Kristalbad is an area of about 40 hectares located in the east of the Netherlands between the cities of Enschede (160.000 inhabitants) and Hengelo (81.000 inhabitants). This is one of the last remaining green areas between these two cities, playing a role for ecosystem-based adaptation to cope with potential climate change related impacts.
Isola Vicentina (Italy) signed the EU’s Mayors Adapt initiative (current Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy) in 2014 and since then started the elaboration process of its Municipal Water Management Plan (MWMP) in order to integrate climate change adaptation into its water management policies. For this purpose, Isola Vicentina Mayor engaged the “Planning Climate Change” research group at the IUAV University of Venice and Green-Dev studio, a local consultancy firm.
In 2000, the governments of Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Moldova pledged to work together – with the signing of the Lower Danube Green Corridor Agreement - to establish a green corridor along the entire length of the Lower Danube River (~1,000 km). All partners recognized a need and shared responsibility to protect and manage the Lower Danube in a sustainable way.
The Ebro delta (Catalonia, Spain) and its coastal lagoons (Alfacada and Tancada) are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, particularly to sea level rise. In combination with sediment deficit due to river regulation and subsidence, sea lever rise can lead to exacerbated coastal erosion and retreat. Local management practices (e.g. intensive rice farming) have also affected the natural habitats and species of the delta, causing wetland loss and changes in salinity and water quality.
As a Mediterranean coastal city, Barcelona is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Its high population density also magnifies the local heat island effect which causes an array of health and environmental challenges. Climate change projections include a rise in average temperature and a significant decrease in rainfall, with expected lasting droughts and intense heat waves. In response, Barcelona has committed to becoming a global model of a sustainable city combating urban development challenges related to climate change and population density.
Forests can provide effective protection against rockfalls, landslides and avalanches; their preservation and proper management can maintain these services and functions which assume relevance also in the perspective of adaptation to current extreme events and future climate changes. The Protect Bio method enables the evaluation of these ecosystem services. The method aims to evaluate if technical protective (and expensive) measures (i.e.
The Vistula River is a 1,046 km long river which springs in southern Poland and ends in the Baltic Sea. The Upper Vistula extends over the three Polish provinces of Małopolskie, Podkarpackie and Swietokrzyskie. The Upper Vistula region covers an area of 43,000 km2, including the cities of Krakow, Tarnow, Kielce, Nowy Sacz, Rzeszow, Przemysl and Krosno. The area is also known for its extraordinary natural values. The region is prone to flood risk both in winter and in summer.
The Forested Infiltration Area (FIA) is proving to be an effective tool in Northern Italy helping to address water scarcity challenges and/or to achieve environmental benefits over the long term. FIA is a method to recharge groundwater aquifers by channelling surface waters during times of excess into designated areas that have been planted with various species of trees and/or shrubs.
“Allgäuer Moorallianz” is an initiative which was founded in 2007 aiming to foster moor protection in the Allgäu region. The Allgäu region belongs to the Bavarian Alpine foreland (Germany) and hosts one of the most important hotspots of high wetland with its diversity of moor types existing across the young moraine landscape and at different elevation levels. The conservation of these moor landscapes has a significant effect on reducing climate change impacts and maintain ecosystem services such as climate regulation.
A large restoration project started in 2011 in the former saltworks of Salin-de Giraud, located in the southeast of the Rhône delta, within the Camargue Regional Natural Park and the UNESCO‘s Man and Biosphere Reserve. This site represents a vast coastal area of 6,500 ha in the municipalities of Arles and Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, partially transformed and used for industrial salt production from 1950 to 2008. It was characterised by a strong artificialisation, with seafront dykes and disconnection among different water bodies used as ponds for salt extraction.