Adaptation strategies to Climate Change impacts
in the Mediterranean Area: an investigation
theme in the framework of the MED programme
Carlo Cacciamani (*) & Renata Pelosini (&)
(*) Arpa Regione Emilia-Romagna, Bologna, Italy
(&) Arpa Regione Piemonte, Torino, Italy
Workgroup 2: Protection of the environment and
promotion of a sustainable territorial development
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Outline
The observational evidence of Climate change
in Europe and in the Med Area
Which are the most disturbing impacts in the
Mediterranean Area ?
What about Adaptation strategies ?
Link with the Med programme
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
The observational evidence of Climate
Change in Europe and in the Med Area
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Mean annual rainfall PO
river catchment
PO A PONTELAGOSCURO
AFFLUSSI ANNUALI 1975-2006
1975-2006: 20%
reduction
1800.0
1600.0
1400.0
R2 = 0.1589
1000.0
Ponte
Linea
800.0
600.0
400.0
200.0
0.0
19
75
19
76
19
77
19
78
19
79
19
80
19
81
19
82
19
83
19
84
19
85
19
86
19
87
19
88
19
89
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
Afflusso [mm]
1200.0
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Anno
Projections of future
Climate Change
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Key messages
• Global warming is inequivocal
• Climate change projections are generally in
line with previous assessments and depend on
the emission scenarios
• The Mediterranean is an especially vulnerable
region to global warming, specially during the
warm season (spring/summer)
• Some further climate change is unavoidable so
we will need to manage the unavoidable
(adaptation) but avoid the unmanageable
(mitigation).
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Which are the most disturbing
impacts in the Mediterranean area ?
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Examples of Impacts
• Higher risk of Extreme weather events like fires, floods,
landslides, storms and heat waves
• The Mediterranean is suffering more and more from droughts.
Water scarcity may become a persistent problem to manage
• The combined effects of heat and drought will severely affect
agriculture
• Seaside tourism will shift from the summer to spring and autumn
• Increasing demand for electricity for cooling. More frequent power
cuts due to increased demand, storm damage, shortage of cooling
water, and reduced water capacity for hydropower
•
Snow is already melting in the Alps and the skiing industry is very
concerned.
Kick Off
Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Examples
ofSeminar
impacts
What about Adaptation strategies ?
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
What is adaptation?
• Adaptation is a series of actions taken to cope with a
changing climate, e.g. increased rainfall, higher
temperatures, scarce water or more frequent storms...
• Adaptation may need to tackle present problems or
anticipate changes in the future, aiming to reduce risk
and damage cost-effectively, and perhaps even
exploiting potential benefits
• Adaptation includes transnational/national/regional
strategies and practical steps taken at community level
or by individuals, and may be anticipatory or reactive.
It applies to both natural and human systems.
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Actions: mitigation & adaptation options
CAUSE: decrease
greenhouse gas emissions
mitigation
&
effects
Cl.Ch. Impacts
adaptation
• increase energetic efficiency
• use of renovable energy
• energy saving
• ri-forestion
World with no actions
Only mitigation
mitigation and
adaptation
time
EFFECTS: adjust systems to Climate
Change to decrease damages, exploit
opportunities and manage consequences
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Adaptation options
Hard approach: technological
and infrastructural options
Long
realization
time
Large
investment
Impacts
and
priority
sizing
Soft approach: non structural
options
Short
realization
time
Negligible
costs and
included into
social/economi
c developing
Applicable
with
uncertain
knowledge
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
….some examples of hard actions
• adapting building to future climate conditions
and extreme weather events
• building flood defenses and raising the levels
of dykes
• developing more drought-tolerant crops
• choosing tree species and forestry practices
less vulnerable to storms and fires
• setting aside land corridors to help species
migrate.
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Soft adaptation options
• Education
• Optimisation of use of the resources (ex.: Water !)
• Setup of risk prevention systems
• protection of environment and of population healthsocial-economic welfare
Instruments
development
Developing awareness
To reduce environmental, economic,
information, social, behavioural
barriers opposing adaptation options
setup of operational
environmental monitoring and
forecasting systems
•
•
•
•
•
applicable
efficient
fair
accessible
linked to the context
•
•
•
•
•
institutional preparation
social learning
involving of stakeholders
high governance capability
public information
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Adaptation strategies
Desertification: Better knowledge of territory vulnerability
Health risk: medium and long planning of prevention actions before the
occurrence of extreme meteo-climatic events, increasing diseases and
mortality (heat waves, respiratory diseases due to allergenic pollens...)
Coastal areas: Abandonment of coastal areas to their natural evolution,
conservation of natural zones (sand dunes) at interface between land and
sea
Agriculture: modification of agronomic practices (ex: optimize seeding
timing) or more structural changes (drastic change of cultivation).
Promotion of technological innovation to maximise efficiency
Biodiversity: synergy with protection actions of natural environmental
resources; creation of protected areas, wet and coastal areas...
Hydrological risk: Improving monitoring and forecasting capability and
systems. On a longer time scale, setup (or change) of territorial plans
taking into account climatic change. Promotion of policies for a better use
of the territory decreasing geological risk (landslides).
Examples
ofProgramme
adaptation
actions - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Kick Off Seminar
MED – 22/11/2007
Link with the Med programme
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
“Adaptation” and the Med Programme
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
Priority axis 2: Protection of the environment
And promotion of a sustainable territorial development
Main issues defined within Axis 2 where adaptation options may be
devised:
Protection of biodiversity, maritime habitat, water resources, sea
(ob. 2.1). Major risks: fire, floods, droughts, reduction of water
resources, landslides (ob. 2.4)
In order to promote a sustainable development, different bodies
in charge responsible of regional developments have to take into
account also the effects of climate change as a further “forcing” to
the environment, and have to improve cooperation to ensure
responsible development and preserve and valorize natural
resources and heritage (for example: sustainable tourism),
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
CONCLUSION - 1
The development of adaptation actions is
coherent with the priority 2 of the MED
program and contributes to the realization of
ob. 2.4 (risk prevention) and 2.1 (protection
and valorization of natural resources and
heritage)
Adaptation is one the strategies to propose to
manage natural risk occurrence that could
increase in changed climate conditions.
Furthermore, adaptation actions concur to the
protection and valorization of the natural
resources, because reduce the external
pressures to the environment
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
CONCLUSION - 2
It is necessary to define, in the MED area, macroactivities and (strategic ?) actions, to be achieved in a
transnational cooperation, finalized to improve:
Specific knowledge, common monitoring and
communication tools necessary to identify in great
detail the main impacts of Climate Change and the
more useful and reliable adaptation strategies (in term
of environmental and economical sustainability)
Methods and technologies finalized to setup and
manage the devised adaptation strategies. These
actions needs a strong transnational coordination in
order not to duplicate efforts and allow “state-of-the
art” elaborations
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille
The end
Thank you
Kick Off Seminar Programme MED – 22/11/2007 - Parc Chanot, Marseille