SIC adapt! – Adaptation to the Spatial Impacts of Climate Change

Background and Goals

SIC adapt! is a Strategic Initiative Cluster (SIC) of the INTERREG IV B North West Europe (NWE) Programme dealing with adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Eight approved transnational projects originating from seven Member States of the NWE Programme with around 100 partner organisations are involved joining public authorities from all levels, scientific institutions, non profit and private organisations.

The focus of the project is to adapt to the spatial impacts of climate change. Within the eight projects (Future Cities, ALFA, AMICE, C-Change, FloodResilienCity (FRC), ForeStClim, IMCORE, WAVE) public authorities at all administrative levels, academic institutions and non-profit institutions cooperate to provide integrated adaptation strategies and sustainable, functional and economic Good -Practice examples of adaptation measures in the following four thematic areas:

  • urban areas
  • water / river / coasts
  • nature / forest / agriculture
  • social aspects.

The results of these projects have been merged, discussed and further developed within three "Clusters Expert Boards" (CEB). Thus synergies can be created and examples for adaptation measures can be collected in order to develop recommendations for policy makers at European level, for each of the member states and for regional and local stakeholders.

In order to share expertise and contrast experiences on the use of the tools and measures of the different projects their partners will get the opportunity for

  • individual cross-project exchange between partners from the different projects, e.g. within working group meetings and
  • multilateral exchanges within the range of five topics of general interest:vulnerability assessment, climate proofing, heat and bio-climatic stress in urban areas, impacts of flash floods and possible counteractive measures and multifunctional land-use

Outputs: In order to attain the aims of the Cluster three concrete objectives have been identified:

  1. Adaptation tools and measures: Enhance the outcomes of the cluster projects on adaptation measures and assessment tools by capitalising on the extensive knowledge base available from the 100 project partners.
  2. Policy recommendations and mainstreaming: Improve the impact of the projects’ outcomes for NWE and beyond by drawing key policy messages for EU, national and regional level on the basis of joint findings of the cluster projects and foster integration of adaptation into policies, programmes and planning.
  3. Communication and dissemination: Communicate the strategically relevant results and interim results of the cluster and the cluster projects with EU-policy makers, EU-research institutes, relevant national policy makers, other INTERREG programmes and strategic initiatives.

Content time

to

Research area/region

Country
  • Belgium
  • Germany
  • France
  • Great Britain
  • Ireland
  • Luxemburg
  • Netherlands
  • Swiss
Region of implementation (all German federal states)
  • Northrhine-Westphalia
Natural spatial classification
  • West German lowland bay

Steps in the process of adaptation to climate change

Step 1: Understand and describe climate change

Approach and results 

The underlying assumptions about climate change can be found in the eight projects

Step 2a: Identify and assess risks - climate effects and impact

Approach and results 

Tools:
All the Cluster projects are developing strategies and tools for assessing the spatial impacts of climate change on four main sectors which are relevant to communities across North West Europe and the wider European Union. The Cluster projects' approaches for strategies and tools will be reviewed (i.e. analysed and compared) with respect to their scope (which spatial categories are addressed, which steps for adaptation are included, e.g. assessing vulnerability, assessing impacts, assessing adaptation measures, determining risks and chances etc.).

In addition, synergy effects between the individual projects' assessment tools will be enhanced by:

  • determining where the tools complement one another in order to provide for improved linkages and broader scope for application,
  • demonstrating the links between the tools to improve their level of application,
  • determining the transferability of the tools for application throughout the different spatial sectors encountered in NEW,
  • reviewing the project approaches adopted and eliminating possible duplication of effort,
  • identifying were there are key gaps and formulating potential methods to address these gaps.

The concrete analyzed climate impacts and effects can be found in the eight projects.

Step 2b: Identify and assess risks - Vulnerability, risks and chances

Approach and results 

Is partly analyzed within the eight projects

Urgency and priorization of adaptation needs 

Is partly analyzed within the eight projects

Step 3: Develop and compare measures

Measures and/or strategies 

Measures: All of the cluster projects are charged with developing and implementing measures and actions to adapt to climate change in North West Europe. These measures will be collated into a SIC adapt! adaptation catalogue to provide an integrated guide for adaptations across all the complementarily environmental sectors. By adopting this holistic approach the potential responses to a wide range of impacts of climate change in NWE can be identified.

More time information and explanations 

different within the eight projects

Step 4: Plan and implement measures

Measures and/or strategies 

Knowledge Platform:The SIC adapt! Knowledge Platform provides a compilation of good practice climate adaptation tools and measures that are developed, tested and implemented by the Cluster projects. The tools and measures selected to date are categorised by purpose, spatial scope, technical outline, target group, applicability and further attributes. The compilation is supplemented by a list of the experts involved in the Cluster activities. The information can be found in a pragmatic and as much as possible user-friendly excel database.

Policy and Programme Recommendations: The FUGIT approach

Clearly there is little time to lose. The time for preparing for the effects of climate change is now. That is why the Cluster has adopted the ‘FUGIT’ acronym to summarise its Recommendations for specific actions across five broader themes.

  • Flexibility in planning and design of infrastructure
  • Understanding through improved communication
  • Galvanise actions across all sectors
  • Integrated monitoring and management plans
  • Tools to support better decision-making

The FUGIT Recommendations, with relevance at regional, national and European levels, are based on the practical experiences of 100 Cluster organisations while implementing their local and regional projects. Thus, the Recommendations make concrete reference to the deficits and problems that were encountered as well as to good practice solutions.

Participants

Funding / Financing 

EU: North-West Europe (NWE) INTERREG IV B Program

Project management 

Lippeverband;

ScientificCoordination: Infrastruktur & Umwelt, Professor Böhm und Partner, Darmstadt

Cooperation/Partners 

The network includes approximately 100 project partners of public authorities at national, regional and local level, scientific institutions all relevant sectors, non-governmental and private organizations. Partner:

  • Lippeverband (Germany): Representing the FUTURE CITIES project partnership
  • Directoraat – Generaal Rijkswaterstaat – Programmadirectie Ruimte voor de Rivier (Netherlands): Representing the ALFA project partnership
  • Etablissement Public d'Aménagement de la Meuse et de ses Affluents (EPAMA) (France): Representing the AMICE project partnership
  • Groundwork London (United Kingdom): Representing the C-CHANGE project partnership
  • Directoraat – Generaal Rijkswaterstaat – Programmadirectie Ruimte voor de Rivier (Netherlands): Representing the Flood ResilienCity (FRC) project partnership
  • Landesforsten Rheinland-Pfalz (Germany): Representing the FORESTCLIM project partnership
  • University College of Cork (Ireland): Representing the IMCORE project partnership
  • Waterschap Regge en Dinkel (Netherlands): Representing the WAVE project partnership
Contact

Lippeverband
Kronprinzenstraße 24
45128 Essen

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Fields of action:
 agriculture  coastal and marine protection  spatial planning, urban and settlement development  water regime and water management  woodland and forestry  cross sectoral