will
be on vulnerable areas indicated in the EU Adaptation Strategy: cross-border flood and coastal management, urban environment, mountain and island areas,
water management and drought-prone areas.
Moreover, urban adaptation and green infrastructure
will increasingly be the centre of attention. For instance, part of the first LIFE call last year was successfully geared towards urban adaptation, reflecting the fact that 75% of European citizens live in
urban areas. Many of the future LIFE projects may
have this urban dimension, with several of them also
including green approaches in the urban context.
Nature-based approaches are not a ‘silver bullet’,
but green infrastructure is often cost effective and
delivering multiple benefits.
The recently launched Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF), within the LIFE Programme, illustrates
DG CLIMA’s wish to actively involve the private sector
in adaptation efforts. This financial instrument, devel nvironment and the
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Photo: LIFE13 NAT/SE/000116/Länsstyrelsen i Jämtlands län
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LIFE funding has helped mainstream climate change adaptation in the EU water policy
European Investment Bank (EIB), supports ecosystem-based approaches to biodiversity conservation
and climate change adaptation. Projects financed by
the NCFF will combine a strong impact on resilience
and adaptation capacity with innovative financing
options, demonstrating that adaptation efforts can
go hand-in-hand with creating revenues or cost savings. It will moreover leverage private financing to
promote adaptation and biodiversity goals.
Strengthening the role of adaptation
All these tools are contributing to climate adaptation
in the Member States and beyond. And hopefully, so
will the United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Paris later this year. Adaptation should play an increasingly important role, as all countries, rich or poor, need
to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.
The 2015 Conference represents an opportunity to
strengthen and improve provisions for and the commitments of all parties to continue adaptation efforts, cooperate and share information, and further
monitoring, evaluation and reporting. However, we
need to keep in mind that adaptation measures are
also being implemented outside the Convention, so
that we do not duplicate existing efforts.
It goes without saying that adaptation is not an alternative to mitigation. In fact it can reinforce awareness of just how crucial mitigation is, since adaptation would be powerless to prevent catastrophic
climate change if emissions targets are not implemented. The best way to adapt is to control climate
change, first and foremost. Unfortunately, climate
change is happening, and we need to tackle mitigation and adaptation together, to achieve the best
possible outcome”.
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Meeting adaptation challenges:
the EIB’s perspective
Nancy Saich is senior climate adviser at the European Investment Bank’s Environment,
Climate and Social Office. In this interview, she discusses the bank’s role in climate change
adaptation.
“T
he EIB finances climate adaptation through
projects that provide adaptation benefits to
cities, communities or businesses. We also finance
adaptation in projects themselves, making them
more resilient to climate change impacts. In addition, we are funding technical assistance support.
Financing adaptation and accounting for it is part
of our job as a bank. We are at the beginning of a
major transition: in five to ten years, this kind of
thinking will be commonplace.
Mainstreaming climate
adaptation really means
thinking about the climate change impacts
on our projects, on our
promoters, on our internal processes and seeing
how we can be proactive in trying to increase climate resilience. It also means making sure that
we share best practices and knowledge with partners, such as DG CLIMA, and with our colleagues
in other EU finance institutions. To this end, we
participate in a working group on climate adaptation involving all EU finance institutions.
After a public consultation, which included numerous questions on adaptation, the EIB is planning
to publish its new Climate Action Strategy later
this year. This will give us a much more specific
work plan, which will be rolled out across all parts
of the bank.
Screening of projects is an important part of the
mainstreaming process. One of the challenges is
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Photo: EIB Photolibrary, Graphic Team
Mainstreaming
adaptation
Nancy Saich - senior climate adviser in the EIB
how to deal with current projects that have not
incorporated climate change impacts into their
thinking. As well as helping those projects adapt,
we will help promoters, authorities and clients
take climate change adaptation into account in
the planning of future projects.
We also need to do upstream work. Often the best
way to do that is with Commission and EU funding. A good pipeline of projects from another programme, for example, could benefit from blending financing options, perhaps using some of the
grant money from the Commission to cover any
extra adaptation costs or measures included in
the project.
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Uncertainty is often cited as a reason for inaction.
Climate adaptation is not something that can be
left to the future. We have to learn how to make
decision pathways that incorporate uncertainty.
Take sea-level rise, for instance: we know it will
happen, but not how fast. There are many examples in coastal defence where some decisions
have to be taken now, but others can be left for
the future, provided that the possibility to adjust
the project is built in. This flexibility avoids the
danger of channelling all adaptation efforts into
one type of activity that may not be the right solution in the future.
Although climate data has become much more
useable, it still needs to be translated in a way
that decision-makers can understand. In this context, it can be useful to show that there are likely
going to be changes, which will make weather
events more extreme and more frequent, explaining what some of those scenarios might look like.
There is still an enormous need for knowledge
and capacity building. The European Climate Adaptation Platform Climate-ADAPT is a great basis
for this, and we have to promote this knowledge
sharing through Climate-ADAPT here in the bank,
in other organisations, in the consultancy industry, climate services, and the data-providing industry to close knowledge gaps.
Strategic goals
At €1.4 billion over the last two years, climate adaptation accounts for a small portion of the EIB’s
lending. We know more needs to be done: increasing adaptation lending and advice services inside
and outside the EU will be a main pillar of the new
climate strategy.
So far our financing efforts have largely focused
on water resource management and land use.
Other projects have dealt with forestry and flood
protection. There has also been a small amount
of adaptation in infrastructure projects, such as
counting the extra measures to make a road climate resilient.
The EIB and DG CLIMA have had many discussions
about ways of supporting SMEs to become climate
resilient through our financial intermediaries. This
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is absolutely critical: small businesses are highly
vulnerable to extreme weather events.
We also need to finance adaptation in major
sectors such as energy, transport, industry and
R&D, including addressing cross-sectoral issues.
This is where the urban dimension comes in. By
building out from sectors where we have already
done a lot of work, we should have a clearer picture of how to address cross-sectoral climate
vulnerabilities.
In future, mainstreaming adaptation into water
resource management, land use, food production,
and urban projects will be important. We would
like to see more projects being put forward which
truly take climate risk and vulnerability assessment into account or where the EIB can provide
the support necessary to incorporate that into
projects, regardless of the sector.”
NCFF: a new tool in the EIB’s arsenal
“The Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF) has been
designed to go into smaller
and riskier projects than the
EIB would traditionally fund.
The NCFF focuses exclusively
on bankable nature-based
projects for climate adaptation that can either create
revenue or save costs. For
instance, instead of building
grey infrastructure for flood
protection, the NCFF would
finance a nature-based solution. Using market-based instruments, this
innovative approach works in a different way to project grants, although
the possibility to blend funding options could still apply.
Photo: EIB Photolibrary, Graphic Team
Managing uncertainty
|
Clearly, when something is based on nature, thinking has to be long term,
patience is required. There are numerous other benefits that may or may
not be monetised. All of this will make these kinds of projects a little
more complex to appraise. The aim with nature-based solutions is to
think about certain business models that will provide revenues, such as
ecotourism, for example.
Once a demonstration has been successful in one place or sector, we will
catalyse third-party – mainly private – investments. The main focus is on
replicability, catalytic effect and the idea that, after three years, there will
be numerous projects which have already demonstrated their value and
in which third parties can invest.”
James Ranaivoson, managerial advisor – Structured Finance for Climate
Action & Environment, EIB
15
LIFE’s impact on adaptation
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
16
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LI F E
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C H AN G E
Adaptation
Strategies & Plans
ADA P TAT I O N
Urban resilience
Agriculture
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
16 million
8 million
44 million
20 million
54 million
26 million
LIFE projects implemented green roofs
and lowered the urban heat-island
(UHI) effect in Belgian, Swedish,
Maltese, Spanish and UK cities
VULNERABILITY
AND RISKS
MONITORING
THE
ADAPTATION
CYCLE
planning
More than 25 projects have demonstrated farming techniques that have
helped EU farms adapt to climate
change
IMPLEMENTATION
LIFE funding has:
Helped Cyprus adopt its National
Adaptation Plan
Helped authorities in Italy, Poland
and Finland develop local strategies
and plans
Helped projects develop modelling
tools for decision-makers
l
l
l
LIFE has spent 27
million euros on blue
infrastructure such as:
SUDS, open storm water
systems, rain gardens
32 million euros have been used to
train farmers on adaptive cultivation
practices
All projects have helped build
decision makers’ capacity to
deal with adaptation
Beneficiaries
l
l
l
l
l
Local authority
N
GO-Foundation
Public enterprise
R
egional authority
Research institute
l
l
ME Small and
S
medium-sized
enterprise
University
Green and blue infrastructure has
featured in all urban and peri-urban
resilience projects. These projects have
helped boost biodiversity and ecosystem services
countries Benefitting
countries Benefitting
CY
1
IT
2
FI
4
PO
2
22 million euros have been invested to
make irrigation more efficient
BE
1
IT
5
ES
7
MT
1
FI
FR
1
3
SE
UK
2
2
LIFE projects have influenced policy;
measures have been included in
Rural Development Programmes
Future funding through NCFF
and traditional LIFE projects
countries Benefitting
ES
13
IT
4
FR
3
LT
1
GR
3
SE
1
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
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L I F E
C li m a t e
C H AN G E
ADA P TAT I O N
biodiversity
coastal
water
FORESTS
a n d
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
Total budget
EU contribution
38 million
20 million
95 million
45 million
35 million
19 million
44 million
20 million
41 LIFE nature projects have
targeted climate adaptation
LIFE has developed modelling tools to
assess and respond to water scarcity
LIFE has explored different managed
aquifer recharge methods
LIFE has reduced the incidence of
forest fires in the EU through mapping and modelling, training, knowledge transfer and awareness raising.
It has funded 12 projects with a
combined budget of nearly
16 million euros.
LIFE is one of the main EU financial
instruments supporting the adoption
and implementation of Integrated
Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).
It is developing best practices in
managing coastal zones
Through multinational
partnerships, LIFE is
fostering a water-saving
culture in the EU, getting
citizens involved
LIFE projects have developed
forest monitoring systems to
track changes in species distribution, taking bioclimatic region and
local factors into account
21 million euros has been used to
finance forest management tools.
Projects have trained forest managers
and given them guidelines
Forest projects have
made EU forests more
resilient to otbreaks of
pests and pathogens
countries Benefitting
EE
1
HU
1
ES
6
IT
1
FI
2
PL
3
FR
1
SI
1
GR
4
63 million euros has been spent on
26 projects that focused on reducingflooding using natural water retention
measures.
LIFE has helped map flood risks, and
provide early flood warnings
countries Benefitting
AT
6
NL
2
BE
1
RO
1
DE
4
SE
1
DK
2
SK
2
ES
5
UK
3
GR
2
FI
1
Projects have addressed sea level rise
by tackling biodiversity loss and saltwater intrusion
30 million euros have been spent
combating coastal erosion through
innovative beach and dune management and restoration measures,
making dunes more resilient to
climate change
countries Benefitting
BG
1
IT
4
HU
1
FR
1
DE
1
LV
1
IT
8
MT
1
ES
4
UK
4
FIN
1
LV
1
Projects have increased spatial
connectivity by linking the habitats of
threatened species (e.g. brown bears,
European mink, migratory fish and
amphibians) to strengthen populations
through genetic exchange
Projects have reconnected prime core
habitats such as rivers with floodplains;
continuous grasslands; coastal meadows; networks of bogs and mires; and
boreal forests
countries Benefitting
BE
1
IT
1
CY
1
PT
1
ES
2
SE
3
FI
1
SI
1
GR
1
UK
1
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LIFE ENVIRONMENT
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ADA P TAT I O N
P lanning
LIFE helps roll out adaptation
plans and strategies
The LIFE programme is contributing to the process of drafting climate change adaptation
strategies and helping plan effective responses at regional and local levels.
T
he EEA’s 2012 report, Urban adaptation to
climate change in Europe, notes that “taking
a place-based approach to adaptation policies is a
way to further policy integration and coherence...
Urban adaptation to climate change is a task that
concerns all government levels - from local to
European. While municipalities and regions focus
on the implementation of place-based adaptation
measures, national and European governments
should have a supporting role.”1
The EEA report notes that “regional governments
play an important role when adaptation issues
exceed municipal boundaries”. However, there are
also limitations to regional governance – regions
lack resources and influence in a number of Member States. Thus, the EEA report stresses the fact
that “national governments provide the crucial link
between EU priorities and local adaptation action”.
1 http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/urban-adaptation-toclimate-change
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000138/Union of the Baltic Cities
Stakeholders working on a peer review of climate reports
National governments can provide a strategic framework. They can climate-proof national legislation and
policy and mainstream adaptation into different areas whilst ensuring that national policies are also
coherent and supportive for local adaptation. They
also play a crucial role as supporters and enablers of
local and regional strategies and action.
EU Member States are encouraged to adopt, implement and review adaptation strategies. As Figure 1
shows, they are at different stages in the process
of adoption and implementation. As of June 2015,
some 20 EU Member States had successfully
adopted a climate change adaptation strategy.
What makes a good strategy?
In 2013, the European Commission produced a set
of Guidelines on developing adaptation strategies2
as a first response to the barriers to the uptake of
2 http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/adaptation/what/docs/
swd_2013_134_en.pdf
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LIFE ENVIRONMENT
The Commission, together with the adaptation
steering group composed of Member State officials
and a diverse range of stakeholders identified aspects of good adaptation and limiting factors that
can impede successful adaptation (see Table 1).
These were taken into consideration in the six steps
to drafting a national adaptation strategy detailed
in the 2013 guidelines (see Figure 1).
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Table 1: Current efforts in adaptation policy-making
Aspects of good adaptation
Limiting factors
Sectoral focus
Lack of consideration of cross-border
impacts
Mainstreaming
Need for detailed risk and vulnerability
assessments
Stakeholder involvement
Lack of concrete national adaptation
plans
Communication and awarenessraising
Lack of monitoring and evaluation
An evolving process (review and
update strategies)
Lack of funding
pLanning
daptation strategies at national level. The guidea
lines build on and aim to make more operational
the Adaptation Support Tool, a key feature of the
Climate-ADAPT portal.
|
Figure 1: Six steps to drafting a national adaptation strategy
• Obtain high-level support
• Set up the process (establish a core team for adaptation; liaise with other relevant administrative bodies; identify affected stakeholders and involve them in the adaptation process)
• Estimate human and financial resources needed and identify potential sources of funding
for the long term
• Collect information (get a first overview on actual and potential future climate change-related effects; identify ongoing activities with relevance for adaptation; explore good practices
within or outside the country)
• Communicate and raise awareness (clarify the terminology; communicate climate change
and the need for adaptation)
• Analyse how past weather events have affected your country
• Undertake a climate change risks and vulnerability assessment
• Take transboundary issues into account
• Develop an approach for addressing knowledge gaps and for dealing with uncertainties
• Select your country’s main concerns and set your strategic direction
• Collect appropriate adaptation options given your country’s main concerns
• Explore good practices and existing measures
• Describe adaptation options in detail
• Assess possible options in terms of time, cost, benefits and efforts
• Assess cross-cutting issues, trade-offs and synergies of adaptation options
• Prioritise adaptation options and select preferred ones
• Prepare a strategy document and get political approval
• Identify and make use of entry points for adaptation into existing instruments and/or create
new instruments for adaptation (mainstreaming) (identify key instruments for integrating
adaptation; determine the need for action with respect to modifying existing instruments;
establish new instruments)
• Seek agreements with stakeholders responsible for implementation
• Develop an action plan
• Develop appropriate M&E provisions for both adaptation policy objectives and selected
adaptation options
• Identify indicators
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Photo: LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000141/University of Helsinki/Juh Aalto
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Vaccia carried out vulnerability assessments of key ecosystem goods and services
The LIFE programme has supported fewer projects
to develop climate change adaptation strategies
and plans than their climate change mitigation
equivalents. This is in part because the concept of
mitigation has been established in public discourse
for longer; and partly because it is less straightforward to quantify an increase or decrease in vulnerability than it is to monitor CO2 emissions.
Those LIFE projects that have been funded in this
area have, however, made a significant contribution to the development of adaptation strategies
and their subsequent implementation. Of particular
note is the CYPADAPT project in Cyprus, the only
occasion on which LIFE co-funding has been used
to draft a national adaptation strategy (see pages
26-29).
Finnish pioneers
Finland was the first country in the European Union to adopt a national strategy for adaptation to
climate change, back in 2005, as an independent
element of the wider National Energy and Climate
Strategy. Highlighting the value of sectoral focus,
the strategy was developed by several ministries
in partnership and indeed, the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
also have their own sector-specific strategies as a
subset of the national strategy.
In 2007, Finland secured funding for four LIFE
projects that in different ways contributed to the
implementation of the strategy. According to Pekka
Hänninen, external monitor for each of the four
projects, “One can say that the projects VACCIA, Julia 2030 and CCCRP were more or less around the
20
implementation of this strategy.” The Finnish part
of the fourth project, CHAMP, “also had something
to do with the national strategy, but the main focus
was more of a European dimension, involving partners from Germany, Italy and Hungary,” he adds.
CHAMP set out to develop integrated management
systems (IMS) to improve local and regional competence to deal with climate change and, in particular, to improve cross-sectoral coordination at local
and regional level. The project established training
hubs in eight countries and representatives from
58 local and sub-regional authorities were trained
to use the IMS. The revision of the NAS, the National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change 2022,
has recently resulted in the publication of a new
NAS in November 2014, known as the National Adaptation Programme.
VACCIA provides useful models for
planners
Finland’s climate change strategy “describes the
impacts of climate change and potential adaptation measures for each sector for a period extending until 2080,” explains Irina Bergström of the
Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), who was responsible for the synthesis and dissemination of
the VACCIA project. The experts from SYKE who
helped develop the national strategy were also involved in VACCIA, thus ensuring that this LIFE project incorporated the basic principles of the strategy and was designed so that results could be used
in further strategic planning.
The project team developed several mathematical
modelling systems for the assessment of changes,
thresholds, and adaptation measures for different
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
VACCIA’s results have been used in administrative
planning and in subsequent projects. It was mentioned and used as background in the updated
adaptation (2011-2012) action plan for implementing Finland’s adaptation strategy. Findings
of VACCIA’s synthesis report of Finland’s climate
change adaptation research were included in the
national ISTO programme, whilst the project’s results were used in the revision of the sector specific strategies for agriculture and forestry in 2013.
The Finnish-Chinese cooperation project CLIMES
(2012-2014) had its roots partly in VACCIA and
was conducted partly in the same study areas.
This project looked at landscape-scale processes
and adaptation options for two key ecosystem
services/sectors - water services and soil/carbon
sequestration.
In addition, local and national media coverage of
the project helped raise public awareness of the
future changes demanding adaptation. Results of
the VACCIA project are included in Climateguide.
fi, the web portal on climate change for Finnish
citizens.
LIFE builds a climate portal
for Finland
“The importance of communication was recognised in Finland’s National Strategy for Adaptation
to Climate Change, but at that time (2005) there
were no plans to develop a national climate portal,” explains Sanna Luhtala, who coordinated the
Climate Change Community Response Portal (CCCRP) project. The value of such a tool soon became
clear, however, and LIFE co-funding was secured in
the 2007 call by three research organisations: the
Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), the Finnish
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C li m a t e
C H AN G E
ADA P TAT I O N
Environment Institute (SYKE), and Aalto University
to develop climateguide.fi. Launched in June 2012,
the portal aims “to provide scientific background
information on all aspects of climate change (climate change as a phenomenon, Finland’s changing climate, impacts, mitigation, and adaptation)
as well as the tangible means for mitigation and
adaptation,” says Ms Luhtala (see box - Impact of
Finland’s climate portal).
pLanning
The scenarios and modelling tools were presented
and discussed with local and regional authorities
and citizens at a series of workshops and seminars.
The events were an opportunity for planning officers and local communities to consider the merits
of different adaptation options and solutions e.g.
for urban planning, northern tourism, fisheries, forestry and agriculture. “The researchers and the audience were thus able to have immediate feedback
on each other´s suggestions,” says Ms Bergström.
L I F E
The portal is more than just an awareness-raising
tool; it gives local and regional authorities all the
baseline information they need to decide which
measures are most needed to counteract the predicted impacts of climate change within their jurisdiction. The portal includes a Community Response
Impact of Finland’s climate portal
According to CCCRP project coordinator, Hanna Luhtala, “the number of users
of the Climateguide.fi portal has steadily increased since the launch, especially in the past year. In spring 2015 Climateguide.fi had approximately 3 000
weekly users with 9 000 weekly page views. Since the CCCRP project, the
Climateguide.fi portal has been continuously updated and developed.” New
elements include infographics, videos and climate news.
Ms Luhtala says that although the project did not measure the impact of
its awareness-raising activities,”the impact can be seen in the increasing
number of users and the positive feedback received from users directly,
through a user survey (in 2014) and user workshop.”
Significantly, three regional climate and energy strategies developed in
Finland since the launch of the portal - those of Southern Ostrobothnia,
Pirkanmaa and Savonia - have referenced climateguide.fi. The portal is
also mentioned in the 2014 National Adaptation Plan for Finland. Indeed,
climateguide.fi “is identified as the key method of communication of the
Plan,” says Ms Luhtala.
Photo: LIFE07 INF/FIN/000152/Finnish Meteorological Institute/Studio Halas
ecosystems, including forestry, agriculture, watersheds and fisheries. The modelling systems were
used to provide regional and national impact scenarios and predictions for each ecosystem.
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Wizard which helps local decision-makers (and
citizens) understand the main impacts of climate
change in different sectors, understand the possibilities for adaptation in municipalities, find the
most suitable set of actions and find case studies
and best practices.
to reduce CO2 emissions in the Helsinki metropolitan area. However, one part of the project focused
on the development of a climate change adaptation strategy for the city region.
“The first Finnish National Strategy for Adaptation
to Climate Change (2005) had few if any policies
or targets for the local or regional level adaptation. Therefore all the local/regional level adaptation actions and efforts in Finland so far have happened on a voluntary basis and from the initiative
of the local/regional level actors themselves,” says
Julia 2030 project coordinator, Susanna Kankaanpää, climate specialist with the Helsinki Region
Environmental Services Authority (HSY). “This was
also the case of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area adaptation strategy,” she adds.
Developing a plan for Helsinki region
The Julia 2030 project was mainly concerned with
climate change mitigation through plans and actions
Julia 2030
The Julia 2030 team used climate change scenarios developed by the Finnish meteorological
institute to underpin adaptation planning work.
Increased precipitation and storm events, increased mean temperature, more hot days and
sea level rise were identified as the most likely
climate change impacts for the Helsinki region.
In response to these, “policies (about 30 in all), were developed for seven
sectors,” says Ms Kankaanpää. These sectors were land use, building and
climate-proof local environment, transport and technical networks, water
and waste management, rescue services and safety, health care and social
services, and co-operation in the production and distribution of information.
“The renewed (2014) national adaptation plan3
now has also acknowledged the local/regional level adaptation but this has happened in my opinion
because of a bottom-up effect,” says Ms Kankaanpää, who adds: “much of the adaptation action has
happened at the local level so in many cases or
sectors you could say that the local level has been
driving the national level adaptation and not vice
versa (this is the case in other European countries
as well, for example Denmark). But now we have
legislation concerning adaptation so the situation
is changing.”
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000145
The cities, region and other actors used workshops as a means of defining
adaptation actions. Each actor then developed a number of actions. “Currently there are about 80 adaptation actions being implemented,” explains
Ms Kankaanpää, who notes that “economic impacts of the policies or actions have not been assessed yet: HSY is monitoring the implementation
and state of the policies (first report published this year) and is currently developing indicators to monitor adaptation. This will take some time however,
since it is pioneering work on monitoring and evaluation systems.”
She notes that the project had ‘few challenges’
carrying out its data analysis because Finland’s
knowledge base regarding climate change, scenarios and impacts was already strong. The project also drew on the know-how of urban planners
regarding potential impacts of climate change on
technical infrastructure and buildings (see box Julia 2030).
Local and regional experiences from
Poland
Poland adopted its national climate change adaptation strategy in 2013. To date LIFE has cofunded two projects in the country to support the
development of adaptation planning at county
and municipal level.
The first of these was DOKLIP, which ran from 2010
to 2015. “We wanted to raise the awareness of
3 The 2014 revision of the National Adaptation Strategy was
referred to as a National Adaptation Plan
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pLanning
local leaders and decision-makers and help them
to take actions that will lead to a larger number of
investments in climate change and more public initiatives,” explains Per Markus Törnberg, President of
the Foundation Institute for Sustainable Development and coordinator of the LIFE project. “We also
wanted to have an impact on the attitude of the
general public towards climate change issues.”
Also in Poland, Dr Wojciech Szymalski of the ISD
is coordinating the ongoing project LIFE_ADAPTCITY_PL , which is developing a climate change adaptation strategy for the city of Warsaw. The Polish
capital hopes to draw on lessons from Stuttgart’s
experience. “Stuttgart has been picked as a best
case scenario because it already has an adaptation
plan, one of the first in Europe,” explains Dr Szymalski. “The plan is also proposed on a very operational
level, so quite good recommendations can be taken
out for the cities in Poland. We hope to learn more
about Stuttgart’s city climate atlas and about the
city planning measures that resulted from the spatial planning processes,” he adds.
LIFE_ADAPTCITY_PL will prepare a climate map
for Warsaw, assess the state of the city’s ecosystem and prepare an intensive public consultation
of the strategy. Round tables will be held to coordinate the works of the many institutions that
will need to cooperate to prepare the adaptation
strategy. “Through district and special meetings
we aim to involve citizens as much as possible,
as well as various relevant groups within the city
(e.g. fire fighters, health care, small businesses),”
notes Dr Szymalski.
Photo: LIFE13 INF/PL/000039
To this end the LIFE Information & Communication
project organised a series of conferences, debates,
seminars and workshops for the various target audiences and produced analytical reports that were
distributed to the counties and other stakeholders.
A key element of the project focused on building
capacity amongst local decision-makers to enable
them to take practical local measures. Mr Törnberg
says that local leaders participating in the project’s
debates, workshops, conferences and study trip
have “received all the appropriate knowledge and
capacity needed to be better prepared for the adaptive measures...they might not have all the tools
and knowledge necessary to select the appropriate
measures themselves, but they will know how to
gain further tools, experience and knowledge and to
some extent even to select measures themselves.”
ADA P TAT I O N
Dr. Wojciech SzymalskI presenting LIFE_ADAPTCITY_PL at an
event
The project is also inviting citizens to propose local initiatives, large and small, related to water
management and air quality, such as local water
tanks or the creation of ‘fresh air’ corridors that
connect local parks and squares.
To build the city administration’s capacity to
implement the strategy, the project is planning
study visits to Helsinki (Finland), Ancona (Italy)
and Malmö (Sweden).
The project has proposed that two of the adaptation actions it develops will be included in the city
budget. Dr Szymalski says it is too early to say if
there will be a cost-benefit analysis of the adaptation measures: “First we need to find out what
kind of measures and then we will decide.”
He adds that the LIFE project is crucial to the
realisation of Poland’s climate change adaptation strategy. “Warsaw is the first city to prepare
an adaptation strategy and serves as the pilot
ground for methodology and approach for other
Polish cities.”
In this way, Poland is providing a tangible demonstration of one of the observations of the 2012
EEA report, namely that: “Supporting local adaptation measures provides national governments
the opportunity for policy learning. Neighbourhoods can be seen as testing grounds for policy
providing valuable lessons on the performance of
policy measures in different local contexts.”
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Developing municipal strategies in
Mediterranean countries
In Member States that have yet to devise or implement a national adaptation strategy, the importance
of bottom-up adaptation planning cannot be overstated. In Italy, LIFE co-funding helped municipalities take the lead well before the national adaptation
strategy was adopted in 2015.
ACT - Adapting to Climate change in Time - sought to
develop a process for creating an effective municipal
strategy for local climate adaptation measures. The
Italian-led project worked with three Mediterranean
municipalities – Ancona (Italy), Patras (Greece) and
Bullas (Spain). The project, which ran from 2010 to
2013, applied many of the principles that would subsequently be enshrined in the Commission’s 2013
guidelines for drafting a climate change adaptation
strategy, namely data collection, creating the baseline scenario, assessing vulnerabilities and risks,
identifying the adaptive measures, implementing
them and monitoring and evaluating their impact.
The project trialled a participatory approach to development of the adaptation plans, channeled through
a Local Adaptation Board (LAB) in each of the three
cities. Each LAB was essentially a multidisciplinary
working group that included representatives of a
number of relevant sectors, including environmental
protection, soil and water management, civil protection, utilities, industry, commerce and tourism.
In the first phase, the members of the LAB analysed
the issues, evaluated impacts and proposed measures. During the second phase, participation allowed
the creation of a consensus and strengthened the
capacity for territorial governance on climate change.
As a result of the project, the city of Bullas has
signed up to the Mayors Adapt Initiative, whilst Ancona is in the process of joining.
An Italian signatory city of Mayors Adapt, Bologna,
has used LIFE funding to pilot a participatory approach to the adoption of a Local Adaptation Plan
through the BLUE AP project. Coordinator Giovanni
The adaptation cycle
NGOs
Asses impacts
vulnerabilty and
risks
Training
centres
Monitor
and evaluate
adaptation
The
adaptation
cycle
Implement
measures
Civil society
Plan for
adaptation
Research
institutions
Private sector
National
and local
governments
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LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Stakeholder involvement has been essential to achieving BLUE AP’s goals (see box, Bologna participates).
The project developed an Adaptation Plan for Bologna that has defined measures to deal with potential drought and water shortages, urban heat
waves, and excessive rain and hydrogeological risk.
It also identified a series of ‘green’ and ‘blue’ best
practices that could be implemented in Bologna and
other Italian cities. “The ‘green’ measures are: periurban parks, green and cool roofs and green walls;
the ‘blue’ measures are: permeable pavements,
Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment by greywater separation and water savings,” says Mr Fini.
“Bologna is a vulnerable territory even though it may
not seem so,” says Mr Fini. “We are very happy with
the project results that allowed us to build up an in-
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tegrated approach to urban resilience. The Bologna
Adaptation Plan outlines the strategies capable of
confronting the critical situations highlighted in the
Local Climate Profile and identifies a series of good
practice actions.” The Adaptation Plan envisages that
all these actions will be completed by 2025.
pLanning
Fini says that Bologna has drawn inspiration from
the experiences of outputs of northern European
cities, Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Stockholm, London and The Hague (“whose representatives have
been part of the scientific board of the project).”
Mr Fini explains that, “coming from a very different political and climatic background, the biggest
challenge [for Bologna] has been to suit their approach to the local context, especially with regards to the administrative organisation and citizens’ awareness.”
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“The Plan is concerned not only with what to do but
also how to do it, and pays particular attention to
the interaction between different levels of government in the territory and private individuals who
will be directly involved in implementing the plan’s
steps,” says Mr Fini. This is particularly so with regards to measures addressing hydrogeological instability and water supply. “The implementation of
the steps outlined in the Adaptation Plan will also
occur through upgrading the territory’s regulation
and planning tools,” adds Mr Fini.
Conclusions
The project examples in this chapter show the
usefulness of LIFE as a tool for sub-national and
municipal adaptation planning. However, it is important to synchronise the impacts of bottom-up
initiatives with the top-down imperatives of national adaptation strategies and also ensure strong
linkages across sectors. The following pages highlight the ongoing work in Cyprus to develop a national strategy that can be effectively implemented
at the local level.
Bologna participates
Mr Fini explains that it was important to guide stakeholders through the
process without overwhelming them with complex climate science. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire divided into two parts: the
first gathered information about the interviewee; the second focused on
general awareness of resilience and climate change, with three questions
specifically relating to matching adaptation measures to economic needs.
“This gives us clear information about how both small businesses and large
companies view the topic,” says Mr Fini. Some 84% of the 125 companies
surveyed said they worry about the effect climate change may have on
their business. BLUEAP has produced a report on the survey’s results, which
will help Bologna achieve the project’s goal of offering “start up” support
to local stakeholders, with the aim of designing and launching some of the
measures and actions defined by the Local Adaptation Plan.
Photo: LIFE11 ENV/IT/000119
“The Adaptation Plan has been built with a participatory collaboration, in
which individuals and organisations are also actors of the plan,” says Giovanni Fini of the City of Bologna. A map of local stakeholders was created at
the start of the process to facilitate their input into the local climate profile,
good adaptation practices and strategy documents. Meetings with stakeholders took place at each phase of implementation of the Adaptation Plan.
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P l a n nin g
Developing an adaptation
strategy for Cyprus
Cyprus is so far the only EU Member State to have developed a national adaptation strategy
with the support of the LIFE programme. The process has proved extremely valuable.
“I
n 2007, Cyprus was short of drinking water [because of drought]. It was a very, very difficult
time. To solve this problem we had to bring water
from Greece,” recalls Theodoulous Mesimeris, Senior Environment Officer, Environment Department,
Republic of Cyprus. “After this, we took the decision that we have to plan and we have to develop
appropriate policies and measures. Not only for
drinking water, not only for water shortages, but for
all sectors that will be affected by climate change.”
As head of the climate unit within the Environment
Department, Mr Mesimeris was placed in charge
of the planning process. “We asked about financial
tools and the Commission suggested to us that one
good tool is LIFE.” With partners at the National
Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the Na-
tional Observatory of Athens (NOA) on board, LIFE
funding was secured for the CYPADAPT project, the
first use of the mechanism to enable a Member
State to develop a national adaptation strategy.
The project had six stages - a current vulnerability assessment; future vulnerability assessment;
identification of adaptation measures; evaluation
of adaptation measures; development of an adaptation strategy (known as the National Adaptation
Plan - NAP); and monitoring and evaluation. Each
stage was accompanied by active stakeholder engagement and public awareness raising.
“It was very, very important to try to have from the
beginning all stakeholders involved. We had people
from the academic sector, from the public sector,
Itam morterox se fac tus
Current
vulnerability
assessment
Future
vulnerability
assessment
Identification
of adaptation
measures
Evaluation of
adaptation
measures
ACTIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS
26
Development
of an
adaptation
Strategy
Monitoring
and
evaluation
Table 1: The 11 adaptation sectors
of Cyprus
Agriculture
Infrastructure
Public health
Tourism
Energy
Fisheries
Coasts
Forests
Soil resources
Biodiversity
Water resources
the private sector, from local authorities,” explains
Mr Mesimeris, who managed the CYPADAPT project.
The EEA report on Urban adaptation to climate
change in Europe notes that “without flexible and
cross-sectoral coordinated measures, adaptation
efforts may be hampered by sectoral thinking.” The
role of the Cypriot climate unit is to act as the ‘coordinating team’ for all government departments.
“It’s a horizontal issue,” says Mr Mesimeris. “We
had a frank discussion, an open communication
with all stakeholders and we decided to create 11
different committees.”
These committees corresponded to 11 sectors for
which a climate change and vulnerability assessment and subsequent adaptation strategy would
be produced (see Table 1).
The climate change vulnerability assessment involved a review of EU and international policies,
plans and measures and the creation of a database of more than 790 adaptation measures being
applied worldwide.
The assessment found that in the last 20 years,
precipitation on Cyprus had been reduced by 1 mm/
yr and the average mean temperature had risen by
0.5 °C , compared to the period 1960-1990. Other
observed climate change impacts for the country
include an increase in the annual maximum and
minimum air temperature, as well as in the number of days below freezing and above 40 °C each
year. Whilst overall precipitation has decreased,
the number of heavy rainfall events has increased.
There has also been an increase in the average sea
surface temperature and evapotranspiration rate.
A total of 56 climate change impacts were identified for the 11 sectors. Vulnerability was then assessed for each impact using the equation:
• Vulnerability = impact - adaptive capacity (where
impact = sensitivity x exposure)
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The PRECIS regional climate model was used to
project future climate change in Cyprus. By combining these forecasts and other socio-economic
projections with the current vulnerability assessment, the CYPADAPT team was able to determine
Cyprus’s future vulnerability to climate change (in
2020, 2050 and 2080).
pLanning
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Priorities for action
Sixteen climate change impacts were identified as
presenting ‘moderate’ to ‘very high’ vulnerability,
requiring appropriate adaptation actions and were
prioritised in line with the recommendations of the
stakeholder committees (see Table 2).
“Gathering information was not the major issue,”
says Mr Mesimeris. “The complexity of this new,
horizontal issue...this was the major challenge: to
link the impacts with climate change: impacts in the
forest, impacts in agriculture, impacts in health.”
Highlighting the need for a cross-sectoral approach
says Mr Mesimeris is the fact that “the energy sector is one of the major sectors that is affected by
climate change. If we have long periods of high
temperatures that means that we will need more
energy to adapt to these extreme weather conditions. If you need desalination units you need energy, you need extra power plants, more CO2 emissions - everything is connected.”
The MCA tool
“It was very important for us to choose the appropriate measures, to prioritise them and to give the
opportunity to different sectors to participate in
Table 2: CYPADAPT ranking of ‘moderate’ to ‘very high’
vulnerability climate change impacts
1st priority
Drinking water availability in mountain areas; water availability for
irrigation in mountain areas; desertification
2nd priority
Drought; dieback of tree species, insect attacks and diseases; forest
fires; water availability for irrigation in plain and coastal areas
3rd priority
Crop productivity
4th priority
Biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems; biodiversity of wetland
ecosystems
5th priority
Biodiversity of marine ecosystems
6th priority
Mortality and morbidity related to heat waves and high
temperatures; damage to crops caused by extreme weather
events; soil erosion; water availability for irrigation in tourism
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Assessing risks and costs
this decision-making procedure,” recounts Mr Mesimeris. To this end, CYPADAPT created the MultiCriteria Analysis (MCA) Tool for Cyprus, “a kind of
supporting tool, using the knowledge of the stakeholders,” he explains. “It’s a tool that can be modified according to the different priorities and different scenarios that you may choose.”
The NAP has been approved by the Committee of
Audit and the Competent Authority (Ministry of
Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment).
The Department of Environment is planning to
submit to the Council of Ministers the adaptation
strategy together with a climate change risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis.
The MCA tool enables users to select the most appropriate set of adaptation options for Cyprus.
“The risk assessment is an ex ante conditionality
under the multi-annnual financial framework. That
means that without this Cyprus is not eligible to
receive support from the Cohesion funds. It was
very, very useful for Cyprus to have in place the
adaptation strategy because without this it would
be difficult for us to develop the risk assessment,”
believes Mr Mesimeris.
The NAP for Cyprus contains the adaptation measures prioritised by the MCA tool and provides suggestions for their integration into national sectoral
policies, strategies, plans and legislative texts.
The initial list of adaptation measures was subject
to evaluation and revision during the course of the
LIFE project. “When we ran the multi-criteria analysis in the beginning we saw that the stakeholders
didn’t agree with some of the results, so then we
went back and adjusted the weighting,” explains
Christina Pitta, Agricultural Research Officer in the
Environment Department’s climate unit.
“In order to have support and financing, it was
very important to present the cost of not doing
anything. This is why we are doing this risk assessment,” says Ms Pitta, who is in charge of drafting
this document. “The cost of not doing something
has a value. It is important to show why we have
to do something, why we have to spend something
- and to show also the benefits of action, the social
benefits and the potential to create economic opportunities from climate resilience measures.”
The end result is a more accurate and responsive
MCA software tool, one that generates alternative
adaptation scenarios based on selection criteria
and the system’s degree of vulnerability to climate
change. Some 250 measures addressing climate
change impacts in the 11 selected sectors have
been included in the NAP.
Photo: NEEMO EEIG/Justin Toland
Theodoulous Mesiimeris (right) coordinated the CYPADAPT project. His colleague Christina Pitta
is now developing a climate change risk assessment for Cyprus
The risk assessment is due to be completed in mid2016. “When we get the results from that we will
do the cost-benefit analysis, and hopefully by the
end of 2016, beginning of 2017, gather all of this
together to present to the Council of Ministers,” Ms
Pitta adds.
To demonstrate popular support for the strategy,
Mr Mesimeris says that the Department of Environment is also “assessing the possibility of developing a framework legislation for parliamentary
approval including both adaptation and mitigation
measures.”
Once the strategy is adopted, implementation
will be the responsibility not of the Department
of Environment, but of the various ministries, departments and local authorities, in line with their
sectoral and geographical competences. “Having
the adaptation strategy and having also the risk
analysis and the cost-benefit analysis, we will proceed then to the implementation phase having a
timeline and a specific budget for the implementation of the measures, which will be done based
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The monitoring team will also be responsible for
periodically re-evaluating the level of impact,
adaptive capacity and vulnerability of Cyprus to
climate change. “Definitely the adaptation strategy
will need revision according to the monitoring we
are going to be doing. Whether that revision comes
in two years or five years depends on how the implementation goes,” says Ms Pitta. “We will propose
some indicators, but it’s difficult to say now what
they will be. The lesson from other countries is
that indicators are different from one country to
another,” she notes.
The CYPADAPT project has useful outcomes for climate change adaptation planning across Europe.
“The MCA tool can readily be applied in other EU
Member States,” believes Mr Mesimeris. To aid
transferability, the CYPADAPT team produced a
user manual, walk-through video and guidelines
showing how to use the tool in climate change
adaptation planning. “We are receiving many requests to exchange information and to support
other countries, other units within the Cypriot government and academic bodies to develop their own
strategy or to evaluate the impacts or to use the
MCA tool,” he says.
Photo: LIFE08 ENV/CY/L000460/NEEMO EEIG/Cristina Marouli
The NAP developed by the CYPADAPT project includes
a monitoring and evaluation strategy with step-bystep guidelines to assess the success of each measure implemented. The climate unit is working to link
measures that are already being implemented as
part of sector-specific EU directives and policies, e.g.
the Water Framework Directive - such as desalination of water - with the climate change adaptation
strategy and risk assessment.
pLanning
on the budget of each implementing body,” explains
Mr Mesimeris. “For example, we have a long list of
measures in the water sector. After the submission
and approval of the measures and the budget then
we will link this list to the budget and the scope and
policy of the water development department and
they will be the implementation body. And we will
monitor the implementation of these measures.”
The Kalo Horio river basin, Cyprus. CYPADAPT developed measures for the water sector as part
of its cross-sectoral approach to climate adaptation planning.
“CYPADAPT was not about a study for the office, it
was about a study that will give solutions to many
problems,” believes Mr Mesimeris. “It was very
useful for Cyprus to have the opportunity to use
the LIFE financial tool to support the initiative to
develop our national strategy. It was the basis for
the preparation of one of the major ex ante conditionalities under the new financial framework, the
climate change risk assessment.”
Another significant impact of the project was linked
to the Cyprus Presidency of the European Council
in July-December 2012: “[The Cypriot government]
decided that the main issue for discussion in the
informal council for environment was adaptation.
This was the first time [the EU] had a discussion
about adaptation at ministerial level. The CYPADAPT project supported the preparation of material for those discussions. It was very important not
only from the technical angle, but also from the
political one,” concludes Mr Mesimeris.
Project number: LIFE10 ENV/CY/000723
Contact: Theodoulos Mesimeris
Title: CYPADAPT - Development of a national strategy for
adaptation to climate change adverse impacts in Cyprus
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: The Department of the Environment within the
Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment of
Cyprus (MANRE)
Website: http://cypadapt.uest.gr/
Period: 01-Sept-2011 to 31-Mar-2014
Total budget: €1 359 000
LIFE contribution: €678 000
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urban
Making cities and towns
more climate resilient
The LIFE programme has successfully demonstrated how green and blue infrastructure can
increase urban resilience to climate change impacts, such as water scarcity, flooding and
heat island effects.
C
ities are the cornerstone of Europe’s economic strength and wealth and the key to
its future prosperity. Three-quarters of Europe’s
population lives in urban areas and the proportion is expected to increase. The potential impacts
of climate change on people and assets (such as
emergency services and essential infrastructure)
are amplified in these densely populated areas. It
is therefore essential to target climate adaptation
actions at urban areas.
Climate change is likely to exacerbate existing
pressures facing European cities, such as overcrowding, aging infrastructure and increasing pollution from transport and industry. These problems
impact upon energy demand, waste management
and water resources far beyond the administrative
boundaries of cities.
Climate change is strongly intertwined with socioeconomic change, through its effects on people,
Photo: LIFE10 ENV/FR/000215/NEEMO EEIG/Carlos de la Paz
R-Urban implemented a participative strategy to increase the ecological resilience of the town of Colombes
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urban
Figure
1: title
Designing
resilience in urban areas
Collaborative process
1C
ollaborative appoach to funding green and grey
infrastructure
Species Selection criteria
1 Resilience to pests and diseases
Designing with trees- POSITIVE RESULTS
1 Enhanced walking environment
2 Attractive retail environment
3 Supporting mental health
4 Cooling and sheltering
5 Air quality
Technical design solutions
1 Integration of trees and sustainable drainage systems
2 Adequate substrate for root development eg crates
3 Load bearing and environment eg rafts
property and ecosystems. Some sectors of the
economy, such as agriculture, forestry and tourism, are directly dependent on climatic conditions,
and are already experiencing the impacts of climate change. Urban areas compete for water with
agriculture and outlying industry, which can lead
to regional water scarcity.
Although climate change impacts will be widespread, urban areas are subject to localised effects (e.g. reduced air quality) that are different
to those in surrounding areas. Urban areas in
different regions will also experience different
intensities and types of change, with cities and
towns located in vulnerable areas, such as coastal zones or river floodplains, experiencing additional site-specific impacts. Higher temperatures
will intensify forest fires where they threaten cities, for example, whilst sea level rise increases
the risk of coastal flooding. Climate change impacts can exacerbate water scarcity. Conversely,
with most of Europe’s large cities located along
major rivers, increases in rainfall, storms and
melting snows in upstream areas bring a greater
risk of flooding.
Urban areas are affected by city-specific climate
change impacts that are generated by the process
of urbanisation itself. Built-up areas create unique
microclimates, for instance, due to the replacement
of natural vegetation with artificial surfaces. This
affects air temperature, wind speed and direction,
and precipitation patterns. For example, soil sealing increases the absorption of energy from the
sun and leads to higher urban temperatures (the
‘urban heat island effect’). Heatwaves can compromise public health (particularly in cities with vulnerable, aging populations); reduce people’s ability
to work; and put infrastructure at risk. Urbanisation
also reduces the area available for natural flood
management.
Poor urban design can aggravate the impacts of
climate change. The impermeability of sealed areas reduces natural drainage and increases runoff,
for instance, which during heavy rains can lead to
urban floods. As climate change modifies the whole
hydrological cycle, this can lead to more frequent
and intense rainfall that affects urban infrastructure, especially water supply, wastewater and
storm water systems.
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Urban design and spatial planning therefore can
play an important role in reducing the impacts of
climate change. Furthermore, investing in green
infrastructure not only increases resilience, but
also provides numerous co-benefits including improved air quality, protection for biodiversity and
enhanced quality of life.
Action for EU urban areas
Within the EU Adaptation Strategy and in coordination with other EU policy areas, the Mayors
Adapt initiative, now integrated into the New Covenant of Mayors (see box), supports cities that
voluntarily commit to adopting local adaptation
strategies.
The challenge for policy-makers is to understand
climate change impacts sufficiently to develop and
implement policies that ensure an optimal level
of adaptation. For example, strategies focused on
managing and conserving water, land and biological resources to maintain and restore healthy, effectively functioning and climate change-resilient
ecosystems are one way to deal with the impact
and can also contribute to the prevention of disaster. Cities need to act, because delaying adaptation action will likely increase costs at a later
stage or the measures will come too late to prevent
costly damage. Furthermore, adaptation to climate
change offers the opportunity to attract business,
develop new jobs promote innovation and increase
citizens’ quality of life.
City authorities are therefore adopting long-term
spatial planning measures to ensure effective - and
affordable - adaptation. Working with nature’s capacity to absorb or control impacts can be a more
efficient way of adapting than simply focusing on
grey1 infrastructure. Green2 and blue3 infrastructure can play a crucial role in adaptation, especially under extreme climatic conditions. Examples
include improving the soil’s carbon and water storage capacity, and conserving water in natural systems to alleviate the effect of droughts or prevent
floods.
A combination of these infrastructure measures
has the potential to deliver robust and flexible solutions, whilst delivering co-benefits such as increased
1 Grey infrastructure measures involve man-made assets,
such as ensuring sewage systems can cope with heavier precipitation, reviewing building designs to better insulate against
heat, and adapting energy and transport systems to cope with
higher temperatures, low water availability or flooding.
2 Green infrastructure measures such as the creation of parks,
forests, wetlands, green walls and roofs provide a cooling effect and play a role in managing floods.
3 Blue infrastructure is a type of green infrastructure focused
on alleviating water scarcity or flooding.
Table 1: Climate change impacts and responses to increase resilience in urban areas
Vulnerability
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Factors
Response
Heatwave
Soil sealing
Insufficient building insulation
Lack of green urban areas
Heat generation by production, transport, heating
Population density
Decrease in soil sealing
Green infrastructure (green spaces, green belts, green
roofs-facades)
Education and awareness raising
Water scarcity and
droughts
Temperature rise and dry spells
Soil sealing
Water stress in the region - high water abstraction compared to
limited resources
Low water availability (surface and underground)
Water intense industry, tourism, agriculture in the region
Green and blue infrastructure (green roofs-facades,
green spaces, SUDS, water harvesting, water recycling)
Availability of organisational measures such as water
use restrictions
Education and awareness raising
Urban floods
High share of low-lying urban areas, potentially prone to flooding
High and increasing degree of soil sealing
Lack of green urban areas
Increase of frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation
Sea level rise in combination with storm surges
Snow melt
Green infrastructure (SUDS, green spaces, green belts
green roofs-facades)
Availability of flood defences and retention areas
Effective sewage systems
Education and raising awareness
Forest fires
High share of urban areas in forest fire risk zones
High share of population in forest fire risk zones
Drought
Increased temperature
Increased wind speed
Effective forest fire management
Training for forest managers
Capacity building for forest planners
Education and raising awareness
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
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Launched in March 2014
in the context of the EU
Adaptation Strategy, Mayors Adapt is the Covenant
of Mayors Initiative on Climate Change Adaptation.
It informs, mobilises and supports local authorities
to take adaptation action.
stakeholders and other EU initiatives and funds.
A web-based Urban Adaptation Support Tool has
been developed to aid adaptation practitioners
in urban municipalities to plan and implement
adaptation actions. The tool makes it easy to access information and knowledge resources specifically designed for urban conditions.
Currently more than 150 cities from 21 EU Member States, as well as from European Free Trade
Association (EFTA) and candidate countries, have
officially signed the Mayors Adapt initiative.
Mayors Adapt builds upon the success of the previous European Commission (DG CLIMA) pilot project, EU Cities Adapt, and links with the existing
European Environment Agency (EEA) online platform, Climate-ADAPT.
Signatories voluntarily commit to a series of
steps and agree to have their actions monitored.
They are obliged to prepare a risk and vulnerability assessment, develop a local adaptation strategy or mainstream adaptation into the relevant
plans within two years of signing the Commitment. They must also submit an Implementation
Progress Report every second year. In return, the
cities gain visibility on their commitment, wideranging support, networking and capacity-building opportunities, through regular events, an
online platform, and via synergies with relevant
energy efficiency and the creation of attractive areas for nature and recreation. This can be complemented by ‘soft’ measures that often can be implemented at a lower cost. Such measures include
behavioural change, emergency systems and the
adequate provision of information to vulnerable
groups in society.
Urban climate change adaptation requires coordinated action at regional and national levels,
as events outside cities can have major effects
in urban areas. Inappropriate land use and flood
management in upstream areas, for example, can
cause flooding in cities. Therefore, to build resilience, a joint and multi-level approach within regions, combining dialogue and multi-sectoral partnerships, is required.
Planning integrated climate change mitigation
(i.e. reduction of gas’ emissions causing climate
change) and adaptation action is efficient and
leads to synergies. For instance, better insulated
buildings reduce both energy consumption and
the impact of climate change induced heat waves;
green areas contribute to store carbon while reducing the impacts of floods and heat waves.
urban
Mayors Adapt and the New Covenant of Mayors
In October 2015, the Commission launched the
New Covenant of Mayors for integrated climate
and energy action. It builds on the following three
pillars:
1. It features a new target of at least 40% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030;
2. It includes both mitigation and adaptation
through the integration of the Covenant of
Mayors and the Mayors Adapt initiatives;
3. It reaches a global scope, opening up participation to local authorities worldwide.
LIFE and urban resilience
The LIFE programme has funded over 20 projects
that have demonstrated adaptation measures
based on green and blue infrastructure, spatial
planning and natural resource management, with
the aim of reducing the vulnerability of urban and
peri-urban areas to climate change. A wide range
of measures have been implemented at various
governance levels. This chapter gives an overview
of the technological, informational, organisational,
behavioural and ecosystem-based approaches that
LIFE projects have implemented and the positive
results they have achieved, including co-benefits
and improved local economic development.
Green and blue infrastructure has been identified as ‘best practice’ at local level for achieving
greater urban sustainability and resilience, although on occasion this is combined with grey infrastructure, such as expanding storm sewers. The
climate adaptation benefits of green infrastructure
are generally related to its ability to moderate the
impacts of extreme precipitation or high temperatures. These benefits include: better management
of storm-water runoff; fewer incidents of combined
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storm and sewer overflows; water capture and conservation; flood prevention; storm-surge protection;
defence against sea-level rise; accommodation of
natural hazards (e.g. relocation out of floodplains);
and reduced ambient temperatures and urban heat
island effects.
Green infrastructure is also a contributor to improving human health and air quality, lowering energy
demand, increasing carbon storage and creating additional wildlife habitat and recreational space.
Examples of green infrastructure include green roofs,
permeable surfaces, green alleys and streets, urban
forestry, green open spaces such as parks and wetlands, and adapted buildings to better cope with floods
and coastal storm surges.
Green technologies and infrastructure solutions are
often implemented with a single goal in mind, such
as managing storm water or reducing local ambient
heat, with the costs and benefits being evaluated in
the same way. However, the full net-benefit of green
infrastructure developments can only be realised by a
comprehensive accounting of their multiple benefits,
such as water filtering, slower runoff, cooler urban
heat islands, and cleaner air. Green infrastructure approaches range in scale from individual buildings and
neighbourhoods, to entire cities and metropolitan regions, with benefits that range in scale accordingly.
Spatial planning and green belts
Management practices for climate change adaptation may include planning, urban design, and
smart growth approaches that incorporate green
infrastructure into the urban landscape. Examples
include higher density housing that accommodates
green open spaces, large-scale urban forestry projects, green belts around cities, or wetlands that
buffer against river flooding or storm surges in
coastal areas.
LIFE has played an important role in establishing
new ways of integrating spatial planning to enable
the development of green infrastructure. For instance, LIFE projects have demonstrated how green
belts, created around metropolitan areas to control
urban sprawl, have produced an array of co-benefits,
such as reduced forest fire risk, increased biodiversity, reduced soil sealing, and the creation of recreational areas that bring human health benefits.
A LIFE project from 2001-2004, Green Belt, used
spatial planning to restore land degraded by diffuse
development in peri-urban areas on the outskirts
of Barcelona. Three areas (each 8-10 ha) were restored and converted into a green belt. The project
team also forested areas with tree and plant species known to increase soil moisture, to help prevent
fires spreading easily, and reintroduced traditional
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/UK/001133
LIFE Housing Landsapes has reduced urban vulnerability by adopting green and blue infrastructure measures
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Photo: LIFE10 ENV/IT/000399
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
LIFE has funded large-scale urban forestry projects and created green belts around cities
varieties of fruit trees to create a green business in
an Agricultural Park. This measure also helps safeguard local biodiversity.
Another Spanish project, Gallecs, increased the resilience of urban and peri-urban areas by creating a
green belt accompanied by other green infrastructure measures. This helped protect agricultural activity, with farmers adopting green infrastructure
measures, and has also limited the fragmentation
of natural habitats and reduced soil sealing. A set
of integrated measures was introduced, such as the
creation of a wetland to regulate heavy torrents of
water and avoid the floods that are common in the
region after intense precipitation. River banks were
strengthened, degraded areas re-planted with indigenous species, and water-efficient irrigation systems
installed to avoid water scarcity incidents. The green
infrastructure aspects of the project demonstrated
obvious environmental benefits that are being integrated into urban-planning decisions affecting the
region today.
The ongoing LIFE ZARAGOZA NATURAL project is
using green and blue infrastructure to increase
resilience and biodiversity in urban and peri-urban
areas. The aim is to restore eight natural areas,
through forestation and the recovery of natural
steppe vegetation, and to create continuity between them through peri-urban areas. The project
Green measures for grey areas
“Due to a combination of surface sealing and climate change
effects, flooding will occur more frequently in the future in periurban and urban areas such as in Flanders. This will damage
buildings and infrastructure, with high costs for society,” says
LIFE-GREEN4GREY project manager, Pieter De Corte. “We are
implementing natural water retention measures such as renaturalising artificial streams and creating wadis, which will have
the effect of creating natural flooding areas, and water retention bodies to capture water from rainfall during peak showers.”
Land use is also being changed from intensive agriculture to
grasslands, increasing the soil’s water infiltration capacity.
In periods of heavy rainfall, these blue and green infrastructure
elements capture water upstream. “Given the amount of soil
sealing, these measures are of crucial importance to prevent
urban flooding,” explains Mr De Corte. “These green areas are
also used for recreational purposes, such as walking, biking or
jogging, and so create co-benefits for health. They act as green
landscapes, which is positive for mental health and for social
interaction,” he concludes.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/BE/000212
Grey infrastructure elements have made Flanders (Belgium),
the most fragmented and second most sealed region of the EU.
Projections indicate that urban sprawl and grey infrastructure
expansion in Flanders is likely to increase by 17% by 2030.
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Urban forests
However, although urban and peri-urban forests are
exposed to the same climate change impacts as other forests, they are less adaptable than their more
natural counterparts. Climate change affects ecophysiological mechanisms, especially under drought
stress, for example, making trees more susceptible
to pathogens. Urban areas tend to be more polluted
and have higher temperatures, further increasing
physiological stress, whilst urban forest stands are
usually smaller and therefore do not have the structure that determines optimal ecological resilience.
Planting and maintaining trees in urban settings is considered a quintessential green infrastructure practice, with multiple benefits including increased resilience in terms of both climate
change adaptation and mitigation. Trees contribute to climate change adaptation by intercepting
and filtering storm water runoff to prevent flooding and improve water quality, by absorbing air
pollutants, protecting buildings from wind damage, and by regulating heat island effects through
shading and evaporation. Simultaneously, trees
contribute to climate change mitigation by lowering demand for electricity, as they cool urban
areas, and sequester carbon. They also provide
wildlife habitats and ecosystem services, and can
increase property values.
The LIFE programme has funded several projects that
show positive effects of forests in increasing urban resilience. For instance, EMoNFUr is establishing a monitoring network to assess adaption in urban forests
(see box). Also in Italy, the GAIA project produced both
climate change mitigation and adaptation outcomes
through urban forestry. It fostered public-private partnerships involving 18 companies to pay for the planting of 1 320 trees within the city of Bologna, with the
companies using the scheme to offset part of their CO2
emissions. The trees are helping to improve air quality
and to reduce the heat island effect in the city. The
project also monitored the effects that climate change
and air pollution have on urban trees, especially effects
related to decreased resilience to extreme climatic
events and biotic disturbance.
will also provide a ‘blue matrix’ of infrastructure,
through river and wetland restoration, that will
enhance the inter-connectivity between blue and
green infrastructure to provide a multifunctional
resource for the local community.
The presence of grey infrastructure can reduce the adaptation benefits of green infrastructure, a situation
addressed by the LIFE-GREEN4GREY project (see box).
Climate change is affecting the ability of urban forests to produce ecosystem services,
according to Enrico Calvo, project manager of EMoNFUr, a LIFE project that is setting
up a permanent monitoring network for urban and peri-urban forests in Lombardy (Italy) and Slovenia to measure the adaptability of new lowland forests to climate change.
“We aim to provide parameters of ecological and environmental relevance, such as plant
and animal biodiversity, carbon dioxide sequestration capacity, and how the forests are
evolving and adapting in an urban environment,” says Mr Calvo. “We will use a monitoring
protocol for each site to explore climate impacts, soil quality, dendrometric parameters,
biomass, health, and biodiversity. We are also carrying out an inventory for forestry land
indices, geometric structure and forest categories, and investigating the health status of
the urban and peri-urban forests,” he explains. “We are analysing the growing rates of
the trees in relationship with climate impacts, species composition, incidence of diseases
and microclimatic improvement.”
The project is measuring a wide range of biological and climatic parameters in 18
sampling areas in the two countries, including humidity and evaporation from foliage,
soil moisture and tree growth rates in relation to climate impacts, species composition, incidence of diseases and microclimatic improvement. Among the key findings are
the positive results of urban forests on the heat island effect. “By comparing the data
obtained from the weather stations of the project with the data of 2002, we measured
a decrease in temperatures,” recalls Mr Calvo. “The cooling effect is greater at night
(-0.7°C). This is very important as Milan in the last decades has undergone an average
annual temperature increase of 1.5°C.”
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Photo: LIFE10 ENV/IT/000399
Monitoring the adaptability of urban and peri-urban forests
In Spain, the LIFE-QUF project is demonstrating the
effectiveness of water retainers and fungal mycorrhiza for enabling tree growth without any additional
water infrastructure in a water scarce Mediterranean area. The project team is planting 30 000 trees
in four groups to test the benefits of afforestation
techniques with the aim of increasing by 95% the
survival rate for trees planted without water infrastructure; and to study the benefits of soil quality
improvements. The project seeks to gain 1% more
organic matter in soil.
In terms of climate adaptation, green roofs are generally installed to respond to two primary climate
drivers: extreme precipitation and temperature. Extreme precipitation accompanied by soil sealing can
overwhelm the capacity of drainage and sewage
systems, and lead to urban flooding. Green roofs can
reduce annual storm water run-off by 50-60% on
average. They also delay the time at which runoff
occurs, resulting in decreased stress on sewage systems at peak flow times.
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A current project dealing with the economics of
green roofs is LifeMedGreenRoof, which is conducting a study to identify the economic barriers to their
implementation, and suggesting technological and
economically viable solutions for the large-scale introduction of green roofs in Malta. The GRACC project improved understanding of the different options
for building green roofs and produced a ‘Green Roof
Code of Best Practice’ for use in the UK, which provides designers, specifiers, installers and maintainers of green roofs with information and guidelines
Biodiversity in urban areas increases thanks to green infrastructure
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/MT/000732/Vince Morris/Antoine Gatt
Several LIFE projects have demonstrated the benefits of green roofing. The Roof Greening project
encouraged the wider application of green roofing techniques in Sweden, at a time (1998-2003)
when they were still in the experimental stage. It
demonstrated reduced storm water runoff, water
regulation, energy saving through better insulation and noise reduction.
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More recently, GreenClimeAdapt tested green facades and roofs in Malmö. Green facades were
shown to cool external facades by 8 °C, and by
1-1.5 °C for indoor temperatures (relative to the
outdoor temperature), reduce ground-level ozone
readings near the green facades, and increase biodiversity in their vicinity. Testing different low-cost
and lightweight green roofs built using different
substrates, the project showed that the roofs with
the best overall plant coverage and plant germination rates were those with hemp as a bottom
layer; biochar and crushed bricks were also found
to be good green roof substrate components. This
project also suggested that well-maintained green
facades might have a positive impact on the productivity of solar panels. The project’s economic
analysis showed that such green infrastructure solutions were less expensive to construct and maintain than conventional drainage systems.
Green roofs and facades
Urban environments have large areas of hard reflective surfaces. In combination with increased temperatures, they exacerbate the Urban Heat Island
(UHI) effect4. By increasing solar radiation reflectivity
(albedo) and evapotranspiration, green roofs help to
cool buildings. By decreasing surface temperatures,
they reduce the UHI effect in urban areas5. Other cobenefits are reductions in air and noise pollution, increased biodiversity, improved thermal performance
of buildings (with decreased CO2 emissions), carbon
capture (also with climate mitigation potential), new
recreational areas and health improvements.
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4 Cities are known to be hotter than the rural areas that surround them; this phenomenon is called an ‘urban heat island’
(UHI). UHIs are caused by many factors including the extensive
use of man-made materials such as asphalt and concrete in
urban areas, which results in the reduction of evapotranspiration and in greater heat storage capacity.
5 Green roofs in some cases reduce surface temperature
by 30-60°C and ambient temperature by 5°C, compared to
conventional black roofs.
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increasing the amount of open soil (de-sealing) or
through the implementation of blue infrastructure
measures such as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). Runoff can also affect the quality of
surface waters as the cleaning function of soil is lost.
Figure
1: titlegrey infrastructure
Blue versus
Since 2008, three LIFE projects have focused on mitigating the effects of runoff water by adopting SUDS,
including the previously mentioned LIFE Housing
Landscapes (see box), which is demonstrating sustainable urban drainage as part of a holistic package
of blue measures that also includes rain gardens6,
drought-resilient plants, and rainwater harvesting.
Benefits will include a reduction in flooding risk, use
of rainwater for garden irrigation and less wastewater to be treated.
to make better-informed decisions. Also in the UK,
the LIFE Housing Landscapes project is retrofitting houses with green roofs and other green infrastructure (see box).
Blue infrastructure
Sealed surfaces tend to generate surface runoff.
Runoff water in urban environments is thus usually collected, channelled and treated in wastewater treatment plants. However, with increased precipitation the capacity of sewage systems may be
exceeded, resulting in urban flooding. There are different ways to mitigate this phenomenon, such as
In the Province of Valencia in Spain, AQUAVAL used
SUDS to solve the problem of sewer overflow discharges into rivers and to mitigate urban flooding.
As part of an ambitious plan to create Europe’s first
industrial estate based on sustainable development
principles, another Spanish project PLATAFORMA
CENTRAL IBERUM aims to control the whole water cycle through rainwater harvesting and re-use, creation
of permeable structures to avoid sealing, construction of canals and reservoirs to allow water to be collected for distribution, and the use of SUDS and the
creation of storm ponds to maintain surface aquifers.
6 A rain garden is a planted depression or a hole that allows
rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas, such as roofs,
driveways, pavements, car parks, and compacted lawn areas,
the opportunity to be absorbed. This reduces rain runoff by
allowing storm water to soak into the ground.
Engaging residents in climate-proof social housing
The LIFE Housing Landscapes project is retrofitting blue and
green infrastructure to climate-proof existing social housing in
the UK, with a focus on increasing local stakeholder engagement. “Alongside the adaptation solutions listed we are working closely with residents and our partnering local authority to
deliver a series of training events, to support long-term resident engagement,” says project manager, Hannah Clay. “The
training programme will ensure that participants understand
the principles through which measures such as green roofs,
permeable paving, rain gardens, filter strips and swales have
been designed, and how to maintain them to support their
functionality.”
The project will provide 2 790 m2 of enhanced green infrastructure within three high-density housing estates in West
London, with a monitoring programme managed by the University of East London. “We are expecting the measures to
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result in heat amelioration, reduced flood risk, improved air
and water quality and sustainable drainage across the three
estates,” says Ms Clay.
“We have created synergies between climate-proofing social
housing landscapes and increasing the adaptive capacity of
their resident communities. People of all ages are getting
involved in practical activities as part of implementing and
maintaining the blue and green infrastructure measures, such
as growing food or monitoring rainfall and weather conditions
to contribute to the technical performance monitoring of this
project,” explains Ms Clay. “The improvements themselves
will deliver social benefit in the extent to which they provide
increased opportunities for physical activity and improved
health. We are also using the Social Return on Investment approach to support calculations around social benefits on health,
well-being and community cohesion.”
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Photo: LIFE07 ENV/SE/000908
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Green facades and roofs tested by GreenClimeAdapt were shown to cool indoor temperatures by 1-1.5 °C
Open storm water management is another blue
measure that can reduce the risk of flooding. It
has been successfully demonstrated by the GreenClimeAdapt project in Sweden, which built a catchment area capable of retaining 90% of the water
of a 10-year rain event.
In neighbouring Finland, the ongoing project Urban Oases is creating storm water swales in areas
around Helsinki that are used to convey, infiltrate
and clean storm water as well as to dissipate flow
energy and store snow. In this project, four swales
of varying design will be prototyped and implemented in sites having small urbanised watersheds
with intermittent water flow. They are also being
used to monitor the mitigation impact of constructed wetlands.
Conclusions
LIFE projects have provided valuable examples of
adaptive measures that can be used to increase
resilience in urban areas; this despite comprising
only a very small part of overall LIFE funding. The
majority of these projects have focused on a couple of practices (i.e. green roofs and forested area),
whereas the most recent have taken a broader
view on increasing urban resilience, for example, by
integrating green and blue infrastructure, creating
collective participation and a sense of responsibility, or getting businesses on board.
The LIFE programme has helped develop and promote green infrastructure and ecosystem-based
approaches to climate change adaptation in cities
across Europe. Green roofs or networks of green
space, acting as ventilation areas, have alleviated
the UHI effect, for instance, whilst multi-use water
retention areas have reduced flood risks.
However, more needs to be done to improve the resilience of urban areas, such as developing and deploying innovative adaptation technologies within
the water, energy and construction sectors, and increasing the focus on health-related issues. This will
require massive investments, especially when implementing grey and green infrastructure measures.
Large financial resources are needed and at least
20% of the entire European Union budget 20142020 is foreseen for climate-related projects, including both climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Particularly relevant for climate change adaptation in
cities are the European Regional Development Funds
(ERDF)7, the Horizon 2020 research programme, the
European Investment Bank (EIB) through the Jessica
programme8, and the LIFE programme. As of 2014,
calls for proposals for the LIFE programme include
urban adaptation as one of the policy priorities for
the sub-programme for climate action, which alongside the EU’s Mayors Adapt initiative, is part of the
EU Adaptation Strategy’s contribution towards a
more climate-resilient Europe.
7 The European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) offer ample opportunities for supporting interventions in urban areas.
Climate change adaptation is one of the priorities of the ERDF,
and the fund additionally foresees that a minimum of 5% of
the resources of the Partnership Agreements shall be allocated
at the national level to sustainable urban development. Please
see http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf
8 http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/special-supportinstruments/jessica/
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Benefits of urban resilience
Swales are being retrofitted by LIFE Housing Landscapes as a measure to reduce floods and improve water quality in housing
estates in London
Economic Benefits
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SOCIO and environmental benefits
Increased
retail sales
Property prices
Faster property
sales
Land value
Social
cohesion
Tourist and
recreational
facilities
Reduced
energy costs
Well-being
Physical and
mental health
Income
generation
Chance of
gaining
planning
permission
Reducing
flood damage
Heat-island
effect reduced
Improved air
quality
Work place
productivity
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The SeineCityPark project is building up green and blue infrastructure to increase the resilience of the Chanteloup loop, a peri-urban area near Paris. Actions will also boost biodiversity and the local economy.
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Developing eco-corridors for
improved environmental resilience
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urrounded on three sides by the river Seine,
the Chanteloup loop is an area of residential
districts, uncultivated wasteland and brownfield
sites in the Ile-de-France region. Many sites have
been identified for further urban development,
which since the 1950s has significantly increased
the area’s population. Such development, however,
along with the emergence of river quarries, has
greatly altered the landscape of the area, and the
loss of natural spaces and the fragmentation of
natural habitats are having a negative impact on
quality of life.
The challenge for urban planners is to show that
development can be combined with environmental protection – the main aim of the SeineCityPark
project, which focused on a 1 700 ha development
site. The LIFE project, in fact, is one of several projects that are being carried out in the area within
a framework of coherent spatial planning. Its focus
is to create a “resilient urban area and peri-urban
territory, recover biodiversity and boost the local
economy,” says project manager Isabelle Chatoux
of the Conseil départemental des Yvelines.
Specifically, the aim is to link up ecological infrastructure in the target site with the Seine to the
south and the green areas to the north, i.e. the
Hautil Massif. Such improved connectivity will aid
the free movement of land animals, birds, insects,
amphibians and dragonflies across the urban territory. This objective is being achieved through the
use of natural clean-up techniques for tackling
water and soil pollution and through the removal
of invasive aquatic and terrestrial plant species.
Thus the resilience of urban areas is being built
up through the development of blue and green
infrastructure.
The Ecopole Seine Aval will build a sustainable green business district that will blend in with the
ecological corridors
Furthermore, the health and well-being of the local
population will benefit from greater contact with
the natural environment, emphasises Ms Chatoux.
“We are creating recreational areas – picnic areas and bicycle/walking trails – and organising
excursions.”
The Coeur Vert
One aspect of the project was to plant native trees
and vegetation on a degraded and polluted brownfield site known as the Coeur Vert (“Green Heart”).
Furthermore, for around 100 years, these areas
were irrigated with untreated water from Paris and
its suburbs, polluting the soil with lead and cadmium.
Market gardening was brought to a halt here in 1999
by a ban on growing vegetables or aromatic plants.
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l’herbe. The park is made up of picnic areas, trails
for biking or trekking, playgrounds and an educational insectarium that also doubles as a conference centre.
Nevertheless, the project team recognised the area’s potential as a green corridor and took measures to put an end to its days as a site for flytipping and squatting. “We wanted to maintain the
Coeur Vert as an area rich in biodiversity. This corridor will allow the transition between the town and
the river,” says Ms Chatoux.
The aim was to reconnect the town with the Seine
by improving the “continuity between the green urban areas and the open natural area on the banks
of the Seine,” explains Ms Chatoux. This continuity
is guaranteed by the development of “an ecological corridor covering nearly 113 ha that reconnects
the town to the broader Seine loop landscape.” The
development of such green infrastructure represents a boost to biodiversity and the ecosystem
services provided by the area. “Through sustainable land and water management [green infrastructure] creates a more resilient landscape that can
respond to the pressures of a changing climate,”
underlines Ms Sylvaine Baudoux, project partner
from Communauté d’Agglomération 2 Rives de
Seine (CA2RS), the organisation responsible for
implementing the revitalisation of the Chanteloup
loop as a whole, of which the SeineCityPark project
is just one part.
Half of the site’s total surface area has been set
aside for growing miscanthus, “a plant for depolluting the contaminated soil,” explains Ms Chatoux. It
is also a plant that can be used in eco-construction
and bioplastics or biomass production. “We can say
that our adaptive measures, along with other environmental benefits, are also creating a biomaterial
eco-business, thus giving a little boost to the local
economy,” she adds.
The project has also planted a number of other
species, “to establish a link with the neighbouring
urban areas and create a true patchwork of plant
species,” says Ms Chatoux: “The peripheral areas
were sown with grasses and other plants, and the
entire plain is now crisscrossed with hedges, small
woods and former orchards.”
Parc du Peuple de l’herbe
The town of Carrières-sous-Poissy is separated
from the Seine by around 100 ha of farming and
aggregate land that has largely been abandoned.
The project sought to recover this land, developing a multi-purpose park, the Parc du Peuple de
Photo: Agence TER
SeineCityPark is developing an ecological corridor, covering nearly 113 ha that will boost
biodiversity and increase resilience
The new park moreover hosts a series of grassland
habitats such as couch grass (Elytrigia repens),
orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata). Part of this aspect of the project
was to restore these habitats and the species that
they host. For example, the threatened native flower, the smallflower buttercup (Ranunculus parviflorus) will benefit from the continued mowing of
the grasslands. The habitats also host more than
50 migratory birds (11 of which are of Community
importance).
River restoration
Another key project action involves the renaturalisation of a 3 km stretch of the Seine. Channelling
of the river has led to the increased incidence of
flooding, so the project team was eager to restore
its natural geomorphological functioning by eliminating barriers and remodelling the river banks. In
addition, it has replaced the poplar trees that were
planted on the bankside at the end of the 19th
century with native riverine vegetation. Reedbed
habitats and small islands along this stretch have
been restored with the effect of boosting biodiversity. Furthermore, restoring the wetland adjacent to
the riverbank will allow it to play a greater role in
flood management.
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River renaturalisation lessens the impact of flooding events
Renaturalising the river has also involved removing
grey infrastructure: some 30 000 m3 of gravel has
been taken from manmade sections of the riverbank
and used to replenish natural features of the banks,
such as shoals, chutes and new riffles. “We have also
created a large backwater to act as a fish nursery
and refuge for wildlife especially birds and amphibians. Amphibians had basically disappeared from the
area but through these interventions, they are managing to recover,” says Ms Chatoux.
Eutrophication presents another challenge for the
Chanteloup loop area. Due to increases in pollution
and temperature, this problem has worsened in recent years, resulting in severe algal blooms throughout the summer seasons. Following the renaturalisation of the river banks and the replanting of aquatic
plants, this phenomenon has diminished and water
quality is steadily improving.
The natural ecosystems of the project area are also
affected by invasive alien plant species, another
problem that is exacerbated by climate change
which can increase colonisation. In order to bolster
the resilience of the territory, the project is removing
invasive aquatic and terrestrial plant species, including Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), the black
locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) and species of the
genus Ludwigia. To date, the project has achieved
a 70% decrease in the presence of Ludwigia and a
10-30% decrease in Japanese knotweed and black
locust.
Sustainable development
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Photo: CD78
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The SeineCityPark project represents an important
part of the development of the Chanteloup loop. “We
have managed to requalify whole areas and transform them into green corridors. This has not only
made our territory more resilient to flooding and other
climate-related impacts, but by making this ecological transition between park, the Seine and the city, we
are protecting the environment and supporting the
sustainable economic development of this area while
improving the health and well-being of our citizens,”
summarises Ms Chatoux.
Local residents and students have taken part in field
visits to understand more about the park’s planning
principles and the environmental challenges the area
is facing. They have also already benefited from the
recreational facilities and the newly created solarium
is expected to be a hit when it opens shortly. In the
remaining two years of the project, the SeineCityPark
team will establish a 24 ha “area of ecological interest” at the Ecopôle Seine Aval, a 200 ha business
park located between the Seine and the Coeur Vert
site. “The main actions will be to requalify 300 ha
area which is full of quarries that have been filled
and abandoned; the last operating quarry is scheduled
for closure in 2018 and to transform it into the area
of ecological interest. Work to recreate a wetland, a
dry prairie and wooded areas “will extend the ecological network and provide a home for the region’s many
breeding avifauna,” explains Ms Chatoux.
Project number: LIFE11 ENV/FR/000746
Contact: Isabelle Chatoux
Title: SeineCityPark - Development of an urban green
infrastructure in the Chanteloup loop
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: Conseil général des Yvelines
Period: 01-Feb-2012 to 31-Jul-2017
Website: http://www.seinecitypark.fr/
Total budget: €3 473 000
LIFE contribution: €1 729 000
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agriculture
Adapting agriculture
for a sustainable future
Agricultural practices have adapted over millennia to regional and local variations in
weather conditions. But as the effects of climate change become more noticeable, further
adaptation becomes essential to ensure food security in Europe.
T
The effects of climate change on agricultural production are wide ranging1. The increased frequency
of extreme weather events threatens the stability
of food production (since extreme heat and deluges damage crops). In addition, steadily rising
atmospheric CO2 concentration, higher average
temperatures, changes in intensity and frequency
of weather events, changing wind patterns, and
changes in annual rainfall across Europe as a
whole also have a long-term negative impact on
crop yields and livestock farming.
hough patterns of climate change vary
across the continent, the basic principle applies: farmers must manage their land in ways that
improve its resilience to the impacts of a changing
climate. Agronomic techniques and farming practices have already been adapted in some areas,
but if global temperatures and precipitation levels
continue to rise at current rates, climate change
could outstrip agriculture’s capacity to adapt.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/ES/000541
LIFE has demonstrated how adaptive farming practices can increase resilience
In general, the agricultural sector will be most
affected in south and south-east European countries where increased temperatures, greater risk
of drought and declining rainfall and availability
of water will reduce yields and suitable areas for
crops. In extreme cases, degradation of ecosystems through prolonged dry periods could lead to
desertification and a subsequent loss of agricultural production.
In northern Europe wetter winters and hotter summers could increase crop yields – although in the
long term potential gains are likely to be outweighed by the impact of rising sea levels (higher
soil salinity lowers productivity), increased incidence of pests and more ground-level ozone. In
1 Adapting to climate change: the challenge for European
agriculture and rural areas
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Farming practices for adaptation
Healthy
farm practice
1 Landscape approach
2 Integrating crops and
livestock
3 Crop diversity and
rotation
4 Cover crops
Healthy
farm Benefits
6 Biodiversity
7 Resource efficiency
8 Economic health
9 Environmental health
central Europe the decline in summer precipitation
increases the risk of soil erosion, whilst the warming of colder climes reduces snowfall in favour of
rain, leading to a greater risk of waterlogging and
a consequent rise in the incidence of pests and
diseases. Increased need for pesticides and subsequent runoff of water could additionally lead to
more polluted water sources.
The impact on farming will also be determined by
the type of crop being harvested: certain vegetables are sensitive to temperature fluctuations
outside their normal range and fruit crops can
easily be damaged by extreme weather events.
Furthermore, the economic impact for farmers
will not only depend on regional variation, but
also on the size of the farm, intensity of land use,
the diversity of agricultural practices employed,
and moreover, the farmers’ ability to access the
latest climate-resilient technologies and adaptation knowhow. Increased competition for water
and potentially higher prices could also harm the
agricultural sector in some places, whilst rural areas as a whole are threatened by the wider implications of extreme weather events for forestry,
infrastructure and local businesses.
agriculture
5 Soil health
EU action
The EU, however, is responding to the challenge to
agriculture. The European Commission’s White Paper of 2009 outlined a framework for action for
improving Europe’s resilience to climate change,
while recent revisions to the Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP) place a greater emphasis on supporting farming practices that sustain resilience. Under reformed CAP rules, 30% of direct payments
to farmers are linked to improving environmental
performance and 30% of rural development funds
are aimed at measures related to land management and the fight against climate change2.
The LIFE programme has demonstrated and developed many practices and protocols necessary for
adapting agriculture to changing climatic conditions.
It has long co-funded actions to improve soil, air and
water quality that are themselves examples of good
adaptation practice in agriculture (i.e. Humedales
Sostenibles, HydroSense, IRRIGESTLIFE). More recently, LIFE has supported projects that are directly
2 http://ec.europa.eu/clima/publications/docs/06-climate_mainstreaming_fact_sheet-eafrd_en.pdf
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Sustainable crop management
LIFE projects have trialled organic and precision
farming methods in a range of circumstances. For
example, the project Crops for better soil set out to
demonstrate that the cultivation of semi-arid land
in Spain can be made economically viable by applying organic farming techniques. It encouraged
organic farmers to introduce legumes and oilseeds
in a crop rotation system. Egbert Sonneveld, the
project’s technical coordinator, explains that these
types of crop have “good value” on the market and
benefit the soil because “their roots go deeper into
the lower layers and the legumes fix nitrogen for
themselves and for the following crop”.
Ways to help agriculture adapt
A common method is to cultivate a fast-growing cover crop (in addition to
the main crop) that reduces the risk of soil degradation by providing temporary or permanent surface cover. Benefits include reduced soil erosion,
improved soil structure and nitrogen fixation, weed suppression and the
provision of insect habitat.
Another method is to reduce the intensity of tillage (or practice ‘no-till
farming’) in order to increase the storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) and
reduce soil erosion through the development of a litter layer that offers
protection against the impact of rain. This method has been shown to help
keep water in the soil and thus avoid the runoff associated with conventional practice. The organic content in soils can also be increased by manure and residue management.
Crop rotation also helps to reduce runoff and erosion, as well as increase
organic matter moisture in soils and improve pest control. Furthermore, intercropping (growing two or more crops in proximity) can improve yield, fertility
and increase resistance to pests and diseases, whilst organic and precision
agriculture (assessing variations in crop yields from field to field) apply management practices that improve the land’s resilience to climate change.
Maintenance of grasslands and reduced grazing have the positive effect of
contributing to soil conservation and the regulation of water flows, helping to
reduce flash flooding from heavy rains by maintaining indigenous vegetation.
Another effective measure demonstrated by LIFE has been to create buffer
zones, which act as a shield against overland flow from agricultural fields
and reduce the amount of runoff reaching watercourses. Buffer zones thus
help combat soil erosion and prevent pollutants entering water sources.
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Photo: LIFE10 ENV/ES/000471
demonstrating technological solutions and adjustments in farm management that increase resilience,
such as cover crops, no-till farming, crop rotation
and buffer zones. When applied in combination,
these methods can boost soil’s resilience to climate
change (see box). Before many of these adaptation
strategies can be implemented, however, it is often
necessary to develop the right policy frameworks,
access to knowhow and financial models – another
area in which LIFE can play a vital role.
Crops for better soil trained farmers in the use of sustainable
techniques such as crop rotation
Other crops that have performed well in trials include lentils, chick peas, dry peas and some very old
legumes such as bitter vetch, grass pea and broad
bean – but controlling weeds is a problem for farmers. For this reason, the project bought a tilling machine to remove them, and due to its demonstrated
success, Mr Sonneveld believes that every farmer
should own one. Oilseeds are also not without their
difficulties, given that they are a summer crop and
thus dependent on unreliable spring rains.
The project has also tried alternatives to wheat
and barley – namely durum wheat, oats and rye –
as well as crops in combination such as lentils with
wheat, which have yielded “very positive” results,
according to Mr Sonneveld. Moreover, crop rotation
has an economic advantage for farmers. “Instead
of getting return on the land once every two years,
by rotating only cereals with set aside, now they
get return every year,” he says.
Mr Sonneveld is also lending his expertise to another Spanish project, Operation CO2, which is being led by the University of Valladolid. This project
is targeting microorganisms in the soil and reintroducing the use of an old type of plough on ridges
(the “Roman plough”) that enables the crop roots
to penetrate deeper into the soil and thus increase
its fertility and resilience to climate change. “Once
these [deeper] layers are penetrated by roots the
next crop makes use of these channels, so we see
a soil of 20 centimetres deep turning into a soil of
more than a metre deep in just a few years. And by
avoiding heavy turning movements of the soil the
essential and beneficial microorganisms colonise
these deeper layers as well,” he explains.
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The project is able to make these measurements
by digging holes after each plant and following the
roots – the impact on yields is considerable. “The
plough is the perfect tool to obtain aeration of the
soil and this of course helps with the fixing of nitrogen. Even in a very dry year, the yield of vetches on
our plot in Zamora is higher than the irrigated crop
in the same area.”
Makrakis–Karachalios says that it is important to
improve soil biodiversity by “feeding organic matter to soil micro-organisms.” The practice aims to
“decrease agrochemical inputs so as to least disturb the in-soil flora and fauna, and hence improve
ecosystem sustainability.” Seed mixtures are used
to enhance poor areas, such as the ‘empty spaces’
within olive groves.
Rising temperatures may be opening up new winegrowing areas in the north of Europe but in more
established wine regions, climate change adaptation is essential for continued production. The ongoing French project, LIFE ADVICLIM has selected
vineyards in four climatic regions across Europe in
order to develop different adaptation models based
on local observable data (e.g. slope, orientation, type
of soils, climatic variability). Adaptation models will
also include the results of in-depth surveys with
winemakers “in order to integrate crop and working
calendars specific to each European wine region”. Its
main aim is to then transfer this technical knowledge
to winegrowers and policy-makers.
oLIVE-CLIMA is also a good example of a project
that shows how crop residues can be returned to
the soil to improve fertility and reduce degradation. It is testing a range of material from pruned
wood and olive mill sludge to leaves and composted matter. Another way to improve soil fertility is
to plant perennial crops - especially grasses - that
store a higher proportion of carbon underground.
LIFE RegaDIOX is testing this approach in Spain.
Improving soil fertility
Greece’s oLIVE-CLIMA project is pioneering organic
farming to improve soil organic matter (SOM) and
soil fertility, as well as increase water and nutrient retention. The project is introducing new cultivation practices for tree crops, particularly olives,
in Greece. Programme manager Chrysostomos
Combating soil degradation was also an objective of the Almond PRO-SOIL project. It set out
to demonstrate the benefits of applying compost
and growing almond trees to restore semi-arid and
arid soils. According to Jorge García Gómez of project partner EuroVértice Consultores, the project
showed that a 50% increase in plant biomass yield
can be achieved in arid or semi-arid sites in Italy
and Spain when organic waste matter is applied to
the soil to improve its carbon content. “Our project
offered integral and definitive strategies for using
organic wastes that follow both present-day and
foreseeable European guidelines,” he says.
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Photo: LIFE13 ENV/FR/001512/Neethling
LIFE ADVICLIM has selected vineyards in four climatic regions in order to develop different adaptation models
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The two projects also introduced no-till farming,
a technique in which at least 30% of the agricultural area is covered by plant residues “and crops
are sown using machinery able to place seeds
through the plant residues of previous crops”, explains Emilio González Sánchez of the coordinating
beneficiary: “Stubble and covers kept over the soil
prevent water evaporation whilst increasing its infiltration.”
Adapting to water shortages also means improving
irrigation practices. The ClimAgri project is focusing on reducing distribution network losses, run offs
and deep percolation, as well as adapting irrigation
schedules to the specific conditions of the region. According to Mr González Sánchez, the structural improvements facilitated by conservation agriculture
have increased the water content of soil up to 18%.
Furthermore, as with the Crops for better soil project, increased yields are adding weight to the economic argument for good environmental practice.
“The global average production for the four agri-
Photo: LIFE08 ENV/E/000129
The Agricarbon and ClimAgri projects, both led by
the Asociación Española Agricultura de Conservación Suelos Vivos, have applied conservation agriculture practices that have increased the carbon
content of soil by up to 56% in comparison with
conventional farming. Adaptation methods being
demonstrated by the ongoing project, ClimAgri, include modifying crop cycles in order to avoid critical crop development stages coinciding with periods of high temperatures and encouraging the use
of plant species that are resistant to droughts and
extreme heat.
Covers and stubble are kept to avoid water evaporation and
increase infiltration
cultural seasons with a full rotation is 5% greater
with conservation agriculture than with conventional techniques,” says Mr González Sánchez. Leguminous crop production is up 7.9% and wheat,
7.3%, he notes.
The Italian project LIFE HelpSoil has also introduced conservation agriculture practices such as
cover crops, crop rotation and no-till farming on
the plain of the River Po. According to Stefano
Brenna, the project’s technical manager, these
practices have already increased the vitality and
fertility of the soil, increasing its SOM and biodiversity (i.e. more earthworms, microarthropods)
Photo: LIFE11 ENV/ES/000579
REAGRITECH built a hybrid wetland system using shipping containers and implementing hydraulic controls for recirculating water
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The HelpSoil project has promoted livestock manure management through the application of trailing-shoe, shallow injection and ‘fertigation’ systems. These techniques are expected to increase
manure and slurry efficiency, and the project will
adapt them to prevent the soil becoming compacted. “Agronomic and ecological data will be collected to assess the extent that all these conservation
agriculture techniques can deal with the impact of
climate change,” says Mr Brenna.
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The 12 farms participating in the Swedish project, SOLMACC were selected
to demonstrate four practices relevant to climate change adaptation: optimised on-farm nutrient recycling (such as composting, cooperation on manure/forage and biogas fermentation); optimised crop rotations with legume-grass leys (the grass-legume is harvested as hay or silage); optimised
tillage system (i.e. reduced tillage in combination with forage-legumes and
cover crops in an organic farming system); and agroforestry. The latter is
the practice of combining trees, crops and livestock as a whole production
unit. “The adaptation potential of this technique relies on the presence of
trees in the cropping system which helps to protect the soil and the crop
against soil erosion and severe climate conditions such as long droughts,”
explains Ann-Kathrin Trappenberg of International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements Regional EU Group, the project beneficiary.
agriculture
Testing adaptive farming techniques
Creating buffer strips
The project has developed a monitoring protocol for each farming practice
that includes a yearly visit to each participating farm and the taking of
soil samples for analysis. Soil structures, in particular, are expected to be
strengthened by better tillage systems and the application of compost. The
farms practising crop rotations are also better adapted to changing climatic conditions “since soils with higher SOC due to grass-legume cropping
are more resilient,” adds Ms Trappenberg.
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/SE/000800/Pfänder Hof GbR
Another project to have created buffer strips was
CONCERT’EAU. Through cooperation with stakeholders and administrators, the project was able to
implement crop rotation and buffer strips throughout the Adour-Garonne river basin territory in
France, techniques designed to reduce nitrate and
pesticide levels in surface waters.
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of nitrogen-rich runoff water. Its solution was to
build a hybrid wetland system using large shipping
containers and implementing hydraulic controls for
recirculating water. “The system offers the possibility that certain desired flows of treated effluents
can be recirculated to any of the constructed wetlands,” says Prof Jordi Morató, the project manager. The system was installed at an irrigated plantation crop in Lleida (Catalonia). Here, water for the
constructed wetland is taken from the infiltrated
water by means of well pumps and treated using a
two-chambered sedimentation tank. Water quality
is being continually monitored in order to optimise
the system.
and reducing erosion. In the medium term, fewer
pesticides and fertilisers will be required and less
energy consumed (lowering the cost of yields). The
project is also testing subsurface drip irrigation,
which has proved to be “particularly suitable for no
tillage soil management,” says Mr Brenna. It is also
desirable as an adaptation practice, given that the
reduction of evapotranspiration means that less
water is used.
According to Andrea Lorito of the REWETLAND project, the actions it has taken to improve the quality of surface waters in the Pontine Plain, south
of Rome, “can be considered direct and immediate
measures for increasing the area’s resilience to climate change.” As well as carrying out actions on
pilot sites to improve ecosystem functioning and
flood management, the project was a trailblazer
for buffer strip management using phytoremediation (the process of decontaminating soil or water
by using plants and trees to absorb or break down
pollutants). Since nitrates and phosphates enter
water courses from croplands in many places, creating buffers (on two of the four pilot sites) was an
“appropriate and cheap solution. Among the best
plant species to use in this context is common reed
(Phragmites australis),” says Mr Lorito.
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One of the specific aims of the REAGRITECH project
has been to assess the potential of buffer strips
as an ecosystem-based adaptation approach. The
project’s overall goal is to reduce the volume of
water used in agriculture and to limit the impact
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Increasing the resilience of
grasslands
Species-rich, semi-natural permanent grasslands
provide many functions and ecosystem services
but this functioning is lost when they are converted to agricultural land. Such land use change not
only threatens biodiversity it also diminishes resilience. Permanent grasslands also mitigate flood
threats because of their capacity to store water.
Wet grasslands can serve as a buffer zone for agricultural run off and help reduce erosion. The reconversion of former arable land to grassland can
improve the land’s adaptive capacity, but the process is not straightforward.
LIFE and the Rural Development Programme have
financed agri-environmental measures that are
beneficial for the conservation of European grasslands. Since 1992, more than 450 projects have
focused on grassland conservation, demonstrating
such practices as grazing and cutting. Overgrazing, however, can have a negative impact on soil’s
capacity to retain water as well as increasing soil
erosion and runoff. Reversing this tendency will result in improved soil quality and better regulated
water flows that lower the incidence of flash flooding following heavy rainfall.
A good example of a LIFE project helping to improve the resilience of grassland is the ongoing
project PTD LIFE. It is testing on 120 cattle farms
a Dynamic Rotational Grazing management system that controls grazing according to the growth
phases of the grassland. Anne Porchet from CAVEB,
the project beneficiary, explains that, “the animals
are only allowed to graze a patch of land for a very
short period of time so as not to exhaust its value
as forage.” By maximising the productivity of the
grass in this way and allowing the meadows to
self-fertilise, the use of mineral fertilisers can be
limited.
Furthermore, the project is analysing the carbon
content of the soil to show the improved resilience
achieved by the PTD system and assessing potential economic benefits.
The natural and semi-natural grasslands in Lithuania targeted by LIFE Viva Grass are complex ecosystems that provide a range of ecosystem services – for example, the Silute grasslands are habitats
for many birds and attract budding birdwatchers
to the region. These sites, however, have suffered
as the result of intensive agriculture in productive
areas and marginalisation or land abandonment
in more remote areas. The LIFE project aims to
tackle this problem. “This is a policy project, where
we would like to develop the tool to increase integrated planning efficiency,” says Kęstutis Navickas
of the Baltic Environmental Forum (BEF) Lithuania,
the project beneficiary. He explains that the project
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/LT/000189/Zymantas Morkvenas
LIFE Viva Grass is training farmers to use a combination of grazing and mowing to maintain alvar meadows
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Photo: LIFE08 ENV/IT/000406
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Buffer strips improved the quality of surface waters polluted by agricultural run-off in the Pontine Plain
could lead to the development of recommendations that highlight the role that grasslands have
in regulating water availability.
One of the project’s partners is the Kurese farm
and it is applying a more ‘natural’ approach to
farming. The farmer, Urmas Vahur, uses a combination of grazing and mowing to maintain aluvar
meadows and wooden pasture. The cows, which
he rents from a neighbouring farmer, are used as
a means of land management and not a direct
source of income.
Efficient water use
Combating water scarcity and droughts – two noticeable impacts of climate change – is the driving
force behind the adoption of more efficient irrigation practices. Such efforts are in line with EU water policy, notably the Water Framework Directive
(2000/60/EC), and LIFE projects are demonstrating
how greater efficiencies can be achieved, including
the advantages of adopting drip or sprinkler irrigation systems (see boxes).
Another means of reducing water consumption is
through more selective irrigation. For example, the
AG_UAS LIFE project employed airborne sensors on
drones to identify the specific irrigation needs of
the crops in the Navarra area of Spain. The project tested two different sensors: an IR sensor that
measures soil moisture and a multispectral sensor
that allows the vegetation index to be calculated.
“With these sensors you are able to obtain a spatial representation (image) of the soil moisture and
therefore the spatial irrigation needs of the crop.
In this way you can save water,” explains project
manager Teo Vitoria.
A further problem relating to water security is the
rise in sea levels as global temperatures increase.
The intrusion of seawater can lead to freshwater sources become saline, and thus soil can also
become saline when this water is used for irrigation. To combat this problem, the Italian project,
WSTORE2 is introducing an innovative water management system in the Vallevecchia river basin
that channels and discharges poor quality water
into the sea, but stores excess water, which has
sufficiently low salinity, in canals and basins.
“When the data from the automatic system show
that there are the suitable conditions, we release
good quality water from the basin to the drainage
network (the canals, channels and ditches) so that
slowly a sweet water table forms above the saline one,” explains Lorenzo Furlan from the project
beneficiary. The success of this method has made
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Photo: LIFE09 ENV/ES/000456
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AG_UAS is using airborne sensors on drones to identify crop irrigation needs in Navarra
it possible to introduce several cash crops as well
as improving the yield and quality of staple crops
such as maize and soybean.
Irrigation can also be made more efficient by improving scheduling times. The IES (‘Irrigation Expert
Simulator’) project in Spain has devised a tool that
creates irrigation schedules based on the user’s
plot details and the meteorological conditions.
Registered users of the IES tool can also receive
recommendations based on how an expert would
have irrigated the same plot. “By comparing the
results with the help of a trainer during face-toface sessions or [by consulting] the manual in online sessions, farmers identify the best irrigation
practices to apply in their fields,” explains Josep
Pijuan of project partner, Eurecat.
Through these sessions, the project has already
reached more than 100 farmers and students and
expects resulting water savings to be considerable.
Financial savings will depend on regional variations
in water prices and energy prices relating to pumping.
The POWER project developed a model for improving crop irrigation efficiency in Zaragoza, Spain. It demonstrated water-efficient sprinkler irrigation on a small, 1 ha plot of corn crop, and a drip irrigation system on
a larger, 3 ha plot. According to Nieves Zubalez, the project manager, the
sprinkler system incorporated several innovations: remote control devices,
humidity sensors, fault and leak detection and usability across a range
of scales. The project also experimented with the use of drip irrigation on
crops normally irrigated using sprinkler systems as a means of improving
efficiency in water use.
The project’s model combines such water efficiency with the use of renewable energy – for example, photovoltaic panels at the pumping station. Water and energy savings offer farmers and land mangers a competitive edge
and the project was well received by stakeholders. A total of 10 irrigation
communities have voluntarily adopted the project’s good water governance
models, including the national association of irrigation communities. “Economic savings vary depending on the irrigation task and the objective price
of water,” says Ms Zubalez.
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Photo: LIFE08 ENV/E/000114
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The MEDACC project is implementing aspects of the
Catalan Strategy for Adapting to Climate Change
as they relate to a number of areas, including irrigation. It is testing two types of irrigation systems
(drip and gravity), “because both have interesting
positive characteristics in terms of water sources
(amount and quality), crop needs, energy costs and
economic feasibility,” says Dr Robert Savé of IRTA,
a project partner. The project is also improving the
efficiency of water use by sharing knowledge of
crops’ water needs with farmers, by avoiding water
evaporation from the soil and by developing crops
in less dry areas.
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could allow for the sustainable intensification of
crop production in Mediterranean regions. Results
show that in some cases the solution is to plant
native species that are better adapted to changing
environmental conditions – e.g. native grapes have
the potential to help both increase the range of
wines produced and reduce the amount of pesticide and fertiliser required. Such an approach, however, does not work for all types of produce. Certain
native tomato species, for instance, adapt well to
new environmental conditions but produce lower
yields or have properties that lower their market
value.
Improving cultivation
Survival rates of around 80% were achieved without irrigation since the box captures rainwater and
dew. “After one or two summers the box can be taken off for re-use in another plantation as the roots
will have grown deep and wide into the soil where
it will further develop thanks to the restored capillary action,” Mr Kallen adds. Restoring desertified
areas is particularly effective for tackling the problem of climate change. The restored areas serve as
“green barriers” to further erosion and allow more
rainwater (especially from extreme rainstorms) to
be absorbed.
Trials with cash crops (trees for timber, cherries,
almonds, pistachios etc.) showed the economic viability of the project’s method. Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers also have been successfully cultivated in very arid areas in this way.
Climate-resilient durum wheat
agriculture
The Italian project LIFE SEMENte parTEcipata is seeking to improve the
resource-efficiency of commercial plant breeding activities by creating
composite cross population of durum wheat germplasm (Triticum turgidum subsp durum L.) and other Triticum species using genetic improvement
technology. The end result will be the promotion of agricultural systems
that are more resistant to climate change. To this effect, the project has
asked several germplasm banks for access to old varieties of durum wheat
that have been subjected to breeding before the introduction of chemical
fertilisation.
Professor Concetta Vazzana, the project manager, explains that these varieties have “retained the useful genetic characteristics for organic crop
production.” For example, they are more competitive in relation to weeds,
have better nutritional qualities and have a greater potential to respond to
climate change. The project is carrying out evaluations on organic farms in
the different project regions.
Organic farming is a “low-input system”, says Prof Vazzana, and requires
less fertiliser and soil tillage. The project is building on these benefits
through a three-year crop rotation cycle that consists of sunflower or
maize; chickpea, bean or multi-essence green manure; and durum wheat.
The legume crop reduces external nitrogen inputs, while the green manure
increases organic matter, resulting in soil structure improvements, better
weed control and less need for mechanical intervention. “The introduction
of a wide genetic variability within the material obtained makes the crops
more resilient, enabling them to respond successfully to climate variability,” concludes the professor.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/IT/001258
The need to improve cultivation techniques is perhaps more apparent in dry areas where the impact
of climate change is already visible. As its name
suggests, the Green Deserts project aimed to apply new planting techniques in desertified areas of
Spain. By combining these techniques with an innovative water box technology (Twinboxx), it showed
that even unpromising land could be made productive. The boxes, which hold 25 litres of water, offer
a novel way of planting trees that avoids the need
for irrigation. A wick below the box ‘leaks’ the water slowly to the plant’s roots. “It basically restores
the capillary function and forces the plant to grow
deep roots anchored in the soil,” explains project
manager Sven Kallen.
The MEDDAC project, mentioned earlier, is not only
focusing on irrigation, but also how farming management practices and plant breeding techniques
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Rising temperatures increase the number of pests
and diseases, as organisms expand their ranges to
warming climates. Milder winters also result in an
increased survival rate of many frost-sensitive insects. Higher rainfall and CO2 levels also help spread
crop diseases. Despite these challenges, it is possible
to manage pests without more pesticides. Integrated
pest management is a multidisciplinary, ecologically
based pest management system that allows growers
to minimise pesticide use and the risk of chemical
run off and water pollution. It can, moreover, facilitate responses to this increasing risk of pests and
disease.
LIFE’s Ecopest project demonstrated such an approach to pest management and thus shows how
the Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides
(Directive 2009/128/EC) can be implemented. It carried out pilot activities on an intensely cultivated
area north of Athens: “The challenge was to protect
the aquatic ecosystems and soils from the impacts
of high concentrations of toxic substances due to
excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers,” explains
project manager Kiki Machera.
The Ecopest project met this challenge by developing a ‘Low Input Crop Management (LCM) System’
and agro-environmental safety principles for human
health and the environment. Soil maps and a hydrogeological map of the Viotikos Kifissos basin were
used to determine where on the pilot area to locate
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/GR/000266/NEEMO EEIG/Gabriella Camarsa
Controlling pests
Ecopest used pheromone traps to monitor the presence of
pests
the sampling and monitoring sites. The participating farmers then implemented suitable systems incorporating new technologies that included a weed
seeker, spray drift control nozzles, a prototype for
controlling spraying machinery, a ‘heliosec’ system
for collecting liquid waste, and environmental modelling and predicting models.
Such innovations led to a 30% reduction in the
amount of pesticide used in crop production. Less
pesticide helps make soil more resilient by reducing pollution and increasing its organic content. The
project designed and operated a rolling programme
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/GR/000266/BPI/Chachalis
Farmers were trained to apply Low Input Crop Management systems on cotton, maize and plum tomatoes
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A key impact of the project was training farmers in
these methods. Some 220 farmers (63% of all of
those on the pilot site) were trained to use LCM systems for cotton, maize and plum tomato, enabling
them to implement non-chemical and alternative
control methods for weeds, pests and diseases. A
further 50 agronomists were taught how to better
advise farmers on regional pest types, when to spray
and what pesticides to use.
Spreading the word
Cooperating with stakeholders, such as farmers, has
been central to the success of the LIFE programme.
Moreover, LIFE projects have specifically aimed to inform the agricultural sector of best practices and the
latest technologies. The CHANGING THE CHANGE project in Spain, for example, gave Galicia’s agroforestry
sector information on activities to improve climate
change adaptation. Technicians at the 37 agrarian
offices in the region attended four-day training workshops and received daily bulletins to enable them to
offer the best environmental advice to farmers.
The engagement of farmers and other stakeholders has been one of the LIFE programme’s
strengths in relation to climate change adaptation. Encouraging farmers to actively engage with
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new techniques (often overcoming initial concern
about the impact on yields and incomes), is helping improve resilience. The fact that many farmers have adopted climate-friendly techniques and
continued to use them after projects end illustrates that such practices can be environmentally
and economically viable. Going beyond mere communication, active stakeholder involvement and
dialogue with the scientific community, agronomists and local planners has been central to the
success of projects. However, more can be done
at project design stage and at programme level
to improve synergies with local and regional authorities and encourage wider take up of ideas and
practices trialled by LIFE, investment in permanent
advisory bodies, or the roll out of effective tools
for decision-making concerning agricultural land
management.
Conclusions
LIFE projects have focused, in particular, on improving irrigation practices and on the introduction of
adaptation strategies such as no tillage and cover
crops. Some projects have even helped influence
policy (AgriClimateChange - see pp. 56-57) and the
incorporation of techniques into the measures foreseen by the Rural Development Programme. Despite
these successes, more can be done in other areas
of agricultural practice. Few LIFE projects have explored intercropping, the use of adapted crops and
improving the genetic traits of crops, for example.
Moreover, LIFE projects have yet to focus on animal
rearing conditions or livestock diversification in the
context of climate change adaptation.
agriculture
of soil sampling and monitoring. This good practice
provided results that were fed into a digital model
to provide a set of maps capable of measuring and
illustrating soil and water changes. Building maps for
water enabled the team to assess how contamination from soil infiltrates into water bodies.
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Photo: LIFE13 ENV/ES/000541/Rafael Navarro
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Demonstrating good practice
to farmers and policy-makers
The AgriClimateChange project not only implemented good adaptation practices on the
ground. It also met Commission officials and MEPs and submitted proposals that have
informed policy-making at EU level
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griClimateChange assessed the climate
change-related environmental performance
of farms in four countries, an international scope
that adding weight to its proposals. Of those farms,
24 were in France (mostly in the south-west), 48
in Spain (Valencia, the Canary Islands and Murcia),
24 in Italy (Umbria) and 24 in Germany (BadenWürttemberg).
The project developed a software tool to make its
farm-performance assessments drawing on the experience of the project partners, especially Solagro,
the French agriculture and environment association.
Experts from the project partners then used the
assessment data to develop action plans with
the participating farmers. Many of the measures
encouraged and assessed by the project can be
classed as adaptation measures – alongside those
that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy
consumption.
Assessing alfalfa cover crop: Jordi Domingo (left) with farmer Alfons Domínguez
Moreover, “some mitigation options have a close
relationship with adaptation problems that farmers are beginning to address,” says Jordi Domingo
of the Fundación Global Nature, the coordinating
beneficiary. These options include cover crops, irrigation efficiency, development of ecological infrastructure, integrated pest management and
self-sufficiency of food for livestock. Farmers are
increasingly aware of climate-related problems,
such as heat waves and erosion caused by heavy
rainfall, and are implementing these measures to
tackle them.
Mr Domingo was especially involved in working with
farmers in his native Valencia region of Spain. He
emphasises that it was important to trial as many
different farming systems as possible – 27 in total.
“Once you have this pool then the conclusions that
you can reach are really powerful,” he says.
Diverse measures
At one particular farm in the region, this diversification of measures is apparent. The organic citrus
fruit farmer, Alfons Domínguez, has planted species-rich hedgerows to afford his orange, lemon and
avocado groves better protection against the increasingly hot summers and to nurture natural pest
killers (preventing the need for pesticides). He is
also using a range of cover crops, including alfalfa
that can be used as animal fodder. This leguminous
plant helps to retain moisture and fix atmospheric
nitrogen in the soil.
The hedgerows also have the benefit of mitigating
the soil erosion that is a common problem for the
conventional farmers that are not practicing conservation measures. With the increased incidence
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For farmers such as Mr Dominguez the impact of
climate change is already evident. In short, rainfall
is down (wells half full) and temperatures are up to
the extent that he is now adding to his output more
‘tropical fruit’ (namely, mango, lime and papaya),
which were previously grown in Spain only farther
south in warmer parts. Such diversification has the
commercial advantage of allowing him to harvest
produce all the year round.
Mr Dominguez has met with other farmers eager
to understand the approach that he is taking on his
farm. Such word-of-mouth communication is essential if widespread change is to occur. Nevertheless, one of the goals of the project was to work
“side by side” with the farmers, he says. “Climate
change is a trend and some farmers are not interested in what ‘may’ happen in the future. 99.9% of
them don’t really understand the link between their
agriculture and the climate.”
Explaining this link isn’t easy, but he emphasises
that making the demonstrable business case for
adapting to a changing climate is the way to go. The
approach also needs to be adapted to local economic conditions. For example, technically difficult
solutions and those that require large investments,
such as biogas plants, may not be the priority for
Spain and, in particular, his region where farmers
own small plots.
One such local solution employed to good effect on
Mr Dominguez’s land is the use of manure as a fertiliser that significantly improves the structure and
fertility of the soil in the long term and, moreover,
has a low carbon footprint. He was able to share
these experiences with farmers from other regions
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at the project’s European Conference on Farming
and Climate Change in Toulouse.
But, as mentioned, it was not only within the agricultural sector that the LIFE project focused its
efforts. It also called on EU policy-makers to include climate change actions in European legislation. In order to support this goal, the project team
organised two meetings with Commission officials
and two breakfast meetings at the European Parliament. These meetings resulted in a request for
policy proposals and advice on how to present them
in the correct format, says Mr Domingo.
In spite of the comprehensive analysis of results
that the project had been able to perform, he was
initially “quite pessimistic” about the impact that
the results would have on the EU. “But we were
welcomed,” he says. “The project’s report to the
European Parliament included a set of measures
for achieving realistic climate change mitigation
and adaptation at farm level, including a short description of each measure, the expected impact at
the EU level, the constraints to be overcome and
a proposal for including the measures in different
regulations.” In this way, the report’s authors detailed the different possibilities, such as improving
the greening of CAP Pillar I or including agri-environmental measures in Pillar II.
The project was also invited to the 4th Meeting of
the Expert Group for Sustainability and Quality of
Agriculture and Rural Development. Furthermore,
it carried out lobbying activities in the four countries where it was active to influence regional and
national governments – for example, it held meetings with the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food
and Environment, the French Environment & Energy
Management Agency [ADEME], the Italian Agricultural Ministry and the government of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). “Some of the measures promoted and tested during the project were sent to
the Spanish Ministry to be considered in the Diffuse
Sectors Roadmap for Climate Change in Spain,”
adds Mr Domingo.
Project number: LIFE09 ENV/ES/000441
Contact: Eduardo de Miguel
Title: AgriClimateChange - Combating climate change
through farming: application of a common evaluation system in the 4 largest agricultural economies of the EU
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: Fundación Global Nature
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agriculture
of sudden weather events – such as torrential rains
– the hedges and cover crops serve to retain some
of the runoff in the fields. Indeed, the rich ochre of
the soil on Mr Dominguez’s farm stands in contrast
to the paler soil found on neighbouring farms and
is an immediate visual clue to the fertility of his
land.
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Website: www.agriclimatechange.eu
Period: 01-Dec-2006 to 30-Jun-2010
Total budget: €1 589 000
LIFE contribution: €794 000
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forests
Looking after the long-term
future of EU forest resources
LIFE is at the forefront of developing knowhow and transferable best practices that help
EU forests to adapt to climate change and thereby safeguard their multifunctional benefits
for future generations.
E
urope is home to more than 70 different forest types, which between them support a
huge range of flora and fauna as well as act as
popular recreational resources. The forestry and
forest products industries employ 3.5 million people, with some 450 000 forest-based businesses
representing 7% of EU manufacturing GDP.
Forests prevent soil erosion and desertification,
especially in mountains or semi-arid areas. They
do this mostly by limiting runoff and lowering wind
speed in their immediate surroundings. Tree roots
enrich soil, contributing to soil fertility, productivity and carbon sequestration. Forests also play a
major role in the storage, purification and release
of water to surface water bodies and subsurface
aquifers and help in conserving biodiversity.
Like other ecosystems, forests are susceptible to
changing climate patterns. Climate adaptation
measures for forests are therefore a high priority
for the EU and its Member States.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/SI/000148/Boris Rantaša
LIFEGENMON is conducting the genetic monitoring of beech canopy in Slovenia
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Photo: LIFE13 ENV/PL/000048/K.Pilch
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LIFE+ ForBioSensing PL is identifying changes in forest structure and tree species composition caused by climate change
“Climate change is projected to strongly affect forests in Europe,” says Dr Marcus Lindner, Head of
the Forest Ecology and Management Programme
at the European Forest Institute. “Forest management will have to adapt to changes in mean climate but also to increased variability with greater
risk of extreme weather events, such as prolonged
drought, storms and floods,” he explains.
The EU’s new Forest Strategy notes the importance
of both policy and practical actions that maintain
and enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity
of forests.
Special attention in this respect is paid to building
on actions proposed by the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change1, as well as the Green Paper
on Forest Protection and Information2. A key challenge is to adapt existing forest management to
take proper account of climate factors.
Trees’ long growth cycles (100 years or more for
some softwood plantation species) mean that adaptation policy measures for forestry need to be
1 COM(2013)216.
2 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:
2010:0066:FIN:EN:PDF
planned well in advance of expected changes in
growing conditions.
Member States are directing their strategic priorities towards bridging knowledge gaps and mainstreaming adaptation action through national forest plans, forest inventories and action plans under
the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) or
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
forests
Adapting forest policies
Protecting forestry
Climate change will impact forests through a number of factors: atmospheric CO2 increase; changes
in temperature; changes in precipitation and hydrology; changes in tree species composition; abiotic disturbances; and biotic disturbances.
Forests in different parts of Europe are affected differently by these impacts. Flooding incidents are increasing in some Member States, whilst droughts are
becoming more acute and frequent in other countries. Varying concentrations of atmospheric gases
can also affect the natural dynamics of tree growth.
A rise in ‘abiotic’ disturbances including fire incidents
and storm damage has different implications for different EU forests ecosystems (see Figure 1). These
ecosystems also face so-called biotic problems linked
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Bioclimatic Map of Europe (Rivas-Martínez et al., 2004)
Oceanic
Continental
Boreal
to the consequences of pests or diseases that extend
their range and move (often northwards) in response
to shifts in climate patterns.
A one-size-fits-all approach is therefore not suitable for stakeholders involved in adapting EU forests – forest management strategies need to be
flexible.
The LIFE programme is an important source of
support for implementing forest adaptation actions. It has been involved in co-financing some of
the EU’s earliest forest adaptation work (around
20 projects in all). Already funded LIFE projects
have tackled the impacts of warmer temperatures
and atmospheric pollution, changes in tree species
composition, forest fires and the spread of pests
and pathogens. They have also helped build capac-
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Mediterranean
Polar
ity to adapt to climate change and raised awareness of issues.
LIFE projects “have provided valuable input, helping Member States to continue sustainable forest
management through a time of changing climate,”
says Jerzy Plewa, Director General for the European
Commission’s Directorate of Agriculture and Rural
Development. He adds that “the new LIFE 20142020 Programme provides additional opportunities
for forests, with extra attention for climate change.
This programme complements well the forestrelated measures carried out under [EU] rural development policy in support of sustainable forest
management.” As well as climate action grants for
adaptation actions, the programme now has the potential to increase its impact via the Natural Capital
Financing Facility (NCFF) (see pp. 14-15).
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Many forest projects tackling adaptation issues have
worked to clarify the extent of impacts of temperature increases and to test the validity of practical actions to help forests adapt to hotter, drier conditions.
LIFE’s potential for building knowledge bases about
how forests can be adapted to better cope with
warming temperatures is seen in the Italian project,
RESILFORMED, which is mapping Sicily’s forests to
identify the areas at greatest risk of desertification
and where urgent application of forest management
techniques aimed at increasing resilience is needed.
“In general silvicultural techniques aimed at increasing forest resilience are of two types: when
the forest has been degraded due to fires, over-
Life+ Pinassa will adopt silvicultural techniques that will improve the biodiversity, stability and
resilience of intensively exploited dense stands of forest
grazing or erosion, the measures aim to increase
foliage coverage and the stock of above-ground
biomass, reduce erosion, and restore the vegetative parts of damaged topsoil,” says project manager Luciano Saporito. “In forests in a normal state,
resilience is increased by promoting the internal
dynamic ecosystem through interventions that
promote arboreal biodiversity, reduce the level of
structural simplification, and improve the natural
potential in forests of artificial origin,” he explains.
forests
Higher temperatures have different impacts in different locations. In northern climes they can extend
the growing season of forests, potentially increasing pressure on water resources. In Mediterranean countries, a warming climate could stunt tree
growth as hotter conditions reduce precipitation
and photosynthesis. Temperature increases also
impact productivity and change species distribution
patterns, causing potential conflicts between species (see biodiversity chapter – pp. 100-106).
Photo: LIFE13 NAT/ES/000724
Warmer temperatures and
atmospheric pollution
Photo: LIFE11 ENV/IT/000215
Increasing resilience in Mediterranean forests
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RESILFORMED has developed a number of management models for forest resilience. It used cane
mats and increased tree density with native tree
species to enhance hydrogeological civil enegineering; artificial stands have been naturalised by
selective thinning and planting of native trees and
shrubs; degraded areas have been restored using
native shrub species; and the project has developed the structural complexity of stands. The projects methods will be included in a set of forest
management guidelines that will enable the implementation of a forest management plan for Sicily.
“It is essential to involve the government authorities and their planning tools,” believes Mr Saporito.
“In addition, it is important to reduce risks due to
human action,” he says. To this end, RESILFORMED
is involving local communities in forest protection
measures and establishing indicators to define the
role of communities and ecosystems in adapting
to climate change. “Local authorities should aim to
increase local community awareness of the importance of improved forest resilience to safeguard
the ecosystem services forests provide,” says Mr
Saporito.
As mentioned previously, varying concentrations of
atmospheric gases can affect the natural dynamics of tree growth. The FO3REST project studied the
impact of ozone (O3) levels on growth levels to enable new pollution benchmarks to be established
(see box).
Photo: LIFE10 ENV/FR/000208/G.I.E.F.S.
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Ozone-induced injury to the leaves of the European hornbeam
Changes in tree species composition
Climate change is expected to lead to competition
between tree species and changes in species distribution, differing according to the bioclimatic region
and local factors. To understand the nature of such
changes, there is a need for systems for forest
genetic monitoring that can give an early warning
of species’ response to environmental change on
a long-term temporal scale. LIFE is helping here
through actions such as those being developed by
the LIFEGENMON project (see box).
The Polish project LIFE+ ForBioSensing PL is identifying changes in forest structure and tree species
Thresholds for ozone levels
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The FO3REST project studied how changes in ozone (O3) levels
can affect the growth of forests. Mediterranean forests will be
especially vulnerable to the negative effects of this atmospheric
pollutant in a context of global warming. The current European
benchmark for measuring O3 levels is the AOT40 index, based
on concentrations in the air exceeding 40 ppb over the daylight
hours of the growing season. However, studies have shown that
vegetation is also affected by ozone uptake through the stomata
into leaves or needles, leading to impaired cell functioning and
death. An index, based on the stomatal ozone flux, called phytotoxic ozone dose above a threshold Y of uptake (PODY), has been
proposed as a new standard. However, in order to be considered
suitable as a new EU benchmark, the PODY index needs to be
validated in field conditions.
Results showed that there was a greater correlation between
POD0 and observed ozone-induced injuries in the field, confirming the findings of earlier lab studies. The LIFE project team defined critical levels of POD0 for six tree species (Pinus cembra,
Pinus halepensis, Pinus sylvestris, Pinus pinea, Pinus pinaster
and Fagus sylvatica) in cases where 5-15% of needle or leaf
area shows signs of ozone-induced damage. In doing so, it has
made a significant contribution to the development of methods
for quantifying ozone effects on vegetation at the regional scale,
particularly in a context of climate change.
FO3REST compared the performance of AOT40, total stomatal
ozone uptake (POD0) and threshold-based phytotoxic ozone dose
(POD1) for eight Mediterranean forest species in a large-scale
field investigation on some 80 plots in Italy and south-east France.
The beneficiary established strong links with national ministries,
regional forestry authorities and local forest managers, facilitating direct application of the results through adapted and sustainable forest management.
Project results have been widely disseminated to the scientific
community which will enable the results to be taken into consideration in future updates to legislation on forest protection
against ozone (e.g. EC directive 2008/50).
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composition that occur in the forest stands caused
by spruce and ash dieback, and hornbeam expansion. “We will be able to confirm which changes
are caused by climate change,” says Krzysztof
Stereńczak from the project. LIFE+ ForBioSensing
PL is carrying out airborne laser scanning of the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest to produce a new
baseline of maps and other key data (e.g. growing
stock, canopy cover, location of ash dieback, largescale spatial distribution of forest stands). Knowledge of different climatic parameters can be used
later in modelling and to understand the different
factors influencing the forest’s ecosystems. This in
turn will help national park and forest district managers implement relevant protection activities.
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Monitoring genetic changes
Led by a Slovenian beneficiary, the LIFEGENMON project is working on
guidelines for forest managers and a decision-support system that will
help predict when climate change may pose particular types of risks to
tree species and appropriate responses, including for early stage prevention. The project team is developing indicators that can be used to monitor
changes in genetic diversity across a transect from Bavaria to Greece for
two selected target species (the common beech, Fagus sylvatica and silver
fir, Abies alba). “The indicators include demographic and genetic verifiers,
on which the selection processes, changes in genetic variability and mating
system can be assessed,” says project manager, Tjaša Baloh.
“LIFE is helping us to determine the most cost-effective measurement methods and our results will be used in at least three countries (Germany, Slovenia
and Greece). Such outcomes can be very useful for informing policy-makers.
The project has strong strategic legislative goals,” says Ms Baloh.
forests
The guidelines produced by the project aim to feed into the preparation of
common forest adaptation and strategies and recommendations at national, regional and European scale.
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/SI/000148
In addition to tree species composition, LIFE funding has been mobilised to increase understanding
of the future development of carbon and water
balances and their relationship to climate change
in boreal forests. To this end, the MONIMET project
in Finland is building a comprehensive platform for
analysing climate change effects on seasonal dynamics of various phenomena. To do so, it is collating data spread across a number of institutes
and from existing monitoring mechanisms (such
as Earth Observation – EO (satellite) – data), as
well as a new webcam network that is being established by the project to monitor the seasonal
cycle in boreal ecosystem carbon exchange. The
project’s actions will establish links between climate change indicators and their effects and create climate change vulnerability maps that can
be used by Finnish municipalities situated in the
boreal zone.
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Abiotic disturbances: forest fires
Climate change is forecast to cause more droughts,
higher temperatures and more high winds, raising
the likelihood and severity of fires. Some 500 000
ha of forest is destroyed by fire every year in the
EU3. Negative impacts include loss of life, damage to property, emissions of greenhouse gases
and other particles, reduced soil fertility and loss
of species and habitats. Active forest management
can help reduce fire risks.
Forest fire prevention was an explicit aim of the
LIFE+ Information & Communication strand (200713), and the LIFE programme as a whole has supported a cluster of projects that have tackled for3 Green Paper On Forest Protection and Information in the EU:
Preparing forests for climate change COM(2010)66 final
est fires through mapping and modelling, training,
knowledge transfer and awareness raising. By contrast, there have been no LIFE projects that address the impact of another type of abiotic disturbance, destructive storms.
Removing the biomass that feeds fires is one of the
goals of the Greek project, Flire. The project has
produced a forest fuel map based on the vegetation structure that will allow forest managers to
reduce the risk of fires starting and spreading. The
project’s online decision-support system includes
fire risk assessment and fire propagation modules
and weather forecasts. The system is designed to
be used by local authorities and other key responders who need early warnings of (potential) fires
and floods.
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ENERBIOSCRUB is a good example of how project
outcomes can contribute to climate mitigation policy as well as adaptation agendas. The project is
mapping an entire forested area in Castilla-Leon
and Galicia to determine the amount of flammable
scrub biomass that can be converted into solid biofuel. The mapping process will enable selection of
plots, types of biomass and management methods
(optimal season per plot and number of clearing
operations). Collaboration with landowners and
land managers will enable scrub clearance to take
place in line with the identified approaches.
In Catalonia, CPF, the autonomous public body responsible for the administration of private forests,
is coordinating two projects (LIFE+ DEMORGEST
and Life+ Pinassa) that are having complementary
impacts. “Our LIFE Environment project (DEMORGEST) is increasing awareness about fire prevention
via production-oriented measures and the LIFE
Nature project (Pinassa) is reinforcing the resilience of species’ habitats that have come under
increased fire threat,” explains Teresa Cervera, the
coordinator of both projects.
DEMORGEST aims to provide a practical demonstration that Catalonia’s ORGEST silvicultural
models (launched in 2004) are a viable means of
sustainably managing forests and protecting them
from megafires. The project is applying the models
in two pilot areas with high fire risk but with different socio-economic characteristics. Demonstration
sites are also being set up in seven different forest
typologies spread across Catalonia with the eventual goal of transferring the models to other Mediterranean countries. “For areas with high fire risk,
these models have two primary management ob-
Improving the vitality of Catalonia’s cork forests
“Cork forests in Catalonia have started to suffer from lower vitality and
productivity,” says Roser Mundet from the LIFE+ SUBER project. Pests such
as the cork beetle (Coraebus undatus) are causing worsening problems and
the scale and frequency of fires have increased.
The project is aiming to increase the long-term vitality of cork trees by decreasing risks from fire and enhancing natural regeneration potential. “We
are testing large-scale threat-control techniques that have not been tried
before on such a scale,” says Ms Mundet. Techniques include removal of
90-100% of shrub cover and development of open stands structures to ensure discontinuity of combustible material at strategic management points.
Results will be integrated in Catalonian’s ORGEST guidelines and disseminated by networks in France, Italy and Portugal.
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jectives: production of goods (wood, cork and pine
nut) and fire prevention. The tools help to identify
site quality and vulnerability to canopy fires,” says
Ms Cervera. Noting that only 30% of private forest owners in Catalonia have forest plans, she adds
that “the main aim [of DEMORGEST] is to advise on
the practical application of specialised knowledge
of forestry and promote forestry practices and
technology transfer in the sector.”
According to Ms Cervera, Life+ Pinassa “will adopt
recovery actions and silvicultural treatments that
will improve the biodiversity, heterogeneity, stability and resilience of intensively exploited mature
and young dense stands of forest.” Actions will be
tailored to individual stands based on ecological
inventories made by the project (see pp. 100-106).
Protecting biodiversity of high conservation value
at the same time as increasing the resilience of
forests to wildfires is the goal of both the LIFE
MONTSERRAT and LIFE+BOSCOS projects, also
from Spain. The two projects are working at landscape level to create a mosaic of habitats, including recovering abandoned farmland to restore connectivity between ecosystems.
In the case of LIFE MONTSERRAT, EU funding is
testing the viability of ecosystem-based measures
on small to medium-sized farms, implementing
grazing management and forest restoration plans
as tools to foster ecosystem services and multifunctionality. Project manager Leire Miñambres
says “the long-term effectiveness of this strategy
may depend on paying small and medium-sized
farms for providing services beyond their productive activity.”
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/ES/000255
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Biotic disturbances
Climate change can increase the levels of damage
caused by domestic forest pathogens and pests. It
can also bring new exotic infestations, whether introduced by people or natural migration. Biotic disturbance agents are influenced by atmospheric CO2
increase, changes in temperature, changes in precipitation and changes in abiotic disturbances. Climate
change will affect herbivores and pathogens directly
and indirectly through changes in plant nutritional
quality and plant resistance or through community
interactions. This could lead to an increase in the
frequency and consequences (intensity and scale) of
pest outbreaks.
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Forest Cities is establishing a national network of local authorities for forest fire prevention
Increased abiotic disturbances have consequences
for forest management: “winter harvests and storm
damaged trees must be collected from forests earlier, as bark beetles quickly colonise fresh dead wood
and damage risks to nearby forests dramatically increase,” says Dr Peltoniemi.
The Climforisk project explored relationships between
soils, climate and pests. “The simple general hypothesis is that trees suffer physiologically from drought
and cannot defend effectively against pests. The
mechanisms of this are, however, complex and vary
by pest species,” explains Dr Peltoniemi. The LIFE project analysed the impact of drought on specific tree
species in different soil types across a number of
The following feature article on Greece’s Adaptfor
project (pp. 67-70) shows how LIFE co-funding can
be used to assess the extent of threats from pathogen pests in a changing climate.
Forest manager carrying out ground-based measurements to analyse the dynamics
of the forest stands
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/PL/000048/K.Pilch
In Finland, the Climforisk project explored the interaction between abiotic (drought) and biotic
threats (pests/pathogens). “Pest problems start
earlier in the year in warmer temperatures and we
have also seen for the first time two generations
of a pest swarm in the same year,” explains Dr
Mikko Peltoniemi from the Climforisk team. “For
example, there were two generations of the European bark beetle in southern Finland in 2010. The
likelihood of such years happening is expected to
increase in future.”
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LIFE+BOSCOS has demonstrated sustainable forestry management practice in the context of climate change on Menorca. “We have restored natural pastures that are adjacent to or within forests.
These will be maintained by livestock grazing,”
says project officer Agnès Canals. In addition to removing dense undergrowth to limit fire risks, the
project has produced guidelines on how to increase
genetic diversity in order to make Menorca’s forests more resistant and resilient to climate change.
“Our guidelines can be useful for other parts of
Europe that need to reduce water stress and limit
competition between trees,” says Ms Canals.
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Photo: LIFE08 ENV/GR/000553
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Dr Peltoniemi also notes that higher winter temperatures may increase the risk of damage to forests in
eastern and northern Finland from the European pine
sawfly, as well as heightening the risk of outbreaks
of autumnal and winter moths in birch forests in
Lapland. “Moisture conditions are also important for
some fungal pathogens.”
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frameworks in order to be able to monitor the damage and provide material for climate responses for
various biotic damage agents.”
Photo: LIFE08 INF/PL/000523
The Climforisk project has enabled the beneficiary to
provide online forecasts of potential pest development status. However, Dr Peltoniemi says more tools
are necessary to support foresters, private landowners and public bodies in managing biotic disturbances. “We need to develop climate scenarios and see
how all of these factors interact with one another.”
LIFE projects have trained foresters to reduce fire risks
permanent sample plots, finding that areas of bare
rock and hill summits may act as epidemic centres
for certain pests, such as pine sawflies, whilst scleroderris cancer benefitted from rainfall and moist
sites. “These two examples show that one cannot
capture any general trends across damage types under climate change,” he concludes.
“One of the key challenges regarding forests is to
predict if there are critical changes in the damage
regime,” says Dr Peltoniemi. “Present information is
not sufficient to make such conclusions. We think
it would be beneficial to develop forest inventory
Building capacity in Estonia
As temperatures increase, Estonia’s forests are becoming more prone to fires.
The FFPE project trained 179 firefighters (including volunteers) on how to prevent forest fires in the context of Estonia’s vegetation, topography and other
local factors. “Controlling forest fires is difficult in the Vihterpalu region due to
large, dry and sandy forest areas and low technical capacity,” says Mart Kelk,
NGO manager from the Estonian Forest Society, who took part in a “useful”
study trip to the region organised by the LIFE project.
As an added value of the project, the Tallinn Forest Owners Society was inspired to organise another seminar on forest fire prevention with its own
resources.
FFPE also initiated ongoing networking amongst specialists from the Ministry
of Environment, The Centre of Forest Protection and Silviculture, Rescue Service, Ministry of the Interior, State Forest Service and Environmental Board.
This was the first time these organisations with responsibility for forest management had come together to discuss fire prevention. Proposals emerging
from these meetings were recorded and submitted to the relevant higher
authorities.
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Capacity building
Capacity building within LIFE forest projects linked
to climate change adaptation comes in two forms:
projects have either developed monitoring and modelling tools that can be used to produce vulnerability
maps and adopt measures to increase forest resilience; or they have trained foresters to implement
specific techniques and methods that increase resilience, reduce biotic disturbances or reduce fire risks.
As an example of the former, the Forest Cities project
introduced a collaborative approach to fire prevention for municipalities within the Greek region of Attica, boosting their collective ability for rapid reaction
to outbreaks of fire through simplified shared information systems and local action plans.
Examples of the second type of capacity-building
project include FFPE from Estonia (see box).
Capacity building was an important element of the
previously mentioned Flire project, with its risk assessment models and improved decision-making
systems. LIFE+BOSCOS is also putting management
theory into practice, implementing actions recommended by its own good practice guidelines.
Future funding
As this article shows, LIFE funding has been used to
address a broad range of forest adaptation issues already. Other issues that the new generation of LIFE
projects could address include:
• Promoting adapted tree species compositions
within forests;
• Increasing overall diversity to strengthen forest
resilience;
• Increasing management intensity to decrease
threats and improve responses; and
• Landscape-scale management measures that extend adaptation coverage.
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LIFE helps Greek forests to cope
in a changing climate
LIFE’s AdaptFor project has improved understanding about the vulnerability of Greek forest ecosystems to climate change and informed national plans to develop and implement
appropriate adaptation strategies.
s one of the Mediterranean basin Member
States, Greece is projected to be among
the EU countries most vulnerable to the effects
of climate change. Forest adaptation strategies
and associated woodland management plans are
urgently needed to address these challenges, enhance biodiversity and enable the conservation of
healthy, productive Greek forests.
The LIFE AdaptFor project has made a valuable
contribution to this adaptation action by exploring
problems and solutions in four different Greek forest ecosystems.
“Climate change appears to have affected the
health of Greek forests. In particular, dieback and
decline of conifer species such as Scots pine and
Greek fir caused by fungi and insect pests have
been observed during the last decades as well
as intrusion of conifers into broadleaved forests,”
says Vasiliki Chrysopolitou, who led the AdaptFor
project.
Unless climate change impacts are taken into consideration in forestry management, the ecosystem
services that Greek forests provide will be degraded.
To provide a cohesive set of results that could
benefit a large proportion of the national forest
sector the project analysed four different types
of forest ecosystem in four locations: Mount Pieria – which hosts the southernmost distribution
limit of Scots pine in Europe; Aspropotamos and
Kalampaka – representing some of the country’s
most productive and intensively managed forests
(dominant species: fir, chestnut, oak etc.); Mount
Taygetos - where Greek fir is at its southern distribution limit in Greece; and Parnitha - a National
Park focused on biodiversity conservation where
Greek fir is the dominant tree species. All four
forests
A
Photo: EKBY Photo Archive/L. Logothetis
Greek firs have declined due to an increase of pests and pathogens, which has been exacerbated by climate change
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Forest Directorate of Pieria
“From now on, the main concern of our Directorate is the study and monitoring of Scots
pine regeneration rates and its adaptation to
climate change, using field data from permanent sampling plots, a meteorological
plot and pheromone traps established by
the LIFE project. The ultimate aim is to fully
restore this important forest ecosystem and
protect its biodiversity.” Mr Pantelis Klapanis,
Forester.
areas overlap with Natura 2000 network sites.
Quotes from project partners at the four sites are
presented in boxes.
AdaptFor’s adaptive management
AdaptFor employed an ‘adaptive management’ approach, says Vasiliki Tsiaoussi, head of biotic resources and management of protected areas at
EKBY. This began with “a vulnerability assessment
that provided significant information about the forest status and trends, under the effects of climate
change. Localised adaptation measures were then
Photo: EKBY Photo Archive/L. Logothetis
Assessing the presence of diseases and pests from sampling plots
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drafted along with new management objectives for
the forests,” he explains.
Assessing vulnerability was constrained by gaps in
meteorological, soil, tree growth, vegetation, forest
fire and tree disease data, says Panagiotis Drougas,
head of unit for planning and assessment of forest
policy and development at the Ministry of Reconstruction, Production, Environment and Energy. However,
Mr Drougas notes that “the collective actions of ministry staff and forest services, as well as the project’s
scientific experts helped overcome this weakness.”
The project employed a range of adaptation techniques. “In general, the first step was to set the specific
management objectives for each study area,” explains
Dr Argyro Zerva, forester at Directorate for Planning
and Forest Policy in Greece’s Ministry of Reconstruction, Production, Environment and Energy. To achieve
these objectives, the project drafted three types of adaptation measures for forest management:
1. Short-term adaptation measures for immediate
implementation.
2. Medium and long-term adaptation measures to
enhance forest ecosystems.
3. Supplementary measures to enable the adaptation measures to succeed and to protect forests
against biotic and abiotic factors.
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Measures were targeted at specific phenomena. For
instance, at the Ritini–Vria Forest on Mount Pieria,
“project work focused on the conservation of Scots
pine forest through prevention of tree dieback,” says
Dr Zerva. All dead, dying and infected trees were
logged immediately to limit the spread of this disease (so-called ‘sanitary logging’). To preserve and
enhance the genetic diversity of Scots pine the project established a seed bank and seed orchards and
erected fencing to encourage forest regeneration.
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Forest Service of Kalampaka
“It is really important that we were given the opportunity to participate in
a European project, with significant environmental impact for our region.
We anticipate the evaluation of the application of the adaptation measures
(through monitoring activities) after their implementation.” Mr Christos
Pissias, head of Forest Service and Mr Panagiotis Poulianidis, forester.
These areas will be enhanced “through the cessation of clear cuts to broadleaved forests and the
extension of the logging rotation period,” notes Dr
Zerva. “This will convert coppice forest to woodlands (high forest) with a higher sequestration
rate and storage capacity of CO2,” he adds. These
actions, are expected to improve the quality and
volume of wood products, enhance soil productivity, and reduce soil erosion and degradation risks
in forests that have been intensively managed for
timber for many decades.
Highlighting the individual nature of the adaptation
measures at good quality sites such as the Aspropotamos Forest, the project favoured the presence
of invasive fir species in order to create a mixed
deciduous and coniferous forest structure.
Multi-level support
Mr Tsiaoussi of the project’s coordinating beneficiary,
EKBY, says that the great achievement of AdaptFor
was its ability to operate at different levels: “The project demonstrated the approach of adapting forest
management to climate change at local level and
then integrated the findings to provide guidance and
training at regional and national levels.”
Adaptation measures trialled by the project have
been incorporated into the Forest Management
Plans of the four pilot sites, following consultation
with the competent authorities. In addition, says
Mr Tsiaoussi, “permanent monitoring plots and tel-
emetric meteorological stations have been established in each of the pilot sites, in order to assess
forest status and success of adaptation measures.
forests
In the Kalampaka-Aspropotamos forest, “the project focused on halting intrusion of conifer species
into stands where broadleaved species normally
prevail,” explains Dr Zerva. The goal was to prevent
firs extending beyond their lower thermal tolerance
limits into mixed oak woodlands and chestnut forest areas. Firs in these areas become vulnerable to
insect attacks and affect the quality of the broadleaved stands.
“Knowledge and experience gained at local level was subsequently used to deliver guidance to
Greek Forest Services personnel at regional and
national levels, through capacity building guidelines and training activities on how to adapt forest
management to climate change in Greece.”
No regrets
Although the Management Plans for each pilot site
combine silvicultural techniques and practices in a
totally new context, the skills required are based
on solid forest science so they are not completely
new to the foresters.
AdaptFor also considered the implementation costs
and social acceptability of adaptation measures.
“The proposed measures are mainly ‘no or low regret measures’, addressing a wide range of possible climate changes and being beneficial for forests
and local communities, under any circumstances,”
explains Ms Chrysopolitou. Their implementation
should enhance the productivity of forests and the
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“This forest is the biggest oxygen production factory for the capital of
Greece and also the biggest carbon sink, contributing to climate change
mitigation. This suburban ecosystem, so important for the residents of
Athens, will be managed from now on whilst taking into consideration climate change impacts, and using modern technologies and methodologies.
Causes of problems such as dieback of Greek fir, effects of the 2007 forest
fire, and expansion of red deer damage have been thoroughly investigated
and appropriate measures proposed.” Mr Georgios Zareifis, head of Forest
Service and Mr Ilias Doufas, Forester.
Photo: EKBY Photo Archive/L. Logothetis
Forest Service of Parnitha
services they provide, whilst having wider biodiversity and ecosystem benefits.
A lengthy and exhaustive consultation process was
another success factor for the project. “Forest stands
affected by the project’s adaptation measures are
going to be treated in a different manner from now
on, or even excluded from forest management - at
least from the traditional forest management used
for timber production,” “says Mr Tryfonas Daskalakis, director for planning and forest policy from the
Ministry of Reconstruction, Production, Environment
and Energy.
“This is expected to have a direct impact on the local, forest-dependent communities. All stakeholders
hence had to be informed on the matter and agree
to the proposals. Stakeholders’ reactions have been
Forest Service of Sparti
“Cooperation [with stakeholders] was strengthened through consultations
and this was the most important success factor of the project, enabling
an assessment of the vulnerability of Mount Taygetos Forest in correlation with climate change data. Consequently, new management plans were
drafted with integrated adaptation measures to combat climate change
impacts. These plans also integrate the continuous assessment (monitoring) of these measures and are necessary for the enhancement and sustainable management of Mount Taygetos Forest.” Mr Georgios Zakkas,
head of Forest Service.
Innovative actions
The AdaptFor project has pioneered adaptation of
forest management to climate change within the
Greek Forest Service. On the International Day of
Forests 2015, Ioannis Tsironis, deputy Minister of
Reconstruction of Production, Environment and Energy described AdaptFor as, “the inaugural effort of
the Forest Service to meet the challenge of climate
change, while developing synergies with other EU
policies such as the conservation of biodiversity.”
There is great potential for replicability within Greece
thanks to the Guidelines for the adaptation of Greek
forest management to climate change produced by
the project. “[These] provide a clear and specific reference to measures that can be adopted to tackle
the threats arising due to climate change,” says Konstantinos Dimopoulos, director general for the development and protection of forests and rural environment at the Ministry of Reconstruction, Production,
Environment and Energy.
Project number: LIFE08 ENV/GR/000554
Contact: Vasiliki Chrysopolitou
Title: AdaptFor - Adaptation of forest management to
climate change in Greece
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: Section of Biotic Resources and Management
of protected areas/ Greek Biotope Wetland Centre (EKBY)
Period: 01-Jan-2010 to 31-Dec-2014
Website: www.life-adaptfor.gr.
Total budget: €1 719 000
LIFE contribution: €833 000
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reflected in the adaptation measures. For example,
regarding the removal of fir and Black pine from Aspropotamos-Kalampaka Forest, the local community
insisted on only gradual logging of conifers. In all
cases, forest services were able to convince stakeholders about the long-term benefits of the measures’ implementation for both the environment and
society – the ecosystems will be strengthened and
timber will be improved in terms of size, volume and
quality.”
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water
policy
An introduction to water and
climate change adaptation
LIFE is supporting the efforts of policy-makers and planners to reduce the adverse impacts
of climate change on water systems. Projects are helping mainstream adaptation measures
and achieve the goals of EU water policy.
Mainstreaming climate adaptation
into water policy
The Water Framework Directive (WFD - 2000/60/
EC) was the first legal framework for protecting
Policy
This section of LIFE and climate change adaptation
focuses on three major climate change impacts at
the river basin level: water scarcity, water quality
and flooding. In particular, it looks at how the LIFE
programme helps EU Member States implement
water policy, and how LIFE projects have demonstrated adaptation measures for reducing the environmental and socio-economic consequences of
climate change impacts. The first two river basin
level impacts will be addressed together in a chapter on water management; this will be followed by
a chapter on flood control and natural water retention measures.
water
limate change will impact the whole hydrological cycle. Predicted temperature increases will shift patterns of yearly and seasonal
precipitation, alter groundwater levels, soil moisture, and snow cover, change river flows, raise sea
levels, and increase rates of evaporation and transpiration. Results will vary from place to place, but
may include water scarcity, flooding, reduced water
quality, coastal erosion, salinisation, degraded ecosystem services and changes in biodiversity and
the distribution of species.
Photo: LIFE06 NAT/A/000127/AKL8-Tichy
C
LIFE has demonstrated how NWRM can reduce the vulnerability of water resources to climate
change
and restoring clean water across Europe. Given
the nature of catchment areas and river flows,
the WFD considers river basins as a logical unit of
administration.
Therefore, transboundary cooperation is vitally important for sustainable water management. Each
EU Member State is obliged under the WFD to draw
up River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) and to
achieve ‘good status’ for all waters in their national
territory, including lakes, rivers, canals, groundwater, wetlands and estuaries.
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a key strategy for building resilience. It was accompanied by an impact assessment and a policy paper
on water, coasts and marine issues. These stress the
crucial role that green infrastructure and ecosystembased adaptation approaches can play in protecting
biodiversity and ecosystem services, for example,
the restoration of wetlands to improve water quality
and to reduce downstream flooding. As part of the
actions instigated by the white paper, the Water Directors of Member States adopted a guidance document2 with the aim of climate-proofing RBMPs. The
document provides 11 guiding principles that align
WFD and climate adaptation objectives.
Although the first iteration of the WFD does not explicitly mention climate change, the step-by-step
and cyclical nature of its river basin management
process makes the directive well suited to addressing this issue.
The WFD is complemented by the Water Scarcity and
Droughts Policy (COM (2007) 414). The Policy identifies the importance of moving towards a watersaving economy, and recommends measures such
as water pricing and land-use planning to incentivise
efficient water use. The Floods Directive (2007/60/
EC) requires Member States to assess all river basins
and coastlines at risk of flooding, to map flood hazards, produce Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs),
and to set adequate objectives to reduce flood risk,
measures to achieve which will be reported to the
European Commission by March 2016. In the flood
risk management plans that Member States are required to draft, climate change should be taken into
account.
A European Environment Agency (EEA) report3 found
that only half of Europe’s freshwater lakes and rivers
will be of good ecological status by 2015, and will
require mitigation or restoration measures to meet
WFD objectives. The report noted the “indications
that water bodies already under stress from pressures are highly susceptible to climate change impacts, and that climate change may hinder attempts
to restore some water bodies to good status. Here
the establishment of good ecological and healthy
ecosystem conditions are extremely important.”
In a white paper published in April 20091, the
European Commission presented a framework
for policy and adaptation measures to reduce
Europe’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate
change. The white paper identified improvements
in water resource and ecosystem management as
Europe’s Water Blueprint
Photo: LIFE10 ENV/IT/000380
1 Adapting to climate change: Towards a European framework
for action (COM/2009/147)
As a result of such findings, in November 2012, the
European Commission adopted a Water Blueprint4,
which was based on an extensive evaluation of existing water policy, reports and public consultation. The
aim of the Blueprint was to identify obstacles to the
implementation of EU water policy and the means to
overcome them. It has helped to mainstream climate
change adaptation into water policy areas and intensified actions to reach WFD goals within the next
cycle of RBMPs (2015-2027).
The Blueprint’s impact assessment showed a trend
of increasing flood- and drought-related impacts
in recent decades. The implementation of green infrastructure, particularly Natural Water Retention
Measures (NWRMs), was again noted as a key priority for building resilience. The Blueprint stressed the
need for green growth to promote climate change
adaptation measures, noting that this could also
lead to significant economic benefits.
2 Common Implementation Strategy for the WFD: Guidance
Document no. 24 – River basin management in a changing
climate (WFD Technical Report 2009-040)
3 European waters – assessment of status and pressures, EEA
Report no 8/2012
4 A Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources
(COM/2012/673)
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m a n ag e m e n t
Implementing adaptive water
management
D
roughts are temporary deviations from
the average natural water cycle, whilst
water scarcity represents a long-term imbalance
between water supply and demand. LIFE projects have not directly addressed drought situations – unlike the comparable work on climate
change adaptation planning, support to drought
management planning has been a notable gap in
the programme. Many LIFE projects have however
focused on water scarcity issues which, whilst not
as extreme in their short-term consequences as
drought, over time can have significant economic
and environmental impacts.
At regional level, water scarcity is often a consequence of demand exceeding recharge capacity in
abstraction areas. Climate change is predicted to
water
The CAMI project developed a model to help planners quantify groundwater stress for the Tagliamento river basin
management
Photo: LIFE04 ENV/IT/000500/Mauro Caffau
The LIFE programme has demonstrated the implementation of adaptation measures that
can reduce the severity of potential impacts on water abundance and water quality resulting from climate change.
reduce summer rainfall and diminish snow reservoirs, leading to lower river flows in southern Europe
and exacerbating water scarcity.
LIFE projects have addressed water scarcity by
demonstrating measures to increase supply and
measures to reduce demand. The former include
Did you know?
At least 11% of Europe’s population and 17%
of its territory have been affected by water
scarcity to date. Recent trends show a significant increase in water scarcity across Europe.
Source: COM/2009/147
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improved water infrastructure and natural water
retention measures such as aquifer recharge and
river restoration. Demand reduction has focused on
raising awareness and establishing incentives (e.g.
water pricing) for efficient water use.
Models improve water management
The LIFE programme has funded a cluster of projects that have improved data collection methods
and developed modelling tools in support of water
management. These projects have provided valuable inputs for achieving the objectives of River
Basin Management Plans (RBMPs), and have contributed to water scarcity management plans. Although developed for specific river basins, modelling tools developed by LIFE projects are readily
transferable across Europe.
The CAMI project collected and analysed data for
the whole hydrographic district of the Tagliamento river basin in north-east Italy. The project pioneered an integrated approach that combined data
on aquifers and groundwater flows, including noninvasive geophysical methodologies. Data fed into
a Regional Geohydrological Information System
(REGIS). This river basin model supports planners in
developing future scenarios for a more rational use
of water resources, and, in support of the require-
ments of the Water Framework Directive it can be
used to predict the effects of further groundwater
extraction for civil, agricultural and industrial uses
on water resources.
The LIFE projects WATER CHANGE and Trust developed models for water managers that take into
account climate change scenarios. WATER CHANGE
linked hydrological and water management models to predict available water resources for a range
of climate change scenarios in the Llobregat river
basin in Spain, which is greatly affected by scarcity
issues.
“Topographic and geological data, as well as information about climate scenarios, aquifers, and
water uses and quality were all entered in the custom-created Water Change Modelling System database,” says Suzy McEnnis of project beneficiary
CETaqua. The modelling system was used to test
65 global change scenarios (i.e. climate change,
land use change, and water demand as affected by
population changes) to evaluate the vulnerability
of water resources for three time horizons (2030,
2050 and 2100) and to propose different adaptation strategies in each case. With the results in
hand, CETaqua assessed which adaptation strategies could be best applied to the Llobregat river
basin in order to avoid future water shortages.
Climate change and the water cycle in the EU
Winter rainfall (floods)
Sea levels
Hotter and drier summers
Crop yields, range
Temperature, annual rainfall,
Water availability
Drought risk, heat stress
Crop yields
Suitable crop areas
Sea/Lake levels
Storms, floods
Hotter and drier summers
Growing seasons, crop potential
Pests
Permafrost thaw
Winter rainfall (floods)
Drought risks
Soil erosion risk
Length of growing season
Crop yields and range
Summer rainfall
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The high-, medium- and low-adaptation strategies
proposed respectively covered 70%, 50% and 30%
of the monthly water deficits. In the case study
done by the LIFE project, the medium-adaptation
strategy was identified as having the best ratio of
benefits to costs. In the real world, the CBA tool
will allow river basin authorities and water companies to combine different economic values with the
impact indicators and select different strategies.
The tool will thus help them in their medium- and
long-term planning activities and decision-making
processes, in particular, by supporting the implementation of environmental policies associated
with the WFD.
The Trust project developed a modelling tool to
forecast the effects of climate change on water
availability in the Veneto plain and Friuli in northeast Italy. “Monitoring data for the area going back
30 to 40 years showed a slow but significant and
ongoing decline of the water table,” says project
coordinator, Matteo Bisaglia. “We wanted to investigate the likely future effects of climate change
and land use on the availability of groundwater, to
include these aspects in successful water manage-
ment planning,” explains Andrea Scarinci, an engineer at project partner SGI Studio Galli. The Trust
team developed a hydrological model that showed
how climate change scenarios exacerbate this trend
by altering the flows of rivers feeding aquifers in
the river basin. These flows are predicted to increase in the winter and decrease in the summer,
spring and autumn: information that helps water
managers estimate future groundwater levels over
time for each of the 30 aquifers in the project area.
“The modelling showed that 8% of the groundwater
volume will decrease in the next 30 years due to climate change alone. By the end of the 21st Century
the annual aquifer recharge could be reduced by
7% in Veneto and 11% in Friuli,” notes Mr Bisaglia.
water
The beneficiary carried out a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the many temporary and permanent
adaptation measures available and proposed not
simply measures but three adaptation strategies:
“packages of measures that offer feasible solutions avoiding deficits in the basin whilst optimising investments and costs,” explains CETaqua researcher Mónica Reyes.
MANAGEMENT
The LIFE SEGURA RIVERLINK project is demonstrating the implementation
of green infrastructure to restore ecosystems and increase connectivity in
the Segura river basin (Spain). “Water scarcity is a constant threat in this
river basin, with significant decreases in water resources over the past 30
years, and the foreseen impact of climate change will make the situation
worse,” says project manager Eduardo Lafuente. He explains that the project’s measures will have clear benefits both for the resilience of the river
and for climate change adaptation. For instance, one of the main effects
of eliminating giant cane (Arundo donax) beds is a reduction in evapotranspiration: “These plants have an impressively rapid growth, several centimetres per day, and a huge evapotranspiration rate. In comparison, native
riparian forest not only has very positive environmental effects, in terms
of filtering pollutants and enhancing biodiversity, it also has an evapotranspiration rate four or five times lower. Therefore, replacing the giant reed
beds with riparian forest could increase the available water resources by
between 2 and 5%,” says Mr Lafuente.
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/ES/001140/Javier Murcia/Francisco Almansa
Increasing resilience to water scarcity
Avoiding unnecessary water loss
With climate change likely to increase the severity of water scarcity, it is essential to minimise
losses of water caused by leaky pipes and other
water infrastructure problems. Leaks cause overabstraction of groundwater, with valuable drinking
water being lost before it can even reach consumers. Repairing water supply infrastructure reduces
abstraction, which allows the piezometric pressure
within aquifers to increase. This enables aquifers
to regain equilibrium and also helps reduce the
risk of pollution and salinity intrusion into groundwater.
LIFE has targeted losses from leaky infrastructure
through both the A.S.A.P. and MAC Eau projects.
The former implemented an action plan to reduce
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hidden leaks, by developing models for an aquifer
and a water supply network in Italy’s Arno river plain.
The project team installed a continuous monitoring
system, based on applied dynamic flow/pressure
regulation, which promptly detected and prioritised
leaks for repair. This also enabled water pressure
to be maintained at the minimum level necessary
- higher pressures increase the amount of water escaping through leaks. The project cut water abstraction by 8.3% during the project, whilst also reducing
infrastructure maintenance costs.
MAC Eau is reducing pressure within an urban water supply system in the Gironde province of France.
A system check enabled the identification of sections where modulating pressure valves should be
installed. In one case, it was noted that night-flow
pressure could be decreased by as much as 55%.
The company’s first data analysis in 2015 showed
water savings of some 100 000 m3/year, or 20%
of the volumes lost by the water company, and a
4.5% reduction in the volume withdrawn from a
groundwater aquifer. As with the A.S.A.P. project, a
reduction in the need for system maintenance has
been reported.
Recharging aquifers
Aquifers are layers of permeable rock that contain
or transmit groundwater: an underground water
supply that can be extracted. Climate change is
projected to shorten the seasonal recharge period for aquifers, exacerbating what may already
be reduced water levels. A cluster of LIFE projects,
including AQUOR, Trust and WARBO, has demonstrated artificial recharge techniques. These counterbalance water loss in aquifers to tackle water
scarcity and water quality problems. AQUOR, for
instance, assessed techniques such as infiltration
wells and channels as part of a climate change
adaptation strategy. This strategy is supported by
the project’s integrated knowledge structure for the
hydrogeological system, which enables precise recommendations to be made regarding the siting of
aquifer recharge systems.
In addition to its abovementioned tools for modelling the effects of climate change on water availability, the Trust project used hydrological models
to assess the effectiveness of Managed Aquifer
Recharge (MAR) techniques in three demonstration
areas. Digging trenches and planting fast-growing
trees increased the water entering an aquifer in a
wooded area, whilst filling channels resulted in more
water seeping into aquifers on agricultural land. “The
hydrological model evaluated that MAR techniques
could restore groundwater by 25% and 70% of the
groundwater deficit induced by climate changes in
the Veneto and Friuli regions, respectively,” says
Andrea Scarinci from the project team. Even taking
into account the future negative impacts of climate
change, MAR techniques could help replenish over
two-thirds of the groundwater reserve in these regions. “Concrete measures to improve the water balance identified by the project will be included in the
revised river basin management plans from 2015,”
notes project coordinator Matteo Bisaglia.
One of the barriers to wider implementation of MAR
techniques has been a relative lack of legislation, an
issue addressed by the WARBO project in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-east Italy. The project developed a
model to assess aquifer response to recharge and
protocols for managing recharge that do not harm
the environment. The project’s three demonstration
sites, all located in ecosystems of Community interest with severe water scarcity problems, showed how
abandoned excavations and neglected ponds could
Photo: LIFE08 ENV/E/000117
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distribution of free shower timers and water-efficient shower heads. AQUOR, on the other hand, targeted awareness-raising activities at schools and
installed 196 water flow limiters on farms.
be transformed into MAR infrastructure, which acts
to increase aquifer recharge capacity and to improve
surface water quality. MAR structures like these can
be used for contingency planning against high levels
of salinity or pollution (e.g. accidental groundwater
contamination), which will be exacerbated with lower
river flows caused by climate change. Water can be
poured into MAR structures to dilute contaminated
outflow to safeguard water quantity for consumers
and to protect biodiversity.
As well as improving the efficiency of water infrastructure in the Gironde, the MAC Eau team is
working with 392 local authorities to distribute
some 80 000 water-saving kits and 70 rainwater
tanks to local households. Project manager AnneClaire González says the project, which runs to
the end of 2016, is also installing water-saving
Aquifer recharge is not the only option in terms
of rainwater retention and the replenishment of
groundwater sources. The Hydro-climate Recovery
project in eastern Slovakia is using new water harvesting techniques in the construction of retention
ponds, rainwater gardens, flow control barriers in
streams, and the re-cultivation of old logging roads.
These methods will enable rainwater to be used
where it falls to fill groundwater sources and feed
vegetation, so revitalising the local hydrological cycle and contributing to the maintenance of a stable
climate.
Investing in Water
This project is raising awareness about water scarcity in Malta, where rainfall seeping through porous rocks forms sea-level aquifers - the country’s
only naturally occurring freshwater source. Malta extracts nearly 50%
more groundwater than is naturally recharged on an annual basis, and climate change predictions suggest annual rainfall could decrease by around
15%. “If this scenario comes to pass, Malta will become even more water
scarce,” says Joe Tanti, project leader and CEO of beneficiary Malta Business Bureau (MBB). This could force the islands to become increasingly
reliant on energy-intensive seawater desalination, with the production of
more greenhouse gases.
Fostering a water-saving culture
water
Photo: LIFE10 INF/MT/000091
MBB used the LIFE project to help enterprises implement best practice in
water saving. “This was done by identifying the best-performing enterprises, and the opportunities they saw and the measures they used to fulfil
their water savings potential,” recalls Mr Tanti. “The most effective action
has been water audits carried out by engineers engaged by the project,
working closely with enterprise staff.”
MANAGEMENT
The main water consumers in Malta are the agriculture, domestic and commercial sectors, including tourist hotels. “Industry is playing a role in water
conservation – over the past few years enterprises have collectively saved
enough water for the savings to be reflected in national statistics,” explains
Mr Tanti. Measures they have adopted “range from flow rate regulation
on showers and hand basins, to water recycling systems and wastewater
treatment plants. It is critical that all stakeholders do their part,” he adds.
EU Member States are implementing many awareness-raising activities to promote water-saving and,
working in partnership, they have developed the European Water Stewardship (EWS) scheme to promote
water-efficient practices using a certification system
linked to WFD objectives. The LIFE programme has
funded many projects that raise awareness about
water conservation, an important component of climate change adaptation strategies. The focus in this
particular article is mainly on LIFE’s efforts in educating citizens to conserve water.
To this end, the RENEW, AQUOR and MAC Eau projects combined awareness-raising with the distribution of water-saving devices in the UK, Italy and
France, respectively; whilst Investing in Water helped
implement best practice across a number of sectors
(see box). The approaches in these projects are readily scaled up and transferable.
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RENEW targeted both mitigation of and adaptation
to climate change in demonstrating an innovative
approach to improve consumer understanding of the
link between hot water and energy usage. The project
used a number of engaging ways of showing people
how they can save money, conserve water and reduce carbon emissions, including through surveys,
demonstration of a mobile shower simulator and
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equipment in public buildings in the Bordeaux area
to demonstrate how much water can be saved.
The environmental costs of water abstraction are
rarely taken into account when billing customers,
even in water scarce areas. However, economic
tools for addressing water scarcity are outlined
in the WFD, especially metering and water pricing
that reflect the true cost of maintaining the water
supply. A couple of LIFE projects have put the economic theory into practice.
Water Agenda introduced financial mechanisms as a
means of reducing consumption in the Anthemountas river basin (Greece). “It was clear that a more
coherent water policy was required, including a more
widespread use of metering and a more effective
and transparent system of water pricing,” says Sokratis Famellos, co-manager of the project. The project developed a model for water use and availability, which generated different water management
scenarios. These were used to develop water pricing
schemes that take into account usage and environmental costs. The system is cost-effective, because
the municipality recovers the full financial cost of
water supply and network maintenance.
Similarly, in Italy, the WATACLIC project recommended that a fair price be paid for water to reduce water abstraction, with tariff schemes being
adopted to discourage irresponsible water use.
A key goal was to find ways to achieve full cost
recovery whilst ensuring social equity and the financial sustainability of water services. The project suggested a two-part tariff with a fixed charge
(ultimately calculated according to the consumer’s
wealth) and a volumetric part with a sharply increasing marginal fee above the quantities that are
regarded as a target threshold.
Did you know?
Higher water temperatures and extreme weather events such as flooding and droughts also
impact upon water quality and exacerbate existing problems of pollution.
Source: COM/2009/147
Improving water quality
Climate change negatively impacts water quality
in rivers and lakes, mainly as a result of changes
in temperature and precipitation. Increasing temperatures in European rivers and lakes (recorded
as being up 1-3º C during the last century) reduce
available oxygen content, whilst flooding and water
scarcity can increase pollutant levels, for example,
by overflowing treatment plants and a process of
concentration, respectively.
The WFD requires EU Member States to achieve a
good status for groundwater. This is best achieved
when there is a balance between water abstraction
and the natural recharge of groundwater, as overexploitation of water can reduce drinking water
quality. Water balance can be improved by artificial
aquifer recharge, so LIFE projects already mentioned in this context also contribute to improving
water quality.
The natural filtration capacity of soil can be compromised by changes in water flow resulting from
climate change. With aquifer recharge, additional
measures can be taken to clean up infiltration water. This has been demonstrated by LIFE’s ENSAT
project, which focused on an aquifer remediation
technique called Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT), designed to improve groundwater quality. The project
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/IT/000475
The Trust project used an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to measure river flow
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Addressing climate change impacts on Vienna’s ‘urban lake’
The project’s practical experiences are
being converted into guidelines for climate change adaptation measures,
including measures to increase biodiversity that will promote ecosystem
resilience. “The aquatic macrophytes,
which are extremely important for the
water quality in this lake, are highly
dominated by just one species, Myrio-
phyllum spicatum,” says Mr Ofenböck.
“Changes in water temperature or consequential effects of climate change
might lead to a sudden extinction of
this plant species, which would have
serious consequences for the entire
system. Therefore we are trying to establish a number of other macrophyte
species to lower this risk.”
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/AT/000128
Eutrophication
Reduced oxygen content and altered nutrient
cycling processes, arising from climate change,
will make water bodies more susceptible to eutrophication, especially where high nutrient loads
already occur (e.g. areas of agricultural fertiliser
run off).
The GisBloom project constructed a cost-efficient
integrated model for the monitoring of water
quality, which was demonstrated in seven river
basins in Finland. This helps integrate climate
change into RBMPs, for instance, by predicting the
impacts of different climate change adaptation
scenarios on eutrophication and algal blooms.
“Our models can be used to estimate effects of
nutrient load and runoff on algal blooms in all
Finnish rivers, lakes and coastal areas,” says project manager Olli Malve. He notes that although
algal blooms are quite random by nature, the
model is able to predict their occurrence with
enough accuracy to enable cost-efficiency analysis of adaptation measures.
water
team installed a reactive organic layer in the bottom of an infiltration pond that feeds an aquifer
in Spain’s Llobregat river delta. This reactive barrier was shown to improve the quality of groundwater by enhancing the biological degradation of
organic compounds and promoting the removal of
micro-pollutants. LIFE Urban Lake used a soil filtering system to safeguard water quality in a different
context (see box).
MANAGEMENT
The ‘Alte Donau’, formerly the Danube’s
main course through Vienna, is now one
of Europe’s largest urban lakes and is
an important recreational resource.
The objective of the LIFE Urban Lake
project is to safeguard its water quality over the long term, by reducing its
vulnerability to the impacts of climate
change. The project is implementing
management plans aimed at enhancing
the lake’s hydrological balance; a key
measure being the construction of a soil
filter: “a large pool filled with mineral
material, through which inflowing water
is conveyed,” explains Thomas Ofenböck of Vienna’s Department of Water
Management: “The filter system enables an additional water supply from
the nearby Neue Donau to be used to
compensate for high evaporation rates
during hot periods in summer and to increase water exchange with groundwater in the shallow Alte Donau,” says Mr
Ofenböck. This also helps maintain favourable nutrient and mineral balances,
and contributes to a slight lowering of
water temperature.
The project’s results are accessible through two
interactive web portals: the information platform
Vesinetti and the mapping service JarviWiki. These
support the decision-making process for the management of eutrophication, and provide real-time
and forecast information on algal blooms for water managers and the public. Dr Malve explains
that the project’s operations model and tools have,
with the participation of the public and all relevant
stakeholders, been used to plan a programme of
measures to improve water quality for recreation,
households, fisheries and industrial uses.
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Here comes the flood
LIFE has helped map flood risks, provide early flood warnings and reduce the impact of
inundations through river restoration and natural water retention measures. In so doing,
projects have demonstrated ways of cost-effectively implementing the Water Framework
and Floods directives.
B
etween 1998 and 2009 floods in Europe
caused some 700 deaths, the displacement
of about half a million people and at least €25 billion in insured economic losses1. Floods threaten
housing, transport and other essential infrastructure, commercial and industrial property and agricultural land. They can cause ill-health through
disease outbreaks, destroy wetlands, harm biodiversity and affect water quality.
1 http://www.emdat.be/
Photo: LIFE06 NAT/A/000127/AKL8-Tichy
More than 30 LIFE projects have restored natural river and floodplain dynamics over hundreds
of kilometres of the Danube
Some European rivers have been more prone to
flooding in recent years than previously, but it
has not been possible to detect general climateinduced trends in the occurrence and intensity of
floods. This is partly due to the impact of changes
in land use and water management – it is difficult
to distinguish climate-related changes from these
concurrent factors. Nonetheless, future changes in
the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events combined with different land use policies are likely to cause an increase in flood hazard
across much of Europe.2
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the
Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) provide the policy
framework for managing flooding at river basin
level in Europe (see box). The need for EU and
Member State action to ensure that climate change
is taken into account in the implementation of the
Floods Directive was emphasised in the EC white
paper on adaptation (see pp.71-72 – water intro).
As a consequence, the Floods Directive requires
that Member States take into account climate
change throughout the full flood risk management
cycle, along with other hazards.
The Floods Directive states that the preliminary
flood risk assessment (Article 4) shall be based
on, amongst other things, the “impact of climate
change on the occurrence of floods” from the first
cycle, and article 14.4 states that the “likely impact on climate change on the occurrence of floods
2 Common implementation strategy for the water framework
directive (2000/60/EC) - Guidance document No. 24 RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT IN A CHANGING CLIMATE Technical Report
- 2009 – 040 (European Commission)
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shall be taken into account in the reviews [of the
preliminary flood risk assessment and the flood risk
management plans].”
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Floods policy
The Floods Directive required Member States to carry out a preliminary assessment by 2011 to identify the river basins and associated coastal areas
at risk of flooding. For such zones they needed to draw up flood risk maps
by 2013 and establish flood risk management plans focused on prevention, protection and preparedness by 2015. The Directive is to be carried
out in coordination with the WFD, meaning that the flood risk management
plans and river basin management plans are to be coordinated, with the
coordination of the public participation procedures in the preparation of
these plans. Member States are also obliged to coordinate their flood risk
management practices in shared river basins, including with third countries,
and shall in solidarity not undertake measures that would increase flood
risks in neighbouring countries.
LIFE’s role in flood protection
The LIFE programme has funded flood protection
projects of different kinds. Some projects have
helped develop flood risk maps and flood alert
systems. Other projects have attempted to reduce
the likelihood of flooding through the restoration
of natural river hydrology and functions (including
ecological functions in the case of LIFE Nature projects). This has often involved ‘re-naturalising’ waterways that have been channelised and otherwise
modified for transportation purposes.
Photo: LIFE09 INF/UK/000032/Environment Agency (UK)/Franz Kovacs
RiverWiki contains information on over 500 river restoration
case studies, such as the Danube
water
LIFE projects that have developed flood early warning systems (FEWS) include Stream of Usserød in
Denmark (see box) and the Greek project Flire,
which was featured in the forests chapter for its
work combatting forest fires. The flood-related
aspect of this project focused on developing and
implementing a flood alert hierarchy for the Rafina
catchment. “The FEWS produces Smart Alerts at
three different levels,” explains project manager
Maria Mimikou. These alerts - based on rainfall
forecasts (level one); storm activity (level two);
and real-time reports from flow gauges (level
three) – can help relevant authorities prepare for
and minimise the impact of flash flooding. Users
can also access daily flood hazard maps based on
the rainfall forecasts. The project has developed a
planning tool that will help stakeholders and local
authorities to strategically plan their activities by
suggesting optimum structural and non-structural
measures for the area, in terms of different flood,
urban development and fire scenarios associated
with climate change, explains Professor Mimikou.
floods
Photo: LIFE09 INF/UK/000032/Olli Toivonen
The feature article on the following pages (HydroClimateStrategyRiga – see pp. 87-89) developed
models to generate flood risk maps in Latvia. That
was also the aim of the FLOODSCAN project in Germany. There, the project team updated flood maps
for Bavaria using state-of-the-art aerial laser scanning technology. “Because this technology is much
cheaper and can map in more detail, it can be
much more extensive,” says project manager Dieter
Rieger. “It can include small water bodies, which can
also cause flooding, but which were not previously
mapped.” The new data were fed into a bespoke
web-based flood mapping service which allows users to see the potential impact of different flood
intensities (e.g. 30 year floods, 100 year floods
etc.). Mr Rieger believes the increased information
base enables better zoning, enabling municipalities to take more effective planning decisions: “The
FLOODSCAN project is very much in the spirit of
flood risk management – of enabling people to take
precautions because they have the information.”
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Stream of Usserød
take their own protective actions when flood risk
occurs.”
This project is developing a climate change adaptation toolkit for the stream that flows through
the municipalities of Rudersdal, Hørsholm and Fredensborg (Denmark). The toolkit comprises a computer model for the hydrodynamics of the Usserød
water system, a dashboard providing information
to water management professionals, and mechanisms for informing the public about current conditions and predicted flood risks. Input is continuously provided by automated measuring stations.
In the event of major floods, the national emergency apparatus takes over. A Joint Emergency
Plan developed within the LIFE project framework will be implemented in such cases. This will
involve, for example, the operation of a sluice
in Rudersdal and a new floodgate that is being
demonstrated in Hørsholm, which will divert flood
water to uninhabited areas rather than vulnerable housing areas downstream that were hit by
severe flooding in 2007 and 2010.
“Setting up a valid computer model for the entire
Usserød water system is a complex task, as the
river runs through highly urbanised areas with
very dynamic effluents from rainwater and sewage discharges,” says Klaus Pallesen of the coordinating Fredensborg Municipality; “As a result,
the water level will rise to critical levels within a
few hours after the start of heavy rainfall.”
Information generated by the project’s toolkit facilitates joint planning between the three cities
for immediate flood prevention actions, and provides the basis for future planning and the design
of climate change adaptation measures. “The
Usserød project has launched serious changemanagement effort at all levels,” concludes Mr
Pallesen. “We have established a feasible framework that achieves the desired results without
establishing surplus, parallel bureaucracy.”
Mr Pallesen explains that the purpose of the flood
forecast and warning system “is to provide people inhabiting flood risk areas with relevant and
meaningful information that enables them to
Letting nature takes its course
Natural water retention measures (NWRMs) are
methods used to safeguard and enhance the water
storage potential of landscapes, soils and aquifers.
They are a form of ‘green’ or ‘blue’ (i.e. land- or
water-based) infrastructure that works with nature
to reduce the vulnerability of water resources to
climate change and other anthropogenic pressures.
Photo: LIFE06 ENV/D/000461
Laser scanning and other remote sensing data enabled the project to create accurate models of
Bavaria’s water bodies
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This is achieved by restoring ecosystems, natural
features and characteristics of water courses and
using natural processes. Although they are primarily designed to regulate the water cycle these
measures also improve connectivity between
nature-rich areas and enhance landscape permeability. In addition, the areas benefiting from these
measures will often be multifunctional, allowing
farming, forestry, recreation and ecosystems conservation to operate together in the same space.
NWRMs are adaptation measures that use nature
to regulate the flow and transport of water so as
to smooth peaks and moderate extreme events
(floods, droughts, desertification, salinisation).
Measures may include sustainable forestry practices
(afforestation, riparian forests), sustainable agriculture (e.g. buffer strips, cover crops etc. - see pp. 4457), urban infrastructure (SUDS, green roofs – see
pp. 30-43) and measures for increasing groundwater
recharge (see previous chapter – pp. 76-77). In this
chapter we will focus on measures of another kind:
those designed to increase storage in catchments
and alongside rivers. LIFE projects provide many
examples of the use of hydromorphology measures
such as floodplain and wetland restoration, re-meandering and natural bank stabilisation.
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Floodplain restoration
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Restoring an urbanised floodplain in Italy
The LIFE RII project is implementing large-scale floodplain restoration at
the base of the Apennine mountains, where urbanisation makes interventions difficult. The goal is to increase the area’s water retention capacity and its resilience to climate change. Project actions have focused on
hydraulically-critical points within a network of canals and creeks.
The project is testing a number of novel management tools, such as ‘flooding servitude’ – payments to landowners for temporary, planned flooding
of their fields to avoid more damaging floods in urban areas downstream.
“This will allow substantial savings compared to more costly interventions
such as creating temporary flood reservoir areas or compensating for damage after flood events,” says project manager Alfredo Caggianelli.
water
“In the integrated approach of LIFE RII, the interventions for flood risk are
simultaneously solutions to improve the ecological status of watersheds,”
says Mr Caggianelli. He notes that the first field surveys already indicate
the start of a new dynamic in the waterways. A restoration programme is
being implemented through a public agreement, signed by multiple public
and private stakeholders, which will identify how shared objectives are to
be achieved.
MANAGEMENT
Techniques being trialled include the use of vegetation-filled gabions to
slow flood water flows, selective weirs to remove branches and other material that could stop water flowing smoothly, and maintaining embankments
along some stretches of waterway.
Photo: LIFE11 ENV/IT/000243/Bruno Boz
Afforestation is a natural water retention measure
for floodplains that can reduce soil erosion, enhance water-holding capacity, and improve water
quality in cases where precipitation infiltrates forest soils before flowing into reservoirs. The Emmericher Ward project in Germany is “establishing
a new area of floodplain forest along a secondary river channel that is being reconnected with
its floodplain,” explains project manager Klaus
Markgraf-Maué. This is being done to counteract
flooding caused by changing precipitation patterns. Reconnecting the river to the floodplain will
improve its ecological and hydrological functioning. Furthermore, the afforestation techniques will
a n d
Also in Germany, the Elbauen bei Vockerode project
is restoring a natural floodplain landscape in the
middle Elbe using a range of different afforestation techniques, “depending on the local situation
and taking into account the land users’ objectives
In the case of the ongoing Dutch project, Floodplain development, the goal is to enlarge the
floodplains of the River IJssel to increase their water storage capacity, thereby improving water safety and reducing the risk of flooding in more heavily
populated areas. The use of buffer zones and storage infrastructure will slow water transfer between
the floodplain and the river, thereby spreading the
flow and thus decreasing flood intensity. The restoration work will also improve ecological connectivity between Natura 2000 network sites for species
susceptible to climate change. This LIFE initiative
is part of a more ambitious project, Rivierklimaatpark IJsselpoort, the aim of which is future-proof,
climate change adapted spatial development in the
upper floodplains of the IJssel.
Floodplains and afforestation
L I F E
minimise the barrier effect of the forest in the event
of flooding by integrating forest aisles with the sidechannel and with an amphibian transition zone.
Floodplains are areas bordering rivers that naturally provide space for the retention of storm waters.
Within the EU, almost all major and many minor
rivers have been separated from their floodplains
by dikes, sluice gates and other structures designed
to control water flow, or the floodplains have been
drained for agriculture or development. A number
of LIFE projects have restored floodplains to enhance biodiversity and to restore ecosystem functions, which build resilience against flooding and
climate change impacts. By allowing streams to
function naturally, with controlled flooding, floodplain restoration measures reduce the risk of flood
damage.
Showing the variety of LIFE’s work in this area, by
contrast the LIFE RII project is restoring a floodplain in a largely urban area (see box).
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in the long term,” says project manager Georg Rast
of WWF Germany. He adds that “there is a clear
trend over the last two decades for dry and very
warm springs, which slows the natural rejuvenation of some species of the floodplain forest.” To
adapt to this, the LIFE project is aiming “to establish typical floodplain forests with a site specific
mixture of native tree and shrub species. By that
we expect high tolerance against flooding and a
high resilience level, which is the best adaptation
to climate change,” says Mr Rast.
to climate change to by restoring the natural hydrology, raising water levels in ditches to improve
water quality and help reduce flooding.
Wetland restoration
In Italy’s Po floodplain, LIFE RINASCE is working to
reduce flooding incidents by restoring a network
of channels and sustainably managing vegetation.
“Planned interventions will aim to restore the hydraulic functions of the floodplain, improve its ecology, and reduce the risk of flooding,” says project
officer Aronne Ruffini. As well as renovating some
7 km of channels, the project will create 2 ha of
new wetland, thus helping to mitigate flood risks
through water retention and improve water quality
through natural filtration.
Wetland restoration and management can involve
measures over a large spatial scale (including the
installation of ditches for rewetting or the removal
of dikes to enable flooding) or small-scale measures such as tree clearance, changes in land use
and adapted cultivation practices. Wetlands can
be used to store water (useful in areas prone to
seasonal droughts) and they can slow the progress
downstream of surface water run off, helping to
reduce the impact of flooding.
An example of a project working at catchment
scale is Anglesey and Lleyn Fens, which restored
84 ha of alkaline fen and 104 ha of calcareous
fen found within a mosaic of wetland habitats in
north Wales, UK. The project increased resilience
Another type of wetland habitat, raised bogs, is the
subject of the LIFE+GP project in the Netherlands.
Restoration aims to increase resilience to extreme
weather events and climate change, by elevating
water levels, relocating a waterway and creating
ecological ‘stepping stones’ to facilitate exchange
between flora and fauna populations.
Re-naturalising rivers
A meandering river takes a natural winding form
across a landscape. When a river is straightened
by channelisation it cuts off meanders, leaving
oxbow lakes and dried-out river bed, and speeds
Photo: LIFE07 NAT/UK/000948
The Anglesey and Lleyn Fens project restored alkaline fens and calcareous fens in north Wales, helping to recover their natural hydrology and reduce flooding
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Photo: LIFE03 NAT/A/000009/Arbeitskreis Wachau/Haslinger
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The WACHAU project restored gravel banks and islets in the Danube that serve as fish spawning grounds and as resting and breeding sites for aquatic birds
One of the earliest projects to develop the Danube’s green infrastructure was Donauauen (1998),
which made the first practical application of a
theory of flood defence for Vienna, based not
on the conventional wisdom of building dams,
strengthening dikes and straightening channels,
but on lowering river banks and altering weirs to
give the Danube more room to sprawl. The project
team drew up detailed technical plans and made
the first reconnections (at Orth and Untere Lobau)
between the main river and former side channels
The Donauaen project had an important demonstration value and conservation benefit, and side channel re-connection has subsequently been a feature
of other river engineering projects along the Danube and its Austrian tributaries (see box). For instance, the WACHAU project recreated gravel banks
and islets along one of the most picturesque and
culturally important stretches of the river in Austria – the Wachau gorge, between Krems and Melk.
The gravel used was recycled from the 400 000 m3
dredged annually from the Danube’s shipping channels and the project also drafted a ‘gravel plan’ for
re-use in the river of all gravel excavated from the
navigation channel between 2005 and 2020.
water
Many LIFE projects (for example, WALPHY,
GREENDANUBE and Nebenrinne Bislich-Vahnum)
have re-naturalised rivers by recreating meanders,
recovering oxbow lakes and seasonal streams, stabilising natural banks, returing river beds to a natural condition, reopening side channels and generally
enhancing horizontal connectivity. The EU’s longest
river, the Danube, has benefitted in particular from
such projects, which have introduced NWRMs all the
way from Austria to the river delta in Romania.
in the floodplain. Later, the dike closest to the river
was breached, allowing the old floodplain itself to
become a retention basin. Increasing the “permeability” of the riparian forests for flood events led
to noticeable and impressive results. Indeed, the
subsequent self-restoration of floodplain dynamics
exceeded all expectations.
MANAGEMENT
the flow of water and its drainage from wetland
areas. When this higher flow speed combines with
increased precipitation caused by climate change,
the result is forecast to be an increase in flooding
events.
Another project on a Danube tributary, running almost concurrently with WACHAU, showed how it is
possible to restore a heavily modified waterbody
in an urban environment. LIFE LiRiLi redesigned a
5.5 km stretch of the river Liesing, turning a concrete
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Re-naturalising the river Drava
Like many rivers in northern and western Europe, the Drava, a major tributary of the Danube, had been
channelised in the name of ‘development’. By the early 1990s, the outcome of river straightening was
“catastrophic floods, erosion of the river bed and a falling groundwater level,” explains Norbert Sereinig
from the Carinthia regional government’s flood control authority. At this time the authority began work
to restore its stretch of the river to a semi-natural state, later accessing LIFE co-funding to support its
efforts through the Obere Drau and Obere Drau II projects, the latter coordinated by Mr Sereinig. Obere
Drau II involved widening the river, removing hydraulic structures and embankments at targeted local
river reaches to allow river bank erosion to occur and the creation of new or restoration of old water
meadows. An important aim of the second LIFE project was to solve management challenges thrown up
by Obere Drau I, including stabilising the river bed and groundwater level (using bed load material), continuing habitat management measures and proposing cross-border strategies for water and ecological
management of the Drava river basin (which takes in Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary).
Obere Drau II exceeded its aims, renaturalising 5 km of river and carrying out interventions at key points
to reconnect side channels, oxbows and standing waters. Significantly, many of the restoration actions
were designed to allow the river to further develop through natural processes rather than active management. Monitoring in July 2013 showed that the riverbed was stable and even rising in some places,
whilst the increased water retention capacity was helping to protect downstream areas from floods and
the stabilisation of the groundwater level had benefits for agriculture in the river valley.
channel into a semi-natural river that is still capable
of meeting relevant flood protection requirements.
The project capitalised on the demonstration value
of its large-scale restoration works through significant media coverage and international networking
with experts.
A number of LIFE Nature projects restoring rivers
to conserve fish have also increased the resilience
Stabilising the river bed has enabled the LIFE Obere Drau II project team to improve flood
protection in the Drau Valley
of river systems to floods and climate change. For
example, HAPPYFISH in Estonia reconnected 10
oxbow lakes to a river system, and the HOUTING
project reintroduced natural meandering to a 20
km stretch of river. The LIFE-TripleLakes project
is restoring lakes in Sweden to conserve aquatic
ecosystems and increase their resilience to climate
change; with fish and other species in cold water
habitats having low nutrient levels being particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Photo: LIFE06 NAT/A/000127/Dapra
Water: a success story for LIFE
In conclusion, it should be noted that around onethird of LIFE Environment projects have worked to
improve aspects of the hydrological cycle. These
projects are helping overcome barriers to the implementation of EU water policy. LIFE was an early
source of funding for projects demonstrating climate
change adaptation measures for water systems. The
programme continues to provide good examples of
how to improve resilience in European river basins.
Did you know?
The RiverWiki developed by the Restore project
to share best practice on river restoration includes, at the time of writing, 882 river restoration case studies from 31 European countries in
its searchable database, many also with flood
prevention objectives.
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LIFE helps Riga plan for
increased flood risk
The HydroClimateStrategyRiga project produced maps, models and guidance to help Riga
City Council plan measures for safeguarding the Latvian capital against the increased risk
of flooding predicted by climate change scenarios.
One of the first project actions was the development of a Riga City Relief Model, which provided
the basis for all subsequent modelling and analysis. The scientific collaborators METRUM collected
LiDAR data, and The Centre of Processes’ Analysis
and Research (PAIC) constructed the Relief Model,
which can be updated as new information becomes
available. The model helped establish the complex
structure of the water bodies that comprise up
to 16% of the Riga City area. “The relief model is
the reason we have very good modelling results,”
notes Mr Locmanis.
The project team then developed innovative modelling tools and software programmes, which were
used to produce 60 scenario maps for three projected time frames. These showed how a series of
bottlenecks (e.g. lake entrances) particularly affect
flooding, and enabled the identification of the types
of flooding that present the greatest threat to Riga
in the future.
Aerial view of the River Daugava
water
“We have an interesting hydrological system in
Riga, with the River Daugava connecting to three
lakes, and through these to other rivers,” says Andris Locmanis, senior spatial development planner in the Strategic Planning Division of Riga City
Council’s City Development Department. “You cannot put one solution in the river mouth; it needs a
more complicated set of solutions.”
levels, and other parameters with respect to the
most reliable Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) scenarios.
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C
limate change models predict an increased
risk of flooding in northern Europe. In Latvia,
more frequent and severe flash floods are a threat
to the capital Riga, as well as surrounding Natura
2000 areas. Therefore, a LIFE project was initiated
to develop the tools necessary for assessing how
long-term climate change scenarios will change
flood risk in Riga, so that adaptation measures can
be incorporated into the city’s planning system.
Understanding water flows
PAIC produced a detailed study of the hydrological
processes affecting Riga for the LIFE project. This
involved modelling and assessing precipitation,
flooding, coastal erosion, changes in groundwater
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“Flooding probability maps show that storm surges
are the main priority,” explains Mr Locmanis. Wind
surges in Riga Bay during the autumn and winter
can push water in the River Daugava, which is some
500-700 m wide and 12 m deep as it flows through
Riga, back through the city. This represents the
most serious long-term flood risk, but other threats
were also identified. “Rainwater floods are not important yet, but looking long-term (e.g. 100 years)
they become more frequent, as climate change
models predict heavier and more frequent rainfall,”
he says.
The project’s overlaid colour-coded scenario maps
enable trends to be identified, and show the areas
likely to flood at least once every 100 years for current (blue), near-future (green) and long-term future (pink) climate change projections. In the longterm, almost all river and coastal areas are liable to
such flooding, while key roads not considered at risk
of flooding today are revealed as being vulnerable.
“It is important that we can see where the biggest
differences are between today and the long-term
future. In some places, there is not so much difference, but close to the city centre is an area where
there will be a big difference,” says Mr Locmanis.
Modelling tools were used to produce scenario maps for three projected time frames
This area includes densely populated residential
areas and areas of historical importance. However,
the scenarios suggest that there is time to implement adaptation measures to reduce the economic,
social and environmental impacts of flooding.
The HydroClimateStrategyRiga team visited Antwerp (Belgium), Hamburg (Germany), and The
Hague and Rotterdam (the Netherlands), to see how
these cities are using long-term flood risk modelling
to increase resilience to flooding. “We found these
visits very useful for getting information on modelling periods, flood risk probabilities, and the variety
of flood protection solutions and how to integrate
them into public spaces,” recalls Mr Locmanis. In
Antwerp, the team were told that it is not possible just to keep building higher and higher dams; at
some point you should look for other solutions. Antwerp has, for instance, left areas on river banks free
of construction and allowed them to flood when water levels rise.
Flood Risk Management Plan
The Flood Risk Management Plan (FRMP) was the
main outcome of the LIFE project. It was developed to manage flood risk in a way that balances
environmental, social and economic needs, and
it incorporates a process for periodic monitoring, evaluation and revision. The FRMP proposes
a series of alternative climate change adaptation
solutions for Riga and for six flood risk zones in
areas surrounding the city. In each case, the FRMP
includes an assessment of potential economic
losses, a cost-benefit analysis, and technical
parameters for the infrastructure solutions proposed, such as the height of dams or how much
streets will need to be raised.
A priority within the FRMP is to ensure rescue
roads are kept open, for example, by being made
higher in cases where they connect to populations
at risk of being cut off by rising flood waters. Another consideration is the management of Natura
2000 areas with habitats that require flooding
during part of the year.
The project produced a series of Methodological
Guidelines, in parallel with the FRMP. The guidelines
included the lessons learned from the study visits
and other best practice examples, with a focus on
the most promising solutions and principles for the
enhancement of flood prevention and adaptation in
Riga.
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A choice of adaptation measures
On a drive outside the city, Mr Locmanis explains the
alternative flood adaptation measures proposed in
the FRMP for three flood risk zones. At the first site
(Sarkandaugava), where urban areas are threatened
by flooding in the long term, the project team recommend reconstructing and building new dams and
raising the level of land in the neighbouring Free Port
district. At the second site (Milgrāvis), where a bottleneck connects Lake Ķīšezers and the River Daugava,
one solution is to build a navigable gateway below
an existing bridge. “This measure will be expensive to
build and maintain. The alternative is to make a lot
of small solutions, which can be done using a stepby-step approach and will not require so large an
investment at one time,” he says. “The next step is
to do a more complex analysis, with indicators and
public involvement.”
At the third site (Vecdaugava), a navigable gateway
is also one of the alternative solutions proposed, but
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The project created a navigable gateway which allows to flood the Natura 2000 wetland areas
with a more complex system for opening to allow
through sufficient water to flood Natura 2000 wetland areas. The other alternative comprises a series
of measures involving dams and raising street levels; though where houses are close to the water and
on both sides of streets these measures become
more complicated. Finding a compromise between
people and the environment is crucial; for example,
high dams stop residents and visitors enjoying views
in an area where water is considered an aesthetic
resource.
These are the type of planning decisions being supported by the tools developed by the LIFE HydroClimateStrategyRiga project. “We are really happy about
all the modelling processes,” concludes Mr Locmanis.
“It was an example of very good cooperation between
Riga City Council and scientists. There has been a lot
of interest from other countries and cities, mostly
from stakeholders wanting to use the modelling processes developed by the project in similar situations
elsewhere. The scientists who were involved in the
project, for instance, are now working on other Latvian
projects involving flood risk modelling.”
Project number: LIFE08 ENV/LV/000451
Contact: Andris Locmanis
Title: HydroClimateStrategyRiga – Integrated Strategy for
Riga City to Adapt to the Hydrological Processes Intensified
by Climate Change Phenomena
Email: [email protected]
Beneficiary: Riga City Council
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water
“The Riga Waterfront Thematic Plan also started
this year,” notes Mr Locmanis. “The guidelines were
a good starting point for this, as they provide general best practice.” A riverside leisure area with a
sandy beach recently has been constructed in a
location where building is prohibited, for example, while streets close to the waterfront may be
moved to create more public space between them
and water bodies.
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The guidelines are already informing day-to-day
planning decisions in the flood risk zones, and also
the ‘Sustainable Strategy of Riga until 2030’ and
the ‘Development Programme of Riga for 20142020’ that are currently being implemented by
the City Development Department. For instance,
regulations currently prevent building construction
in areas where flooding probability is once every
10 years, but longer term flooding scenarios (e.g.
once every 100 years) are now being considered
as climate change becomes mainstreamed into the
planning system.
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Photo: NEEMO EEIG/Stephen Nottingham
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
Website: www.rigapretpludiem.lv
Period: 01-Feb-2010 to 30-Nov-2012
Total budget: €662 000
LIFE contribution: €329 000
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coastal
Stepping up to the climate
change challenge
Europe’s coastal and marine areas are particularly vulnerable to climatic changes. LIFE has
co-financed projects that address these threats and act to prevent or minimise damage, by
building resilience and mapping risks related to land-sea interactions.
M
ore than 52 million EU citizens live in
low elevation coastal zones. These areas,
which cover more than 480 000 km2, are already experiencing the physical impacts of changing weather
patterns, including flooding, erosion, saltwater intrusion and loss of ecosystems. Such climate-induced
challenges are expected to become more prevalent
in coming decades, with major socio-economic and
ecological implications.
Key adverse impacts of climate change in coastal
areas include: rising sea temperatures; rising sea
Photo: LIFE05 NAT/IT/000037/Archive Park MSRM/L. Gorreri
LIFE projects have been at the forefront of restoring coastal dunes and wetlands
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European action in coastal areas
The vulnerability of coastal areas has led to their
identification by policy-makers as one of the key
sectors for mainstreaming climate change adaptation. The challenge of climate change needs to
be addressed through integrated and ecosystembased approaches and instruments, such as integrated coastal management. These are crucial to
build the foundations for sustainable coastal management and development, supporting socio-economic development, biodiversity and ecosystem
services.
Integrated coastal management is an acknowledged tool to deal with current and long-term
coastal challenges, including climate change and
its impacts. As far back as 2002, an EU Recommendation on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) referred to the threat to coastal zones
posed by climate change as the basis for a strategic approach to coastal management.
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Adapting to climate change: key policies and tools
The Maritime Spatial Planning Directive supports the implementation
of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy. The MSP Directive specifies a need
for climate change adaptation in coastal and marine areas.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive is the environmental pillar
of IMP. It establishes a framework within which European countries need
to take measures to achieve or maintain good environmental status in the
marine environment by 2020. The MSFD specifies that Member States – in
developing their respective national marine strategies – need to specify
any evidence of climate change impacts.
Other policies relevant to climate change adaptation in coastal and marine
areas include:
•
•
•
The Floods Directive – this calls on EU countries to identify river basins and coastal areas at risk of flooding and to establish flood risk
management plans;
The Water Framework Directive (see previous chapter) – this requires
that waters in coastal areas up to one nautical mile from a country’s territorial baseline achieve ‘good ecological status’ and waters up to 12 nautical miles from the same baseline achieve ‘good chemical status’; and
The Birds and Habitats Directives and the Natura 2000 network
of protected areas – here the priority to protect marine ecosystems
and their aquatic species has been reinforced by the EU Biodiversity
Strategy to 2020. The Commission has also published guidelines1 on
climate change and Natura 2000 for site managers and policy-makers
and commissioned a study promoting an ‘ecosystem-based approach’
to climate change adaptation and mitigation in Europe.
1 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/climatechange/pdf/Guidance%20document.pdf
1 Communication: “An EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate
Change», COM (2013) 216
2 ICZM involves a strategic, integrated and cross-sectoral approach that supports socio-economic development, biodiversity and ecosystem services. MSP is a tool for regulating human
uses of the sea, whilst also protecting marine ecosystems and
marine biodiversity.
Photo: LIFE13 NAT/ES/001001
The 2013 EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy1
proposes that ICZM and a second tool - Maritime
Spatial Planning (MSP) 2 - be taken into account
within the framework of the Integrated Maritime
Policy (IMP), Marine Strategy Framework Directive
(MSFD) and Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The
Strategy also includes a Staff Working Document
that addresses adaptation, coastal and marine issues, as well as highlighting knowledge gaps and
efforts that Member States need to take to overcome them.
In 2014, the EU adopted the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive as a means of achieving coherence
between ICZM and MSP (see box).
ADA P TAT I O N
coastal
levels; coastal erosion; all of which lead to flooding and underground salt-water intrusion. These
changes have had subsequent effects on ocean circulation and acidification, loss of biodiversity and
ecosystems and socio-economic impacts. Climate
change impacts exacerbate existing pressures on
coastal zones and marine waters from urbanisation, drainage of coastal marshes for development,
intensive agriculture and overfishing.
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In addition to European-level initiatives, Member
States are developing integrated coastal management strategies at national level to address
the challenges climate change poses to coastal
areas. These strategies need to take a long-term
perspective, incorporate the precautionary principle and adaptive management, take account of the
diversity of local conditions and work with natural
processes to ensure coherence between planning
and management.
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Drawing from the well of LIFE
LIFE projects provide a font of learning and best
practice about how to adapt to climate change in
coastal zones. LIFE beneficiaries have addressed
impacts including higher sea temperatures, sea
level rise, coastal erosion and loss of ecosystem
services. Projects have demonstrated risk mapping
and modelling tools for assessing the full extent
of those impacts and ways of increasing the resilience of Europe’s coastal ecosystems.
LIFE’s new sub-programme for Climate Action can
build on the lessons from current and former projects,
as well as tackling coastal and marine climate change
impacts that LIFE has not yet addressed, such as
ocean acidification and shrinking sea ice cover.
Dealing with rising sea temperatures
Global warming causes absorption of additional
heat energy at the earth’s surface, leading to higher
sea surface temperatures. Thermal expansion is
one of the factors causing sea-level rise; another
is melting land-based ice.
Whilst there is considerable variability, the surface
temperature of Europe’s seas has risen significantly over the past century. According to the EEA3,
the greatest increases have been in the North Sea
and Baltic Sea. Higher sea surface temperatures
– together with changes in precipitation, wind and
salinity – influence sea ice coverage, as well as the
diversity and number of marine species.
In the eastern Baltic catchment, global warming
poses an increasingly serious threat to an endangered seal species, the ringed seal (Pusa hispida
hispida). The LIFE project Baltic MPAs has carried out inventories to better understand threats
to the species including climate change (see box).
Lessons from the project are being used to help
the even rarer subspecies, the Saimaa ringed seal
adapt to milder winters (see Biodiversity chapter pp. 100-106).
Adapting to rising sea levels
Ice melt spells disaster for ringed seals
Thermal expansion of seawater and melting ice is
accelerating the trend for sea levels to rise. In combination with storm surges, rising sea levels could
increase flood risk, coastal erosion and saltwater
intrusion into groundwater resources, rivers and
estuaries. This intrusion will affect biodiversity and
the quantity and quality of ecosystem services that
coastal areas can provide.
The outlook is bleak for the southern Baltic ringed seal population, says Ivar
Jussi, a project officer with the NGO Pro Mare, a partner in the Baltic MPAs
project. “There are almost no measures that can be adopted to avoid the
decline of the species in the event of warm winters continuing. Effort must
be made to reduce human-caused mortality (by-catch in fisheries) and disturbance during the breeding season,” he says.
As sea levels rise, many unique coastal wetland areas are being lost or degraded at an alarming rate,
with significant impacts on biodiversity.
Photo: LIFE05 NAT/LV/000100/I. Jussi
Ringed seals breed in ice lairs, an evolutionary adaptation designed to
protect against polar bear attack. However, as Heidrun Fammler from the
Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia, former project manager of Baltic MPAs,
explains, because of global warming “for many years there has been insufficient ice coverage.” When ice melts before seal pups have been weaned,
they lack sufficient blubber to survive long in the cold water. They are also
more vulnerable to predators (wolves, foxes, stray dogs, white-tailed eagles) and human disturbance.
“Climate change is affecting our seas, causing
sea level rise and an increase in extreme weather
events which increase flooding events along our
coasts. In the UK the projected relative sea level
increases for 1990 to 2095 are approximately 21–
68 cm for London. As little terns nest just above
the high water mark on open, shallowly sloping
sand and shingle beaches there is an obvious concern for the viability of current nesting sites,” says
Susan Rendell-Read, project manager of LIFE Little Terns, which is working with 29 colonies of the
protected species across the UK. With hard coastal
3 EEA Report No 6/2006 The changing faces of Europe’s
coastal areas
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Photo: LIFE12 NAT/UK/000869/Kevin Simmonds
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Sea level rise and an increase in flooding events along coastal areas have brought a decline in the little tern’s population
LIFE Little Terns is trialling the use of decoys and
tape lures to encourage the species to breed on
higher, safer areas of the beach. If tern nesting
sites can be moved even short distances this may
prevent nests being flooded out by high tides. An
important adaptation to climate change will be the
ability for little terns to colonise new sites or recolonise former sites, and so the project is supporting
a number of habitat creation and habitat restoration actions, for example through shoreline management plans and coastal flood defence schemes.
Such actions may involve high investment – such
as creating nesting areas through shingle recharge
and designing rafts as nesting platforms. Increasing our understanding at the micro-scale, such as
nesting substrate preferences and whether the
use of chick shelters on the beach afford effective protection, is also important. “Measures to increase productivity, and therefore resilience, could
help mitigate some negative impacts of climate
change,” says Ms Rendell-Read.
One consequence of rising sea levels (and over-abstraction of water close to the coastline) is saltwater intrusion - the penetration of saline water into
freshwater aquifers. LIFE SALT investigated the affect
of saltwater intrusion in the Esino river basin of the
Marche region of central Italy.
The project set out to get a clearer picture of the
amount and quality of groundwater available in the
river basin and, using this baseline data, simulated the
impact of climatic changes on saline intrusion trends
through a modelling tool that could also be used to
develop a regional risk assessment procedure to support groundwater management in different scenarios.
The simulations indicated significant changes in temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration in the
project area between the reference period (19712000) and the end of the 21st Century. Average temperatures are projected to increase by four degrees
Celsius and evapotranspiration is expected to rise by
10% in summer.
The project presented the main results in the form of
maps of exposure, risk and damage. These maps will
enable decision-makers to identify and prioritise risks
and potential damage arising from climate change and
assign priorities for intervention in adaptation plans for
the Esino river basin. Risks related to saline intrusion,
for instance, have been assessed as affecting a strip of
land several hundred metres across throughout the
territory.
coastal
defences on the landward side, sea level rise also
reduces the area of available beach habitat for little terns. The last full UK seabird census noted a
decline in numbers from more than 2 500 breeding
pairs (in the 1980s) to fewer than 2 000 (in the
year 2000).
There is high potential to replicate the project’s
methodology. The EEA notes that large areas of
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Photo: LIFE05 NAT/D/000152/Hauke Drews
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BALTCOAST restored a total of 34 coastal lagoons and meadows in five Baltic Sea countries (Denmark, Germany, Sweden,
Estonia and Lithuania)
the coastal Mediterranean, especially in Italy, Spain
and Turkey, are affected by saltwater intrusion.
LIFE and coastal erosion
Coastlines are variously subject to shoreline dynamics such as erosion and deposition of sediments depending on the nature of the coast (hard/
rocky or softer sediments) and upon the coastal
processes of sediment transport and water movements (waves and currents). Coastal erosion is a
natural phenomenon that has been occurring for
millions of years. However, the gradual natural
erosion processes have become accelerated in
recent years by human activities and by climate
change-influenced factors such as rising sea-levels
and heavier storms, higher waves and changes in
prevalent wind and wave direction.
Approximately one-quarter of the European coastline for which data are available is eroding, with
the coasts of Mediterranean, Atlantic and northern
seas at highest risk. Erosion and coastal retreat
pose serious problems for homes, infrastructure,
communities and livelihoods – annual losses run
into the tens of millions of euros. Wetlands and
biodiversity are also affected.
Numerous interventions have failed to resolve
coastal erosion. Indeed, some traditional ‘heavy’
Photo: LIFE07 NAT/GR/000296/Remoundou Ilektra
Junicoast installed sand stabilising fences for vegetation-free dunes subject to severe wind erosion on the Greek island of Chrysi
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coastal defence solutions - i.e. building sea-walls
or other hard structures - may actually have worsened the deterioration, especially in the long term,
or simply shifted the problem elsewhere.
coastal dune species are planted such as European
beach-grass (Ammophila arenaria) and sand couch
(Elymus farctus), thus increasing the resilience of
the whole dune system.
The challenge for policy-makers at the local, regional, national and international level is to devise and implement appropriate and ecologically
responsible coastal protection measures that balance economic, social and environmental concerns.
EU policies intended to address coastal erosion
call for a coordinated and participatory approach,
which is why Member States have been called upon
to put in place national strategies towards ICZM.
The project managed to gather precise information
about the prevailing wind pattern at the beach, the
sedimentary nature of the sand and the dynamics
of the Urdaibai estuary. Since climate change can
cause changes in wind direction that make erosion
worse, the information on wind patterns will enable
EBRO-ADMICLIM’s eco-engineering approach
Working to support the ICZM policy, LIFE projects
have developed methods and implemented various
practical actions to tackle the diverse problems associated with erosion of Europe’s coastlines, such
as Spain’s Ebro delta, one of the most important
wetland areas in the Mediterranean (see box).
Some 150 ha of wetland were lost from the mouth of the Ebro between
1957 and 2000. Upstream retention of river sediments (in reservoirs and
behind dams) is responsible for this coastal regression, but the problem
is being made worse by sea level rise and natural subsidence (each some
2-3 mm/year).
“It is predicted that around 50% of the delta’s surface area (15 000 ha)
could be affected by this phenomenon during this century,” says Albert Rovira, technical coordinator of the LIFE EBRO-ADMICLIM project.
Many examples of LIFE project actions to restore
sand dunes, coastal lagoons and other coastal
habitats are included in the LIFE Focus brochure,
LIFE and coastal management4. This includes examples of projects that have prevented coastal
erosion in highly developed areas through innovative beach and dune management measures.
The Catalan government estimated that the traditional engineering solution – building dikes and artificially depositing sand – would cost around
€300 million, excluding maintenance. It could also lead to further deterioration of the wetlands.
Both delta regression and subsidence can only be redressed in the long
term by measures aimed at recovering the input of (inorganic) river sediments and the generation of organic matter in the wetlands and rice fields.
The EBRO-ADMICLIM project is applying new eco-engineering techniques
to achieve this goal. The adaptation techniques will be subject to a modelling and a pilot phase during the project, which runs until June 2018. For
the modelling phase, satellite radar imagery will be used to determine the
distribution of sediment and historical and actual subsidence rates.
More than 20 LIFE projects (such as SOSS DUNES
LIFE and DuneTosca) have targeted Mediterranean
dune habitats, carrying out a range of actions including restoration of dune morphology and dynamics and ‘stabilisation’ of the dunes using artificial barriers. The JUNICOAST project, for example,
installed sand stabilising fences for 200 m of vegetation-free dunes subject to severe wind erosion
on the Greek island of Chrysi. In other cases, dunes
have been rehabilitated by controlling access to
them or by eradicating non-native species.
One of the techniques being tested is the use of ‘flushing flows’ that enable
sediment trapped upstream to bypass blockages. Mr Rovira explains that
these flows should be able to transport 2 million m3 of sediment at a cost
of only €1-2 million, “much less than traditional techniques.”
coastal
Following the trials and consultations with the main socio-economic stakeholders, the project will produce a climate action plan for the delta (PACDE).
Photo: LIFE13 ENV/ES/001182
More than 80% of the Laida beach dunes in Spain’s
Basque Country has been lost and with them important flora and fauna. Climate change is accelerating the speed of loss. The LIFE Dunas Laida project erected ‘sand fences’ made of willow branches
or wicker facing into the prevailing winds. These
act as barriers helping to trap the sand and enabling dune belts to build up over time. Once a sufficient volume of sand has been established, typical
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4 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/publications/lifepublications/lifefocus/documents/coastal.pdf
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Photo: LIFE04 NAT/E/000031/NEEMO EEIG/Ainhoa Darquistade
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Dunas Laida erected ‘sand fences’ made of willow branches that help trap the sand and enable dune belts to build up over time
more effective interventions to counteract erosion.
Restoration of the dunes has increased the number
of visitors to the area, with economic benefits for
local businesses.
More recent LIFE projects have focused on developing ecosystem-based approaches and demonstrating soft measures to counteract coastal erosion such
as beach nourishment, dune rebuilding, and coastal
revegetation with native species that are adapted to
sand, such as the umbrella pine (Pinus pinea).
Coastal erosion represents one of the main threats
to ecosystems in the Sentina Reserve, a coastal wetland in the Marche region of Italy. LIFE’s Re.S.C.We.
project delivered a programme of bioengineering
works in favour of dune recovery, creating windbreaks out of driftwood and planting bayberries to
stabilise the dunes. It also created micro-habitats
using dead trunks, excavated small ponds just behind the dune line and shaped new dune cordons using the excavated sand.
Coastal ecosystem services
Coastal ecosystems such as dunes and sandy barriers, mangroves and salt marshes deliver a wide
range of services to people. They protect against
storms and floods, control erosion, store carbon,
provide habitats and are a source of food, income
and wellbeing (e.g. through tourism and recreation).
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In order to plan and deliver effective programmes
of adaptation measures, it is necessary to assess
the impact on ecosystem services of intensifying
climate change. The influential LIFE project VACCIA
did just that, feeding into the process of updating
Finland’s national climate change adaptation strategy (see strategies and planning chapter, pp. 20).
Increasing ecosystem resilience
Coastal wetlands (or tidal marshes) are saltwater
and brackish water wetlands located in coastal areas. As well as being important habitats for fish,
shellfish and birdlife, they provide natural defence
against coastal flooding and storm surges. Tidal
wetlands can serve to improve degraded waters
by recycling nutrients, processing chemical and organic wastes and capturing sediment loads; the
cleansed water helps maintain aquatic organisms.
The restoration of coastal wetlands and managed realignment are important tools for adaptation of coastal areas to climate change. There
are several means of re-establishing the natural
functions of degraded wetlands. One method is to
add sediment to raise land above the water level
and allow wetland plants to colonise, or modify,
erosion processes that are degrading wetland areas. Alternatively, blocking ditches and reducing
groundwater extraction is an effective restoration
technique for (drained) brackish wetlands. A more
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
resource intensive technique involves transplanting vegetation from healthy marshes or specialised nurseries.
LIFE Nature funding has been one of the main drivers of coastal wetland restoration across the EU,
implementing ecosystem-based approaches that,
as well as aiding protected flora and fauna, are
making these habitats more resilient in the face of
climate change impacts such as flooding, storms
and sea level rise. One of the most ambitious projects of this kind has been BALTCOAST, which restored a total of 34 coastal lagoons and meadows
in five Baltic Sea countries (Denmark, Germany,
Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania).
“We restored the natural hydrology of lagoons by
re-opening natural connections to the sea and by
closing pipes draining the lagoons,” explains project
manager, Hauke Drews. The BALTCOAST team also
removed excess vegetation and silt from natural
depressions and prevented further eutrophication
of lagoons by rerouting nutrient-rich runoff around
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the lagoons or by establishing nutrient retention
ponds for drainage water.
In the UK, a key objective of the Alde-Ore project
was to enhance the resilience of two sites rich in
birdlife in East Anglia (at Orford Ness and Havergate Island) to changing climatic conditions, especially rising sea levels. At Orford Ness, new water
management infrastructure has created an additional 3 ha of coastal lagoon habitat, along with
2.4 km of new ditches and a further 4 km of linear
scrapes (foot drains).
Grant Lohoar, East Suffolk Coast & Countryside Manager for the National Trust, which led the LIFE project,
explains that the deepened scrapes and new ditches
increase the water carrying capacity of the site, allowing it to hold water for longer into the summer
and early autumn. “The linked system allowed improved management of water at appropriate times
of the year to maintain optimum water levels for key
bird species,” he says. During the winter months, a
“new, more efficient pumping system” can evacuate
VACCIA identifies coastal changes
The project also found that a warmer climate is having an impact on shoreline species and vegetation, including the coastal
meadows of the Bothnian Bay, where the critically endangered
plant creeping alkaligrass (Puccinellia phryganodes) and the
southern dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii), a wading bird, are
found. Climate warming has also resulted in earlier spring migration and later autumn migration of water birds. On an average, autumn migration is 0.37 days/year later.
VACCIA assessed the potential impact of climate change on ecosystem
services, such as food production
coastal
The project found a trend for decreasing salinity in coastal areas of the Gulf of Finland, which may be linked to climate change
(the connection has not been verified). However, evidence does
confirm that the combined impact of various changes in the
Baltic Sea ecosystem has “caused clear changes in several marine species”, says Prof Forsius. Predicted changes in the temperature of water bodies and ice cover will affect fish spawning
times, hatching dominance of species and migration.
trawling season (because of shorter ice cover); for coastal areas, it would mean changes in agricultural practices (e.g. buffer
zones, less fertiliser) to limit the impact of more rainfall and
floods on runoff.
Photo: LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000141/METSÄHALLITUS/WESTERBOM Mats
VACCIA investigated the impact of climate change on changes in
chemical, physical and biological variables relating to coastal ecosystems. Results showed that increasing eutrophication has reduced the turbidity of water in the Gulf of Finland. VACCIA’s models predict that “more frequent occurrence of floods and heavy
rains is likely to increase the loads of nutrients and suspended
matter even further,” explains project manager Martin Forsius.
Different adaptation measures are needed to address each of
these impacts. For surface waters these could focus on reducing runoff, erosion and nutrient loads; for the fishing industry, it
would mean adapting to changing fish stocks and an extended
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are prevented from migrating landwards due to
the presence of sea walls. At Titchwell Marsh, tidal
surges in 1994 and 1996 were an early warning
that climate change was going to pose an increasing threat to this Natura 2000 network site. In the
1996 incident saltwater breached the northern sea
bank, entering the freshwater marsh.
excess rainfall into the estuary system. This also
“proved its value” following a North Sea tidal surge
in December 2013, which led to significant incursion
of tidal water into the site.
At Havergate Island, the project fully restored saline
lagoons and replaced six tidal sluices to ensure that
water levels are favourable to target species. “The new
sluices allow more efficient influx of river water to refresh the marshes and reduce salinity,” says Mr Lohoar.
In 2007, the RSPB, which manages Titchwell Marsh,
secured LIFE funding for TacTICS, a project which
combined protective measures with managed realignment. “The measures that were adopted involved
breaching the existing sea wall to allow a brackish marsh to be naturally converted to mostly tidal
marsh, which now acts as a first line of defence in
absorbing pressure from the sea,” says senior site
manager, Robert Coleman.
Other important wetlands in East Anglia are threatened by ‘coastal squeeze’, where intertidal habitats
Increasing the resilience of Spain’s lagoons
Delta-Lagoon is a project working to increase the resilience of the Alfacada and Tancada coastal lagoons in Spain’s Ebro Delta, an area, as we
have already seen, that is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate
change. Project manager Carles Ibáñez explains that actions have focused
on improving the hydrological status and connectivity of the lagoons. For
instance, it has removed dikes to reconnect the Tancada lagoon with the Alfacs Bay, helping to restore salt marshes damaged by intensive fish farming. In the Alfacada lagoon, work is focusing on the restoration of original
lagoon areas that have been converted to rice fields or which were formerly
used for aquaculture.
Further inland, the bank that previously separated
the brackish from the freshwater marsh was rebuilt
and strengthened to become the new sea wall. Behind this, the area of freshwater habitat was managed to ensure a mix of freshwater marsh, islands
and reedbeds to provide for all the habitat needs of
the local wildlife.
“Climate change will continue to impact on the North
Norfolk coast, but LIFE project actions have helped
to establish a natural protective infrastructure and a
collective will among local stakeholders that should
now ensure the survival of the Titchwell Marsh SPA
and its rich diversity of coastal habitats,” believes
Mr Coleman.
Adaptation to rising sea levels involves “the re-establishment of hydrological connectivity between the lagoons and the sea, in order to increase the
sediment inputs to the lagoons during marine storms,” says Dr Ibáñez.
Sea level rise and sea storms are also affecting the La Pletera saltmarsh
in the flood plain of the Ter estuary, near Girona. The site is of high ecological importance due to the presence of brackish and hypersaline coastal
lagoons. The ongoing project, LIFE-PLETERA, is restoring all aspects of the
coastal lagoon system – including foredune, mobile coastal dunes, a gradient zone of mixed sand and clay substrates, permanently-flooded lagoons
and wetland flood belts – with the specific aim of enabling it to respond to
predicted climate change impacts.
Photo: LIFE09 ENV/ES/000520/IRTA
Risk management and mapping
Improving knowledge and understanding of the effects of climate change in coastal areas is a prerequisite to developing effective adaptation strategies. By incorporating climate change data and
scenarios into coastal risk mapping and long-term
planning, local and regional authorities can take
steps to divert new development away from areas
of risk, and seek to modify or reduce risks in areas
of existing development. The UK project, Response,
provides a framework for understanding and better preparing for the impacts of climate change
around Europe’s coastline.
In partnership with nine organisations from the
UK, France, Italy and Poland, it collected data on
coastal behaviour systems in five study areas.
Going beyond previous macro-scale classifications, the methodology allows for an assessment
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IMAGINE all the ‘at risk’ coastal areas …
‘V-shaped’ storm systems, once rare in the Mediterranean, are becoming more frequent due to the
increase in the average temperature of the oceans. The terrain and morphology of Liguria and Tuscany,
together with increased urbanisation and soil sealing, makes them particularly exposed to the impacts
of extreme rainfall events, including landslides. There have been 13 floods in the two regions since
2000, causing extensive damage and loss of life.
The aim of the LIFE+ IMAGINE project is to be able to better predict extreme events in coastal zones
and monitor and implement the changes required to optimise current and future developments,” says
project manager Giorgio Saio.
The project will provide managers of coastal areas in Liguria and Tuscany with applications that address relevant scenarios, including predictions of the impacts of soil sealing, flooding and landslides.
The project will develop a means of harmonising heterogeneous spatial information (SEIS, INSPIRE,
GMES) into a tool that can be used to produce vulnerability maps and indicators for coastal planning. By
providing a cost-benefit analysis of different climate adaptation measures, the tool will enable users to
incorporate the most appropriate measures into ICZM plans, thus reshaping the planning process and
allowing for informed decisions based on spatial data and climate scenarios.
“We have identified two ‘at risk’ areas for pilot activities,” says Mr Saio: in Liguria, the towns of Monterosso
and Vernazza that were particularly severely hit in the 2011 landslides; and a 60 km-stretch along Tuscany’s coast that regularly experiences landslides following heavy rains or storms.”
of local coastlines to provide detailed forecasts
of likely future scenarios. It was tested in five regional coastal study areas with a variety of coastal landforms: “This has tremendous potential”,
says the project, to improve local coastal planning
around the world.
Meanwhile, in Italy’s coastal zones – researchers say
there has been a marked increase in the past 10
years of periods of heavy rainfall and flooding – as
witnessed by the catastrophic landslides of October
2011 in the “Cinque Terre” district of Liguria – where
coastal towns suffered loss of life and substantial
damage to infrastructure and buildings. According
to a new project, LIFE+IMAGINE (see box), “scenarios
simulated for next 50 years demonstrate that the
likelihood of such extreme weather events will increase over the next 50 years”.
coastal
Photo: LIFE09 NAT/IT/000608
The Re.S.C.We. project restored pre-existing wetlands and dune formations which increases resilience to risks of sea level rise
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biodiversity
Enabling biodiversity to adapt
Photo: LIFE13 NAT/GR/000909/NCC
LIFE project actions have been improving the conservation status of Europe’s protected species and habitats, boosting ecosystem resilience and thus making biodiversity more “fit” to
adapt to climate change.
Climate change is affecting biodiversity, threatening the survival of species such as the Eleonora’s Falcon
C
limate change has both direct and indirect
impacts on species and ecosystems. For
species these include: increased population fluctuations and local extinctions, movement to higher
altitudes and latitudes (upwards and northwards),
changes in species relationships (e.g. mismatching
in lifecycle events in food webs), loss of habitat,
and local extinctions. In terms of habitats, negative impacts include: erosion, drought, flooding,
changes to the nutrient balance/eutrophication, as
well as increased frequency and severity of fire,
flooding and storms.
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Impacts of climate change will often interact with
existing pressures: for example, eutrophication
may be enhanced by increased fluctuations in water tables; changes in geographical distribution of
species as a response to climate change will be
limited by habitat fragmentation and the availability of habitat in new areas that are climatically
suitable.
The Arctic fox provides a vivid illustration of how a
species can be impacted by the need to adapt to climate change as well as existing pressures (see box).
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The tale of the Arctic fox
these improvements, the Arctic fox remains at risk. in particular,
from climate change. “With a warmer climate we will have lower
peaks of rodents and less pronounced cyclicity,” says Mr Angerbjörn. Climate change also pushes the tree line northwards and
hence the range of the red fox, resulting in more competition.
The possibility of reintroducing the Arctic fox to Finland is made
more difficult by changes to the landscape linked to a warming
climate (e.g. tundra habitat being replaced by boreal forest).
In mainland Europe, the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus syn. Alopex
lagopus) is found above the tree line in the mountain tundra of
Fennoscandia. The species’ population plummeted at the beginning of the 20th Century because of over-harvesting by the fur
industry and remained low thereafter. In 1997, the adult population in Fennoscandia was estimated to be lower than 100 animals.
The manager for both projects, Anders Angerbjörn, says the key
threats to the Arctic fox are low availability of food and competition from the larger red fox (Vulpes vulpes) for territory and den
sites. To combat these, extra food in the form of commercial dog
pellets was provided to dens with litters of Arctic foxes, and in
winter reindeer carcasses were hidden nearby under the snow.
In Sweden, this action was combined with culling of red foxes
during winter.
These methods managed to stop the Arctic fox’s decline and
boost the number of litters born, in combination with an increase
in the lemming population, one of its main food sources. Despite
Through nature-based approaches to adaptation
and mitigation, opportunities exist to strengthen
the resilience of ecosystems, and thus reduce
impacts of climate change on biodiversity, whilst
helping to mitigate climate change.
Nature-based approaches to adaptation and mitigation provide both adequate responses to climate
change challenges and sustain ecosystem functions in the long term. Such approaches to adaptation are ready to use and are easily accessible.
As highlighted by a 2011 report for the European
Commission, Assessment of the potential of ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation in Europe1, they often bring
multiple benefits at comparatively low cost.
Guidelines for climate change
adaptation
In 2013, the European Commission produced a set
of guidelines on climate change and Natura 2000
network sites2 aimed at the managers of these sites.
The guidelines seek to underline benefits from
Natura 2000 sites in mitigating the impacts of climate change, reducing vulnerability and increasing
resilience. A decision framework is included to help
identify opportunities for sensible adaptive planning to protect target species and habitats whilst
tackling the effects of climate change.
1 Report available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/
climatechange/pdf/EbA_EBM_CC_FinalReport.pdf
2 Guidelines on Climate Change and Natura 2000: Dealing
with the impact of climate change On the management of
the Natura 2000 Network of areas of high biodiversity value
[Technical Report - 2013 - 068; http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/climatechange/pdf/Guidance%20document.pdf
biodiversity
The EU aims to secure the long-term protection of
biodiversity through the Birds Directive, Habitats Directive and the Natura 2000 network. In 2012, it also
adopted the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, which
sets out the Union’s long-term (2050) vision on biodiversity policy and a range of mid-term targets and
actions, including some that address climate change.
The headline mid-term target is “halting the loss of
biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, and restoring them in so far
as feasible, while stepping up the EU contribution to
averting global biodiversity loss.”
Photo: LIFE03 NAT/S/000073
The LIFE SEFALO project was launched in 1998 as a joint conservation effort between Sweden and Finland aimed at halting
the Arctic fox’s decline and increasing its breeding population.
Completed in 2002, the project helped stabilise the population
but was unable to increase numbers. Consequently, a follow-up
project was carried out during 2003-2008, SEFALO+, which also
included Norway.
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The guidelines include six main categories of adaptation measures, of which the five key ones are:
• To reduce existing pressures;
• To ensure ecosystem heterogeneity;
• To increase connectivity;
• To ensure abiotic conditions; and
• To manage impacts of extreme events.
As the main funding tool for Natura 2000 network
conservation, the LIFE programme is already demonstrating how each of these categories of measures may be applied in practice.
Reducing existing pressures
Existing pressures on species and habitats may be
reduced through restoration measures, development
of buffer zones and the defragmentation of infrastructure (for example, through green tunnels and
bridges).
The EC Guidelines on Climate Change and Natura
2000 cite the example of the LIFE project Dutch
dune revival, which runs from 2010 until the end of
2015, and which is featured in the coastal chapter
of this publication. Other projects that have developed buffer zones include SPIN4LIFE on Sicily, whilst
projects such as LIFE + OZON in the Sonian Forest in
and around Brussels and LIFE BEAR DEFRAGMENTATION, which is linking brown bear habitats in Spain’s
Cantabrian mountains, are addressing the problem of
fragmentation. The latter project is building on the
work of LIFE Corredores oso (2009-2011) by taking
action to connect two isolated bear sub-populations
along a 50 km transit corridor: improving connectivity
between habitats, reducing the potential for harm in
transit areas (i.e. road and rail crossing points), and
raising awareness in the local community by working
“with local people, with cattle breeders, beekeepers,
landowners, stakeholders, hunters, trying to create a
good social environment for the bear to come and to
use these corridors,” says project manager, Fernando
Ballesteros.
Increasing ecosystem heterogeneity
The heterogeneity of ecosystems may be increased
through enhancing structural gradients (mosaics
of habitats) and by allowing natural processes to
take effect. One example with positive adaptation
impacts used by many LIFE projects is to increase
shade along streams. As the Guidelines for Climate
Change and Natura 2000 indicate, “Tree roots make
banks stable and offer long-term protection against
erosion. In general, recovery of stream shade (and
therefore temperature) is expected within decades,
and is accelerated by deliberate planting.” ForestForWater, a Swedish LIFE Environment project that
ran from 2003 to 2007 used riparian shade to reduce thermal stress on freshwater organisms and
planted floodplains with woodland species to alleviate downstream flood risks. More than 120 LIFE
projects have implemented actions for the restoration of riparian habitats.
Photo: LIFE07 NAT/E/000735 - Fundación Oso Pardo
The corridor that connects the two Cantabrian brown bear populations is dependent on habitat availability and connectivity
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Photo: LIFE10 NAT/IT/000241
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The TIB project is creating underpasses to allow species to cross roads
Connectivity between Natura 2000 network sites
and other green spaces may be increased by the
development of corridors/stepping stones, wider
landscape management, the creation of new nature areas and spatial planning.
LIFE has done much to connect nature across Europe. For instance, in Cyprus, the ICOSTACY project
restored connectivity and mitigated the impacts of
land-use change and climate change by improving
the ecological coherence of the country’s Natura
2000 network for various targeted species. The
project, which ran from 2010 to 2014, carried out
a climate change scenario analysis for those species, which include the Cyprus whip snake (Coluber
cypriensis), Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus euryale) and Jersey tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria). This showed, for instance, that habitats
of the latter species, a type of day-flying moth, are
not currently fragmented, but that “based on climate change scenarios, it is expected that suitable
habitats will decline,” says project manager Elena
Stylianopoulou. The project also produced habitat
suitability maps for species. “These could be used
to advise and inform about conservation and protection of the species across their range and distribution,” says Ms Stylianopoulou.
Ongoing projects such as TRANS INSUBRIA BIONET (TIB) in Italy and LIFE ElClimA in Greece are
currently working to increase connectivity through
nature-friendly adaptation solutions. TIB aims to
combat the negative effects of climate change by
facilitating the mobility of animal and plant species along an ecological corridor between Campo
dei Fiori and the Ticino River Park, an area covering
some 15 000 ha and including 14 Natura 2000
network sites. The project will improve habitats in
the corridor and install underpasses to allow species to cross roads.
The LIFE ElClimA project is targeting actions at one
keystone species, Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae), with the goal of facilitating its adaptation to
ongoing and future climate change. It plans to implement a series of targeted conservation actions
to improve the species’ breeding performance and
the quality and availability of its foraging areas.
These actions will include constructing 1 000 artificial nests, eradicating rats and planting fruit trees
on migration routes. It will assess the bird’s foraging
behaviour and habitat quality, as well as the impact
on these habitats of land-use changes and climate
change.
The network level
Larger scale (network level) adaptation measures
facilitate movement of species between different Natura 2000 sites, as well as between Natura
2000 sites and suitable habitat in their surroundings. Network level measures allow species to disperse into future suitable climate zones. As the
Guidelines on Climate Change and Natura 2000
note, “facilitating range shifts will require well connected, green infrastructure over large distances.”
biodiversity
Increasing connectivity
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The concept of Green Infrastructure describes ecological networks in their wider context. It emphasises the importance of maintaining and restoring
the provision of ecosystem goods and services for
society and the value of functionally and connected, healthy ecosystems.
Green infrastructure could contribute to the coherence of the Natura 2000 network by improving landscape permeability and thus adding to the resilience
of ecological networks to climate change. Many implementation coalitions can be developed with other
land uses and functions, such as agriculture, forestry
and water management. The Commission issued a
Communication on Green Infrastructure in 20133,
which provides an enabling framework for naturebased adaptation solutions.
LIFE has begun to address the issue of network-level
adaptation measures through recently funded projects such as EcoCo LIFE Scotland (see box) and LIFETripleLakes. The latter project is developing a model
3 (COM(2013) 249 final)
The protocol is being developed through workshops involving experts, stakeholders and partner organisations. “These workshops refine and
direct the use of habitat mapping and ecosystem
services mapping to produce a framework which
can be applied across the project area,” says Mr
White. The framework will be tested on selected
sites during the project and also used to identify
new sites for habitat restoration work.
ing suitable will become more ecologically robust
and will display a range of variation in habitat
structure, maximising opportunities for biodiversity resilience in the face of changing climatic
conditions. Secondly, the focus on enhancing connectivity, and dispersal opportunities, will assist
with improving the permeability of the landscape
within the project area, affording species the opportunity to move in response to climate change.
The protocol will allow ‘pinch points’ and potential
corridors to be identified, and will enable work to
be targeted towards areas which can contribute
to enhancing and aiding the movement of species. Thirdly, the project’s focus on catchment
scale restoration will allow geomorphological opportunities to be identified and mapped, resulting in, for example, rivers being reconnected with
their floodplains, natural flood management opportunities being developed, and areas of habitat
being created in response to changing climate
events.”
Mr White explains that the protocol will help improve the resilience of habitats and species to
changing climatic conditions, “in a number of
ways. By improving ecological coherence at the
site level, sites which have been identified as be-
Amongst other habitats, the project is targeting
degraded lowland raised bogs with recovery potential. Work on these sites will provide connectivity and allow for dispersal, as well as ensuring
that an important carbon sink is maintained.
The EcoCo LIFE Scotland project is implementing
integrated habitat networks to improve ecological coherence across the Central Scotland Green
Network. As project coordinator Alistair White of
Scottish Natural Heritage explains, “the ecological coherence protocol will be a framework for
determining the best places to carry out habitat
management and creation within Central Scotland, to improve ecological coherence at a series
of scales (site, local, regional) whilst also taking
into account benefits to wider socio-economic
benefits and ecosystem services.”
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Photo: LIFE13 BIO/UK/000428/East Ayrshire Coalfields Environmental Initiative
Improving Scotland’s ecological coherence
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An ongoing project in Catalonia, Life+ Pinassa, is working to increase the resilience of black pine forest to large fires and climate change. According to
project coordinator, Teresa Cervera Zaragoza, ”for areas with high fire risk,
we use the ORGEST (‘Guidelines for Sustainable Forest Management’) models,
which have two primary management objectives: production of goods (wood,
cork and pine nut) and fire prevention.” In terms of the latter role, she explains
that the models “have keys for identifying vulnerability to canopy fire in pine
stands and some parameters - fire prevention requirements - to improve the
type of structure for a forest stand.”
Indicators used to assess the biodiversity of these forests will include “characteristics of tree, shrub and herbaceous cover; deadwood and suitable natural
cavities for birds and bats; floristic composition; and bioindicators,” adds Ms
Cervera Zaragoza.
for adaptive catchment management for high conservation value aquatic ecosystems in Sweden that
takes into account climate change. “To strengthen
resilience we need to improve the conditions for typical species within the catchments and the habitat
types to reduce stress. Therefore we need to work
to diminish physical, chemical and biological impact
to create high-quality habitats and a minimum of
stress from different kinds of land use and human
activities in general,” says project manager, Malin
Bernhardsson. Specific actions will include restoring
watercourses and removing dams and other barriers to the free passage of species, creating and
restoring spawning beds, conducting an inventory
of wastewater treatment plants to reduce nutrient
loads and demonstrating good water management
practices in forestry and agriculture.
Ensuring abiotic conditions
Maintaining the hydrological integrity of a site
is often key to delivering species and habitat
Photo: LIFE13 NAT/ES/000724
Fire protection in Spain’s black pine forests
objectives. Increased water scarcity and drought
are expected and, as a secondary effect, this may
lead to increased levels of nutrients (especially
nitrogen) and pollutants. Higher temperatures in
combination with more rainfall can also lead to
an increase in biomass, requiring changes to management measures such as mowing regimes.
Many technical measures exist to ensure adequate
water quality, water quantity or nutrient balance
for Natura 2000 sites (see pp. 71-86). Furthermore, numerous LIFE projects have helped restore
or maintain the hydrological integrity of Natura
2000 network sites. One notable example comes
from England, where the Alde-Ore Estuary project
enhanced the resilience of the sites on Orford Ness
and Havergate Island to changing climatic conditions. The new water management infrastructure
created an additional 3 ha of coastal lagoon habitat, along with 2.4 km of new ditches and a further
4 km of linear scrapes (foot drains) (see coastal
chapter – pp. 84-93).
biodiversity
“Climate change is becoming one of our biggest management problems.
The climate is changing so rapidly, in front of our eyes. We speak to our
old salters and they say we never had rain in the summer; now this is very
common. Biodiversity is really affected – so many eggs and chicks are lost
because of the summer storms. Of course we have to adapt to that, so in
our management plan and in our guidelines for reconstruction works, we
are adding height. We know that the sea level is higher and we are trying
to adapt to this yearly change of distribution of rain and storms. We are
dredging out separate dikes and ditches so the excess water in summer really can drain down.” Andrej Sovinc, Project Manager, MANSALT, Slovenia.
Photo: LIFE09 NAT/SI/000376/Davorin Tome
Slovenia’s salt pans under threat
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Managing impacts of extreme events
The increasing prevalence and severity of extreme
events (fires, floods, storms, droughts) is one of the
most apparent and most challenging impacts of
climate change (see MANSALT box).
In terms of helping biodiversity to adapt, LIFE is
showing the way through projects such as Life+ Pinassa (see box) and EstepÁrias. The latter project,
which ran from 2009 to 2012, worked to conserve
the great bustard, little bustard and lesser kestrel
in Portugal’s Baixo Alentejo cereal steppes. Potential climate change scenarios were examined by
the project to evaluate their potential impact on
these steppe birds. These scenarios were used to
establish emergency intervention procedures, including drought mitigation measures, which were
subsequently integrated into good practice manuals designed for use by those involved in agri-environment management.
As a ‘last resort’ for the most vulnerable species,
the 2013 EC Guidelines propose relocation to new,
suitable sites.
Where relocation is not feasible, LIFE has shown
that there are other ways to help the most vulnerable species adapt, as shown by the case of the
Saimaa ringed seal in Finland (see box).
LIFE Saimaa Seal
“The Saimaa ringed seal (Phoca hispida saimensis) is categorised as a critically endangered subspecies both nationally and
internationally. It inhabits a freshwater lake in Finland [Lake
Saimaa] and there are some 300 seals left, and around 60
pups are born annually,” explains Raisa Tiilikainen, manager of
the LIFE Saimaa Seal project, which runs from 2013 to 2018.
“The major threats to the population are by-catch mortality,
small and scattered population size, habitat deterioration and
climate change,” she says. One of the goals of the project is to
help the seals adapt to climate change by developing a method
of producing artificial snow drifts to improve their lairing conditions during mild winters.
The LIFE project is implementing an artificial snowdrift method
that was developed specifically for this purpose at the University of Eastern Finland. ‘The drifts are piled up using snow shovels and pushers at the breeding sites of the seals. Snow used
in the drifts is collected at the vicinity of the drift site,” says Dr
Tiilikainen.
During the mild winter of 2014, 240 artificial snowdrifts were
piled up in the Saimaa ringed seal’s breeding area. More than
90% of the pups born that year were born at lairs with artificial snowdrifts, highlighting the usefulness of the technique. In
2015, “around 70 man-made snowdrifts were constructed at
the main breeding areas of the seals where snow conditions
were not sufficient for breeding,” adds Dr Tiilikainen.
Photo: LIFE12 NAT/FI/000367/Mervi Kunnasranta
“The breeding success of the Saimaa ringed seal, like other
ringed seals, is dependent on sufficient ice and snow cover. The
seals give birth to a single pup in a subnivean snow den (known
as a lair) that is situated at snowdrift formed on shoreline of
islands. The lair provides shelter against predators and harsh
climate, and mother-pup pair use it over the nursing period,”
explains Dr Tiilikainen.
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LIFE & Climate change adaptation
project list
Here is a complete list of LIFE projects that are featured in LIFE and Climate change adaptation. Arranged by theme, the
list highlights more than 130 LIFE projects relevant to climate change adaptation. These are drawn from a total of 24 EU
Member States. For more information on individual projects, visit the online database at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/
life/project/projects/index.cfm
Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
PLANNING
LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000138
CHAMP
Climate Change Response through Managing Urban Europe-27 Platform
20
LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000141
VACCIA
Vulnerability assessment of ecosystem services for climate change
impacts and adaptation
20, 21
LIFE07 INF/FIN/000152
CCCRP
Climate Change Community Response Portal
20, 21
LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000145
Julia 2030
Mitigation of and Adaptation to the Climate Change in the Helsinki
Metropolitan Area - From Strategy to Implementation
20, 22,
23
LIFE09 INF/PL/000283
DOKLIP
A Good Climate For Counties
23
LIFE13 INF/PL/000039
LIFE_ADAPTCITY_PL
Preparation of a strategy of adaptation to climate change with use of city
climate mapping and public participation
23
LIFE08 ENV/IT/000436
ACT
Adapting to climate change in Time
24
LIFE11 ENV/IT/000119
BLUE AP
Bologna Local Urban Environment Adaptation Plan for a Resilient City
24
LIFE10 ENV/CY/000723
CYPADAPT
Development of a national strategy for adaptation to climate change
adverse impacts in Cyprus
26-29
urban
LIFE10 ENV/FR/000215
R-URBAN
R-URBAN / Participative strategy of development, practices and networks
of local resilience for European cities
30
LIFE00 ENV/E/000415
GREEN BELT
A proposal for sustainable territorial planning
34
LIFE02 ENV/E/000200
GALLECS
Demonstration project on land use and environmental management of
the physical planning in Gallecs as a biological and stable connector in the
fringe space of Barcelona metropolitan area
35
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000567
LIFE ZARAGOZA
NATURAL
Creación, gestión y promoción de la Infraestructura Verde de Zaragoza
35
LIFE13 ENV/BE/000212
LIFE-GREEN4GREY
Innovative design & development of multifunctional green & blue infrastructure in Flanders grey peri-urban landscapes
35, 36
LIFE09 ENV/IT/000074
GAIA
Green Areas Inner-city Agreement “GAIA”
36
LIFE10 ENV/IT/000399
EMoNFUr
Establishing a monitoring network to assess lowland forest and urban
plantation in Lombardy and urban forest in Slovenia
36
107
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE98 ENV/S/000482
Roof greening
Extensive roof greening
37
LIFE07 ENV/UK/000936
GRACC
Green roofs against climate change. To establish a UK green roof code to
support climate change mitigation and adaptation.
37
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000092
life-QUF
Quick urban forestation
37
LIFE12 ENV/MT/000732
LifeMedGreenRoof
Constructing two demonstration green roofs to illustrate the potential of
meeting environmental and energy targets
37
LIFE07 ENV/S/000908
GreenClimeAdapt
Green tools for urban climate adaptation
LIFE12 ENV/UK/001133
LIFE Housing
Landscapes
Climate-proofing Social Housing Landscapes
38
LIFE08 ENV/E/000099
AQUAVAL
Sustainable Urban Water Management Plans, promoting SUDS and
considering Climate Change, in the Province of Valencia
38
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000538
PLATAFORMA
CENTRAL IBERUM
Sustainable urban development in “PLATAFORMA CENTRAL IBERUM”
38
LIFE11 ENV/FI/000911
Urban Oases Keidas
Shaping a Sustainable Future through Environmentally Functional
Landscape Features
39
LIFE11 ENV/FR/000746
SeineCityPark
Development of an urban green infrastructure in the Chanteloup loop
37, 39
41-43
agriculture
108
LIFE04 ENV/ES/000269
Humedales
Sostenibles
Integrated management of agriculture in the surroundings of community
importance wetlands (sustainable wetlands)
45
LIFE08 ENV/GR/000570
HydroSense
Innovative precision technologies for optimised irrigation and integrated
crop management in a water-limited agrosystem
45
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000615
IRRIGESTLIFE
Telemanagement network using free controllers conected to a gis for an
optimized irrigation in vitoria-gasteiz
45
LIFE10 ENV/ES/000471
Crops for better soil
Profitable organic farming techniques based on traditional crops:
contrasting soil degradation in the Mediterranean
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000535
OPERATION CO2
“Operation CO2”: Integrated agroforestry practices and nature
conservation against climate change
46
LIFE05 ENV/E/000288
ALMOND PRO-SOIL
Soil protection in Mediterraanean areas through cultivation of new
varieties of almond tree
47
LIFE11 ENV/GR/000942
oLIVE-CLIMA
Introduction of new olive crop management practices focused on climate
change mitigation and adaptation
47
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000426
LIFE RegaDIOX
Fixation of atmospheric CO2 and reduction of greenhouse emissions by
sustainable management of irrigation agriculture
47
LIFE13 ENV/FR/001512
Life ADVICLIM
ADapatation of VIticulture to CLIMate change : High resolution observations of adaptation scenarii for viticulture
47
LIFE08 ENV/E/000129
LIFE+AGRICARBON
Sustainable agriculture in Carbon arithmetics
48
LIFE13 ENV/ES/000541
Life+ ClimAgri
Best agricultural practices for Climate Change: Integrating strategies for
mitigation and adaptation
48
LIFE12 ENV/IT/000578
LIFE HelpSoil
Helping enhanced soil functions and adaptation to climate change by
sustainable conservation agriculture techniques
LIFE06 ENV/F/000132
CONCERT”EAU
Collaborative Technological Plateform for implementation for WDF within
agricultural context
49
LIFE08 ENV/IT/000406
REWETLAND
Widespread introduction of constructed wetlands for a wastewater
treatment of Agro Pontino
49
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000579
REAGRITECH
Regeneration and reuse of runoff and drainage water in agricultural plots
by combined natural water treatment systems
49
46, 48
48, 49
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE12 ENV/SE/000800
SOLMACC Life
Strategies for Organic- and Low-input-farming to Mitigate and Adapt to
Climate Change
49
LIFE13 ENV/FR/001315
PTD LIFE
Dynamic rotational grazing
50
LIFE13 ENV/LT/000189
LIFE Viva Grass
Integrated planning tool to ensure viability of grasslands
50
LIFE09 ENV/ES/000456
AG_UAS
Sustainable water management at regional scale through Airborne
Remote Sensing based on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
51
LIFE11 ENV/IT/000035
WSTORE2
Reconciling agriculture with environment through a new water governance
in coastal and saline areas
51
LIFE08 ENV/E/000114
POWER
Project for Optimisation of Water and Emissions Reduction
52
LIFE11 ENV/ES/000621
IES
Irrigation expert simulator
52
LIFE09 ENV/ES/000447
The Green Deserts
The Green Deserts: new planting techniques for tree cultivation in
desertified environments to face Climate Change
53
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000536
LIFE MEDACC
Demonstration and validation of innovative methodology for regional
climate change adaptation in the Mediterranean area
53
LIFE13 ENV/IT/001258
LIFE SEMENte
parTEcipata
Modelli di selezione vegetale e di tecniche agronomiche adatti alle
condizioni pedo-climatiche locali
53
LIFE07 ENV/GR/000266
EcoPest
‘Strategic plan for the adaptation and application of the principles for the
sustainable use of pesticides in a vulnerable ecosystem’
54
LIFE07 INF/E/000852
CHANGING THE
CHANGE
LIFE+campaign ‘Changing the change’. The Galician agriculture and forest
sector facing climate change.
55
LIFE09 ENV/ES/000441
AgriClimateChange
Combating climate change through farming: application of a common
evaluation system in the 4 largest agricultural economies of the EU
55-57
forests
LIFE11 ENV/IT/000215
RESILFORMED
Resilience to Climate change in Mediterranean forests
61, 62
LIFE10 ENV/FR/000208
FO3REST
Ozone and Climate Change Impacts on French and Italian Forests:
Refinement of criteria and thresholds for forest protection
62
LIFE13 ENV/PL/000048
LIFE+ ForBioSensing PL
Comprehensive monitoring of stand dynamics in Białowieża Forest
supported with remote sensing techniques
62, 63
LIFE12 ENV/FI/000409
LIFE MONIMET
Climate change indicators and vulnerability of boreal zone applying innovative observation and modeling techniques
63
LIFE13 ENV/SI/000148
LIFEGENMON
LIFE for EUROPEAN FOREST GENETIC MONITORING SYSTEM
63
LIFE11 ENV/GR/000975
FLIRE
Floods and fire risk assessment and management
LIFE12 ENV/ES/000730
LIFE+ DEMORGEST
Life+ Cost-efficient integration of megafire prevention into forest
management in the Mediterranean
64
LIFE13 BIO/ES/000094
LIFE MONTSERRAT
Integrated silvopastoral management plan: An innovative tool to preserve
biodiversity and prevent wildfires
64
LIFE13 ENV/ES/000255
Life+ SUBER
Life+ SUBER: Integrative management for an improved adaptation of cork
oak forests to climate change
64
LIFE13 ENV/ES/000660
LIFE ENERBIOSCRUB Sustainable management of shrubs formations for energy purposes
64
LIFE13 NAT/ES/000724
Life+ Pinassa
Sustainable management for conservation of Black pine (Pinus nigra
subsp. salzmannii var pyrenaica) forests in Catalonia
64
LIFE07 ENV/E/000824
LIFE+BOSCOS
Sustainable forestry management of Menorca in a context of climate
change
64-66
63, 66
109
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE09 ENV/FI/000571
Climforisk
Climate change induced drought effects on forest growth and vulnerability
65, 66
LIFE08 ENV/GR/000553
Forest Cities
Local Authorities Alliance for Forest Fire Prevention
66
LIFE08 INF/EE/000260
FFPE
Raising awareness for forest fires and training of forest fire agents and
volunteers in Estonia
66
LIFE08 ENV/GR/000554
AdaptFor
Adaptation of forest management to climate change in Greece
67-70
water M A N A G E M E N T
110
LIFE04 ENV/IT/000500
CAMI
Water-bearing characterization with integrated methodologies
74
LIFE07 ENV/E/000845
WATER CHANGE
Medium and long term water resources modelling as a tool for planning
and global change adaptation. Application to the Llobregat Basin.
74
LIFE07 ENV/IT/000475
TRUST
Tool for regional scale assessment of groundwater storage improvement
in adaptation to climate change (TRUST)
75, 76
LIFE12 ENV/ES/001140
LIFE SEGURA
RIVERLINK
RIVERLINK
LIFE06 ENV/IT/000255
A.S.A.P.
Actions for systemic aquifer protection: implementation and
demonstration of a Protocol to scale down groundwater vulnerability to
pollution due to overexploitation
75, 76
LIFE11 ENV/FR/000745
MAC EAU
Reducing Consumption of Drinking Water: Implementation and Evaluation
of Integrated Measures in Gironde (France)
75- 77
LIFE10 ENV/IT/000394
WARBO
Water re-born - artificial recharge: innovative technologies for the
sustainable management of water resources
LIFE10 ENV/IT/000380
AQUOR
Implementation of a water saving and artificial recharging participated
strategy for the quantitative groundwater layer rebalance of the upper
Vicenza’s plain
LIFE07 INF/UK/000932
RENEW
Regional Environmental Networks for Energy & Water
77
LIFE10 INF/MT/000091
Investing in Water
Achieving Reduction in Water Consumption by Business in Malta
77
LIFE11 ENV/SK/001019
Hydro-climate
recovery
Revitalisation of the climate in dried-out communities in Eastern Slovakia
via hydro-climate recovery
77
LIFE04 ENV/GR/000099
Water Agenda
Development and implementation of integrated water resources
management policy to a river basin, through the application of
a social wide local agreement, based on the principles of
Agenda
78
LIFE08 ENV/E/000117
ENSAT
Enhancement of Soil Aquifer Treatment to Improve the Quality of
Recharge Water in the Llobregat River Delta Aquifer
78
LIFE08 INF/IT/000308
WATACLIC
Water against climate change. Sustainable water management in urban
areas
78
LIFE09 ENV/FI/000569
GISBLOOM
Participatory monitoring, forecasting, control and socio-economic impacts
of eutrophication and algal blooms in river basins districts
79
LIFE12 ENV/AT/000128
LIFE-URBANLAKE
Integrated Lake Management of the Urban Lake “Alte Donau”
79
LIFE06 ENV/D/000461
FLOODSCAN
LArge scale adjustment of new technology for fast, precise and cost-efficient hydraulic 2d-modelling of flood (hazard) areas by combining laser
scanning with remote sensing data
81
LIFE11 ENV/GR/000975
FLIRE
Floods and fire risk assessment and management
81
LIFE11 ENV/DK/000889
Stream of Usserød
Intermunicipal cooperation on Water Management and Climate Change
Adaptation for The Stream of Usserød
82
75
76
76, 77
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE08 NAT/D/000013
Elbauen bei
Vockerode
Improvement and Long-Term Safeguarding of the Natura 2000 Site
“Dessau-Wörlitz Elbe Floodplain”
83
LIFE10 NAT/DE/000010
Emmericher Ward
River and floodplain improvement Emmericher Ward within the EU Bird
Area Unterer Niederrhein
83
LIFE11 ENV/IT/000243
RII
LIFE hydrological and environmental integrated restoration of brooks in
the piedmont area of Emilia Romagna
83
LIFE11 NAT/NL/000771
Floodplain
development
Nature development in the Natura2000 upper floodplains of the river
IJssel
83
LIFE07 NAT/UK/000948
Anglesey and Lleyn
Fens
Restoring Alkaline and Calcareous Fens within the Corsydd Mon a Llyn
(Anglesey & lleyn Fens) SACs in Wales
84
LIFE13 ENV/IT/000169
LIFE RINASCE
Naturalistic Restoration for the integrated hydraulic-environmental
Sustainability of the Emilian Canals
84
LIFE13 NAT/NL/000079
Life+GP
“More water, more raised bogs in the Groote Peel”
84
LIFE98 NAT/A/005422
Donauauen
Restoration and management of the alluvial flood plain of the River Danube (Alluvial Zone National Park)
85
LIFE02 ENV/A/000282
LiRiLi
Living River Liesing - Demonstrative Ecological Reconstruction of
a Heavily Modified Waterbody in an Urban Environment
85
LIFE03 NAT/A/000009
WACHAU
WACHAU
85
LIFE06 NAT/RO/000177
GREENDANUBE
Conservation and integrated management of Danube islands Romania
85
LIFE07 ENV/B/000038
WALPHY
Design of a decision tool for hydromorphological restoration of water
bodies in Walloon Region
85
LIFE08 NAT/D/000007
Nebenrinne
Bislich-Vahnum
Restoration of a side channel of the river Rhine near Wesel
85
LIFE99 NAT/A/006055
Obere Drau
Combine of the flood plain-forests of the Upper Drau-river valley
(Kärnten)
86
LIFE06 NAT/A/000127
LIFE Obere Drau II
Life in Upper Drau River
86
LIFE05 NAT/DK/000153
Houting
Urgent actions for the endangered Houting “Coregonus oxyrhunchus”
86
LIFE07 NAT/EE/000120
HAPPYFISH
Saving life in meanders and oxbow lakes of Emajõgi River on Alam-Pedja
NATURA2000 area
86
LIFE09 INF/UK/000032
RESTORE
RESTORE - Rivers: Engaging, Supporting and Transferring knOwledge for
Restoration in Europe
86
LIFE13 NAT/SE/000116
LIFE-TripleLakes
Triple Lakes – Catchment restoration and preventive action for aquatic
habitats in a climate change perspective
86
LIFE08 ENV/LV/000451
HydroClimateStrategyRiga
Integrated Strategy for Riga City to Adapt to the Hydrological
Processes Intensified by Climate Change Phenomena
87-89
coastal
LIFE05 NAT/LV/000100
Baltic MPAs
Marine protected areas in the Eastern Baltic Sea
92
LIFE12 NAT/UK/000869
LIFE Little Terns
Improving the conservation status of the little tern in the UK through
targeted action at the most important colonies
LIFE07 ENV/IT/000497
SALT
Sustainable management of the Esino river basin to prevent
saline intrusion in the coastal aquifer in consideration of climate
change
93
LIFE05 NAT/IT/000037
DUNETOSCA
Conservation of ecosystems in northern Tuscany
95
LIFE13 ENV/ES/001182
LIFE EBROADMICLIM
Adaptation and mitigation measures to climate change in the Ebro Delta
95
92, 93
111
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Project Reference
Acronym
Title
Page
LIFE13 NAT/IT/001013
SOSS DUNES LIFE
Safeguard and management Of South-western Sardinian Dunes A project for the pilot area of Porto Pino
LIFE04 NAT/ES/000031
Dunas Laida
Dune regeneration on Laida beach (Urdaibai)
95, 96
LIFE07 ENV/FIN/000141
VACCIA
Vulnerability assessment of ecosystem services for climate change
impacts and adaptation
96, 97
LIFE09 NAT/IT/000608
Re.S.C.We.
Restoration of Sentina coastal wetlands
96, 99
LIFE05 NAT/D/000152
BALTCOAST
Rehabilitation of the Baltic coastal lagoon habitat complex
97
LIFE08 NAT/UK/000199
Alde-Ore
The Alde-Ore Estuary - Securing a sustainable future for wildlife
97
LIFE07 NAT/UK/000938
TaCTICS
Tackling Climate Change-Related Threats to an Important Coastal SPA in
Eastern England
98
LIFE09 NAT/ES/000520
Delta-LAGOON
Restauración y gestión del hábitat en dos lagunas costeras del Delta del
Ebro: Alfacada y Tancada
98
LIFE03 ENV/UK/000611
Response
Responding to the risks from climate change developing sustainable
strategies for management of natural hazards in coastal areas taking
account of the impacts of climate change
98
LIFE12 ENV/IT/001054
LIFE + IMAGINE
Integrated coastal area Management Application implementing GMES,
INspire and sEis data policies
99
LIFE13 NAT/ES/001001
LIFE-PLETERA
De-urbanizing and recovering the ecological functioning of the coastal
systems of La Pletera
98
95
biodiversity
112
LIFE03 NAT/S/000073
Arctic Fox Northern Saving the endangered Fennoscandian Alopex lagopus (SEFALO+)
Sweden and Finland
100,
101
LIFE12 NAT/BE/000166
Life – OZON
Restoration of natural habitats for critically endangered species by
defragmentation of the Sonian Forest.
102
LIFE12 NAT/ES/000192
LIFE BEAR
DEFRAGMENTATION
Habitat defragmentation for brown bear in the Cantabrian mountains
102
LIFE12 NAT/IT/000370
SPIN4LIFE
SPIN Strategy for the Implementation of Natura 2000 in Sicily
102
LIFE09 NAT/CY/000247
ICOSTACY
Improving the Conservation Status of Fauna Species in Cyprus: from
microhabitat restoration to landscape connectivity
103
LIFE10 NAT/IT/000241
TIB - TRANS INSUBRIA BIONET
Habitat connection and improvement along the Insubria ecological corridor between the Alps and the Ticino valley
103
LIFE13 NAT/GR/000909
LIFE ElClimA
Conservation measures to assist the adaptation of Falco eleonorae* to
climate change
103
LIFE13 BIO/UK/000428
EcoCo LIFE Scotland Implementation of integrated habitat networks to improve ecological
coherence across the CSGN
104
LIFE13 NAT/SE/000116
LIFE-TripleLakes
Triple Lakes – Catchment restoration and preventive action for aquatic
habitats in a climate change perspective
104
LIFE07 NAT/P/000654
EstepÁrias
Conservation of Great Bustard, Little Bustard and Lesser Kestrel in the
Baixo Alentejo cereal steppes
105
LIFE08 NAT/UK/000199
Alde-Ore
The Alde-Ore Estuary - Securing a sustainable future for wildlife
105
LIFE09 NAT/SI/000376
MANSALT
Man and Nature in Secovlje salt-pans
105
LIFE13 NAT/ES/000724
Life+ Pinassa
Sustainable management for conservation of Black pine (Pinus nigra
subsp. salzmannii var pyrenaica) forests in Catalonia
105
LIFE12 NAT/FI/000367
LIFE Saimaa Seal
Safeguarding the Saimaa Ringed Seal
106
LIFE ENVIRONMENT
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ADA P TAT I O N
Available LIFE Environment publications
LIFE Environment brochures
LIFE and Climate change mitigation (2015,
92 pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-43946-9 – ISSN
1725-5619)
LIFE and Air quality (2014, 76 pp. – ISBN 97892-79-38305-2 – ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE and Soil protection (2014, 68 pp. – ISBN
978-92-79-38305-2 – ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE creating green jobs and skills (2013, 76 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-25091-0 – ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE’s Blueprint for water resources (2012, 80
pp. – ISBN 978-92-79-27206-6 – ISSN 17255619)
LIFE and coastal management (2012, 96 pp. –
ISBN 978-92-79-25091-0– ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE and Resource Efficiency: Decoupling
Growth from Resource Use (2011, 72 pp. – ISBN
978-92-79-19764-2 – ISSN 1725-5619)
LIFE and local authorities: Helping regions and
municipalities tackle environmental challenges
(2010, 60 pp.– ISBN 978-92-79-18643-1 – ISSN
1725-5619)
Other publications
Best LIFE Environment projects 2013 (2014, 68 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-40171-8)
Environment Policy & Governance Projects
2013 compilation (2014, 134 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-37961-1)
Information & Communication Projects 2013
compilation (2014, 12 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7937957-4)
Best LIFE Environment projects 2012 (2013, 48 pp.
– 978-92-79-32961-6)
Environment Policy & Governance Projects
2012 compilation (2013, 157 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-29479-2)
Information & Communication Projects 2012
compilation (2013, 14 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7929475-4)
Best LIFE Environment projects 2011 (2012, 24 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-28217-1)
Environment Policy & Governance Projects
2011 compilation (2012, 122 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-25247-1)
Water for life - LIFE for water: Protecting
Europe’s water resources (2010, 68 pp. – ISBN
978-92-79-15238-2 – ISSN 1725-5619)
Information & Communication Projects 2011
compilation (2012, 17 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7925248-8)
LIFE among the olives: Good practice in
improving environmental performance in the
olive oil sector (2010, 56 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-14154-6 – ISSN 1725-5619)
Best LIFE Environment projects 2010 (2011, 32 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-21086-0)
Getting more from less: LIFE and sustainable
production in the EU (2009, 40 pp. – ISBN 97892-79-12231-6 – ISSN 1725-5619)
Breathing LIFE into greener businesses: Demonstrating innovative approaches to improving
the environmental performance of European
businesses (2008, 60 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7910656-9 – ISSN 1725-5619)
Environment Policy & Governance Projects
2010 compilation (2011, 113 pp. – ISBN 978-9279-20030-4)
Information & Communication Projects 2010
compilation (2011, 19 pp. – ISBN 978-92-7920027-4)
Best LIFE Environment projects 2009 (2010, 32 pp.
– ISBN 978-92-79-16432-3)
A number of LIFE publications are available on the LIFE
website:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/
life/publications/lifepublications/
index.htm
A number of printed copies of
certain LIFE publications are
available and can be ordered
free-of-charge at:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/
life/publications/order.htm
113
KH-AJ-15-001-EN-N
LIFE
“L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environnement” / The financial instrument for the environment
The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action
Period covered 2014-2020
EU funding available approximately €3.46 billion
Allocation of funds
Of the €3.46 billion allocated to LIFE, €2.59 billion are for the Environment subprogramme, and €0.86 billion are for the Climate Action sub-programme. At least €2.8 billion (81% of the total
budget) are earmarked for LIFE projects financed through action grants or innovative financial instruments.
About €0.7 billion will go to integrated projects. At least 55% of the budgetary resources allocated to
projects supported through action grants under the sub-programme for Environment will be used for projects
supporting the conservation of nature and biodiversity. A maximum of €0.62 billion will be used directly by DG
Environment and DG Climate Action for policy development and operating grants.
Types of projects
Action Grants for the Environment and Climate Action sub-programmes are available for
the following:
> “Traditional” projects – these may be best-practice, demonstration, pilot or information, awareness and
dissemination projects in any of the following priority areas: LIFE Nature & Biodiversity; LIFE Environment
& Resource Efficiency; LIFE Environmental Governance & Information; LIFE Climate Change Mitigation;
LIFE Climate Change Adaptation; LIFE Climate Governance and Information.
> Preparatory projects – these address specific needs for the development and implementation of Union
environmental or climate policy and legislation.
> Integrated projects – these implement on a large territorial scale environmental or climate plans or
strategies required by specific Union environmental or climate legislation.
> Technical assistance projects – these provide financial support to help applicants prepare integrated projects.
> Capacity building projects – these provide financial support to activities required to build the capacity of
Member States, including LIFE national or regional contact points, with a view to enabling Member States
to participate more effectively in the LIFE programme.
Further information More information on LIFE is available at http://ec.europa.eu/life.
How to apply for LIFE funding
The European Commission organises annual calls for proposals. Full
details are available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/life.htm
Contact
European Commission – Directorate-General for the Environment – B-1049 Brussels ([email protected]).
European Commission – Directorate-General for Climate Action – B-1049 Brussels ([email protected]).
European Commission – EASME – B-1049 Brussels ([email protected]).
Internet http://ec.europa.eu/life, www.facebook.com/LIFE.programme, twitter.com/life_programme, www.flickr.com/
life_programme/.
LIFE Publication / LIFE and Climate change adaptation
doi:10.2779/429595
