Plataforma sobre Adaptación al Cambio Climático en España

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Disaster risk reduction

Room for the River Waal – protecting the city of Nijmegen

At Nijmegen, the Waal River bends sharply and narrows. This creates a bottleneck, which often caused flooding of the historic city centre of Nijmegen, located on the south bank of the Wall. After the floods of 1993 and 1995 and faced with increased risk of flooding due to climate change, the city of Nijmegen decided to give more room to the Waal River, at the same time protecting nearby natural habitats and providing recreational space.

Kruibeke Bazel Rupelmonde (Belgium): a controlled flood area for flood safety and nature protection

The Kruibeke Bazel Rupelmonde (KBR) Controlled Flood Area (CFA) is a key component of the Belgian Sigma Plan for the Scheldt Estuary. The Sigma Plan is an integrated flood protection plan that combines dikes, seawalls and flood areas to protect approximately 20,000 hectares of land from flooding.

Addressing coastal erosion in Marche region, Italy

A series of actions were taken to address erosion in the coastal area of Marche region in Italy. The interventions carried out in the section of coast between the municipalities of Sirolo and Numana represent an example of what has been implemented throughout the whole coast of the region. Interventions included: beach nourishment, cliff stabilisation and removal of a portion of artificial reef.

Implementation of the integrated Master Plan for Coastal Safety in Flanders

The Flemish coast is intensively used by many actors, embracing coastal towns, commercial ports connected to industrial areas, leisure marinas and touristic activities. It is exposed to flooding due to storm events and sea level rise. In 2007, the Flemish Government, after a safety test revealing an insufficient protection of the coast, started the elaboration of an Integrated Master Plan for Coastal Safety that was finally approved in June 2011.

Integrating adaptation in the design of the metro of Copenhagen

Climate change impact assessment has been an integrated part of the design and planning of the Copenhagen metro since the first metro line was designed in the mid-1990s. For this scope, Metroselskabet, the Copenhagen metro company, developed a climate change adaptation strategy, which supports the integration of adaptation aspects since the planning and dimensioning phase of the metro system. Apart from the first metro line, opened in 2002, and related extensions in following years, in 2019 Metroselskabet put into operation a new city circle line (Cityringen line M3/M4).

Saltmarsh recreation by managed realignment, Hesketh Out Marsh – UK

Hesketh Out Marsh is one of the biggest managed realignment projects in the UK and is one of the country’s most important estuary habitats for birdlife. The original saltmarsh was isolated from the estuary in 1980 by the creation of an outer wall, and was used for growing crops. With the sea level rising, it was necessary to create stronger sea defences. By a process known as “managed realignment”, seawater has been let back in to flood the land, re-creating saltmarsh and providing space for nature.

Relocation as adaptation to flooding in the Eferdinger Becken, Austria

The area of the Eferdinger Becken, Upper Austria, is a small area that lies on the Danube. It has no protection against floods with a 100-year return time: the flood-prone area includes about 154 houses that flood regularly. Due to the importance of the retention space for the discharge and the difficult technical feasibility, passive flood protection was considered as more suitable. Homeowners needed to decide on relocation by the end of 2015. The federal and the regional governments compensate citizens 80% of the value of the house if they agree to move.