Climate Adaptation Strategies and Associated Governance Structures in Mountain Areas. The Case of the Alpine Regions

Adaptation to climate change raises important governance issues in terms of governance structures and mechanisms, stakeholders’ involvement, and links with the existing and wider-scale strategies. Notwithstanding the increasing attention at the global and European level, precise recommendations for the governance of climate change at the geographical macro-regional level are still lacking. Macro-regions span several states with some common morphological or climatic features and adopt wider-scale strategies which are not mandatory or do not take sufficient account of the specificities of any included regions. Each region is differently administered and adopts specific climate adaptation strategies for addressing just the challenges of the territories they govern, without considering the effects on the neighbouring ones. They also decentralize the climate policies towards the lowest levels of government, and this has increased the number of local bodies involved and promoted the participation of non-governmental players and citizens. Within the macro-regions, local climate conditions and their changes can be similar; however, their impacts can vary significantly at the individual territory level, and their effects can extend beyond traditional administrative boundaries. Dealing with these changes is particularly challenging in the Alpine area, which extends across 48 regions/autonomous provinces belonging to eight different European countries and is governed by three different international/transnational strategies. This territory represents a fragile ecosystem due to the current climate changes, which have influenced the climate conditions differently at the local level, as well as the richness of natural resources, and the opportunity to exploit them for economic reasons. South Tyrol (IT) is one of the autonomous provinces located in this area that is currently addressing the expected and unexpected impacts of climate change. Unlike other Italian Alpine regions, this region boasts a wider legislative autonomy, which enables the creation of more targeted climate adaptation policies and their decentralisation to the lowest level of administration, including the non-governmental players and citizens. As a result, the climate adaptation governance framework appears complex and hard to govern due to the plurality of actors and governmental levels at Alpine and regional/provincial levels. The present article sheds light on this framework, analysing specifically the three above-mentioned governance issues: governance structures, stakeholders’ involvement mechanisms, and links with the existing wider-scales strategies. While discussing these topics, it then refers specifically to South Tyrol for the case study. Based on the documental analysis of the climate adaptation strategies and resultant findings, the preferred governance mechanism for addressing the specific climate adaptation challenges of Alpine regions would involve adopting some of the regulations included in regional mono-sectoral plans. These regulations do not relate to wider-scale strategies at the macro-regional level and refer just to the administered territories. The participation of local institutions and citizens in defining and implementing these regulations is limited and not incentivized. Although important, interactions across Alpine, national, and sub-national policy domains are limited. These limitations are revealed in South Tyrol and partially also in other European Alpine regions.

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Droughts, floods and freshwater ecosystems: evaluating climate change impacts and developing adaptation strategies

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf09285 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 62 (3) ◽

pp. 223 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Allison Aldous ◽

James Fitzsimons ◽

Brian Richter ◽

Leslie Bach

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Case Studies ◽

Management Practices ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Numerical Models ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

South Eastern ◽

Eastern Australia

Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on hydrologic regimes and freshwater ecosystems, and yet few basins have adequate numerical models to guide the development of freshwater climate adaptation strategies. Such strategies can build on existing freshwater conservation activities, and incorporate predicted climate change impacts. We illustrate this concept with three case studies. In the Upper Klamath Basin of the western USA, a shift in land management practices would buffer this landscape from a declining snowpack. In the Murray–Darling Basin of south-eastern Australia, identifying the requirements of flood-dependent natural values would better inform the delivery of environmental water in response to reduced runoff and less water. In the Savannah Basin of the south-eastern USA, dam managers are considering technological and engineering upgrades in response to more severe floods and droughts, which would also improve the implementation of recommended environmental flows. Even though the three case studies are in different landscapes, they all contain significant freshwater biodiversity values. These values are threatened by water allocation problems that will be exacerbated by climate change, and yet all provide opportunities for the development of effective climate adaptation strategies.

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Toward an integrated system of climate change and human health indicators: a conceptual framework

Climatic Change ◽

10.1007/s10584-021-03125-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 166 (3-4) ◽

Author(s):

Ann Y. Liu ◽

Juli M. Trtanj ◽

Erin K. Lipp ◽

John M. Balbus

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Climate Change ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Health Indicators ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Integrated System ◽

Health Trends ◽

Science And Policy

AbstractEnvironmental health indicators are helpful for tracking and communicating complex health trends, informing science and policy decisions, and evaluating public health actions. When provided on a national scale, they can help inform the general public, policymakers, and public health professionals about important trends in exposures and how well public health systems are preventing those exposures from causing adverse health outcomes. There is a growing need to understand national trends in exposures and health outcomes associated with climate change and the effectiveness of climate adaptation strategies for health. To date, most indicators for health implications of climate change have been designed as independent, individual metrics. This approach fails to take into account how exposure-outcome pathways for climate-attributable health outcomes involve multiple, interconnected components. We propose reframing climate change and health indicators as a linked system of indicators, which can be described as follows: upstream climate drivers affect environmental states, which then determine human exposures, which ultimately lead to health outcomes; these climate-related risks are modified by population vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies. We apply this new conceptual framework to three illustrative climate-sensitive health outcomes and associated exposure-outcome pathways: pollen allergies and asthma, West Nile virus infection, and vibriosis.

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Insights on Urban and Periurban Adaptation Strategies Based on Stakeholders’ Perceptions on Hard and Soft Responses to Climate Change

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11030647 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 647 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Pablo Martinez-Juarez ◽

Aline Chiabai ◽

Cristina Suárez ◽

Sonia Quiroga

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Common Ground ◽

Basque Country ◽

Local Level ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Local Context ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Adaptation To Climate Change ◽

Adaptation Measures ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Adapting to expected impacts of climate change is a task shared by multiple institutions and individuals, but much of this work falls over local and regional authorities, which has made them experts over the issue. At the same time, adaptation to climate change has been a research interest in different academic fields; while private companies provide research and development efforts on the issue. Views from perspectives may contain common ground and discrepancies, but benefits from the discussion may differ among these three sectors. This study shows the application of collaborative approaches to analyze impacts and adaptation measures at a local level. A stakeholder workshop was held in the city of Bilbao to discuss impacts of climate change and adaptation in the local context of the Basque Country. The contributions were proposed on three axes: impacts from climate change, good practices proposed or already in action, and costs and benefits derived from those strategies. Participants were asked to rank a series of measures and practices extracted from their previous inputs. These measures were analyzed after applying bootstrapping techniques, according to the perceived costs and benefits assigned to each of the grouped measures and practices. Participants estimated that groups containing green adaptation measures and those that had potentially positive impacts over climate change mitigation were the most efficient measures, as reduced costs combined with high benefits could lead to win–win adaptation strategies, while grey infrastructures were seen as providing high benefits at high costs.

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Perceived Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategy of Indigenous Community (Chepangs) in Rural Mid-hills of Nepal

Forestry: Journal of Institute of Forestry, Nepal ◽

10.3126/forestry.v16i0.28353 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. 48-61 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pragya Khanal ◽

Bishnu H. Wagle ◽

Suraj Upadhaya ◽

Prayash Ghimire ◽

Suman Acharya

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Local Level ◽

National Level ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Adaptation Strategy ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Marginalized Communities ◽

Indigenous Group ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Climate change is projected to increase in vulnerable areas of the world, and marginalized communities residing in rural areas are more vulnerable to the change. The perceptions of climate change and adaptation strategies made by such communities are important considerations in the design of adaptation strategies by policy-makers. We examined the most marginalized indigenous group "Chepang" communities' perceptions towards this change, variability, and their attitudes to adaptations and adapted coping measures in mid-hills of Nepal. We interviewed 155 individuals from two Chepang communities, namely, Shaktikhor and Siddhi in Chitwan district of Nepal. We also analyzed biophysical data to assess the variability. The findings showed that the Chepang community has experienced significant impacts of climate change and variability. They attributed crop disease, insect infestation, human health problem, and weather-related disaster as the impacts of climate change. Strategies they have adopted in response to the change are the use of intense fertilizers in farmland, hybrid seeds cultivation, crop diversification, etc. Local level and national level adaptation policies need to be designed and implemented as soon as possible to help climate vulnerable communities like Chepangs to cope against the impacts of climate change.

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Epistemic injustice, risk mapping and climatic events: analysing epistemic resistance in the context of favela removal in Rio de Janeiro

Geographica Helvetica ◽

10.5194/gh-75-381-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 75 (4) ◽

pp. 381-391

Author(s):

Luciana Mendes Barbosa ◽

Gordon Walker

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Risk Mapping ◽

Climate Justice ◽

Epistemic Injustice ◽

Epistemic Justice ◽

The Relationship ◽

The City

Abstract. Environmental and climate justice scholarship has increasingly focused on how knowledge and expertise play into the production of injustice and into strategies of resistance and activist claim making. We consider the epistemic injustice at work within the practices of risk mapping and assessment applied in Rio de Janeiro to justify the clearance of favela communities. We trace how in the wake of landslides in 2010, the city authorities moved towards a removal policy justified in the name of protecting lives and becoming resilient to climate change. We examine how favela dwellers, activists and counter-experts joined efforts to develop a partially successful epistemic resistance that contested the knowledge on which this policy was based. We use this case to reflect on the situated character of both technologies of risk and the emergence of epistemic resistance, on the relationship between procedural and epistemic justice, and on the challenges for instilling more just climate adaptation strategies.

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Towards a Comprehensive Framework for Climate Change Multi-Risk Assessment in the Mining Industry

Infrastructures ◽

10.3390/infrastructures4030038 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 38 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mavrommatis ◽

Damigos ◽

Mirasgedis

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

Local Level ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Quantitative Methodology ◽

Mining Operations ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Comprehensive Framework

Changing climate conditions affect mining operations all over the world, but so far, the mining sector has focused primarily on mitigation actions. Nowadays, there exists increasing recognition of the need for planned adaptation actions. To this end, the development of a practical tool for the assessment of climate change-related risks to support the mining community is deemed necessary. In this study, a comprehensive framework is proposed for climate change multi-risk assessment at the local level customized for the needs of the mining industry. The framework estimates the climate change risks in economic terms by modeling the main activities that a mining company performs, in a probabilistic model, using Bayes’ theorem. The model permits incorporating inherent uncertainty via fuzzy logic and is implemented in two versatile ways: as a discrete Bayesian network or as a conditional linear Gaussian network. This innovative quantitative methodology produces probabilistic outcomes in monetary values estimated either as percentage of annual loss revenue or net loss/gains value. Finally, the proposed framework is the first multi-risk methodology in the mining context that considers all the relevant hazards caused by climate change extreme weather events, which offers a tool for selecting the most cost-effective action among various adaptation strategies.

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BUILDING URBAN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION STRATEGIES: THE CASE OF RUSSIAN ARCTIC CITIES

Weather Climate and Society ◽

10.1175/wcas-d-21-0004.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nikolai Bobylev ◽

Sebastien Gadal ◽

Valery Konyshev ◽

Maria Lagutina ◽

Alexander Sergunin

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Local Level ◽

Urban Climate ◽

Adaptation Strategy ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

The Arctic ◽

Russian Arctic ◽

Adaptation Measures ◽

Climate Change Adaptation Strategies

AbstractRussian Arctic is a highly urbanized region, with most towns built in the Soviet era to facilitate extraction industries as well as provide and maintain military facilities. Global environmental and developmental changes, as well as national political decisions open up Russia’s Arctic to massive investment, industrial and socioeconomic development. How do Russian Arctic cities, towns, and municipalities reflect on new opportunities in terms of designing their climate change adaptation strategies at a local level? Starting with theoretical discourse on urban climate change adaptation strategy, this research examines state-of-the-art, challenges and trends in planning for adaptation measures in Russia’s Arctic industrial centers. Special attention is given to a comparative analysis of the cities’ climate change adaptation strategies. The role of civil society institutions and business community in the adaptation strategy planning process is explored. Moreover, conflict sensitive approaches to ensure participatory processes for designing and implementing adaptation measures are discussed. The field component of research is based on cities of Apatity, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Norilsk, Salekhard, Severodvinsk and towns of Monchegorsk, Nickel and Vorkuta. The study concludes that in spite of significant challenges identified, the total “balance sheet” of the Arctic cities’ efforts to enhance their adaptive capacities is quite positive: Russian northern urban settlements do their best in addressing existing challenges via planning for sustainability approach. However, there is more to do and municipalities should learn from one another’s experiences, as the different approaches can be helpful in developing adequate climate change adaptation strategies at the local level.

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The impact of climate change on Canadian archives

Records Management Journal ◽

10.1108/rmj-10-2020-0035 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Amanda Oliver

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Disaster Planning ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Records Management ◽

Climate Data ◽

Content Type ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

Projected Changes ◽

The Impact

Purpose This study aims to identify Canadian archives that are at risk for climate change threats, to present a snapshot of current practices around disaster planning, sustainability and climate adaptation and to provide recommended next steps for records managers and archivists adapting to climate change. Design/methodology/approach These objectives were achieved by analyzing the geographic locations of Canadian archives in relation to projected climate data and by analyzing the results of a survey distributed to staff at Canadian archival repositories. Findings This study found that all Canadian archives will be impacted by projected changes in both annual mean temperatures and precipitation to the year 2080. Themes that emerged surrounding climate adaptation strategies include the investment in the design and efficiency of spaces housing records and the importance of resilient buildings, the need for increased training on climate change, engaging senior leadership and administrators on climate change and developing regional strategies. Preparing for and mitigating the impact of climate change on the facilities and holdings needs to become a priority. Originality/value This research underscores the importance of developing climate adaptation strategies, considering the sustainability of records management and archival professional practice, increasing the resilience of the facilities and records and strengthening the disaster planning and recovery methods.

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Climate change impacts on European wheat and maize yields

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20562 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Andrea Toreti ◽

Andrej Ceglar ◽

Frank Dentener ◽

Davide Fumagalli ◽

Simona Bassu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Model ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Regional Climate ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Economic Sectors ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Precipitation Regimes ◽

Maize Yields ◽

Projected Changes

Crop yields are influenced and affected by climate conditions and the occurrence of extreme events in critical phenological phases during the growing season. As projected climate change for Europe points to an increase of climate extremes as well as a significant warming together with changes in precipitation regimes, it is essential to assess impacts on key socio-economic sectors such as agriculture. Here, we analyse European wheat and maize yields as projected by a crop model driven by bias-adjusted Euro-CORDEX regional climate model simulations under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. The main findings highlight as maize will be the most affected crop with limited effects of simple adaptation strategies; while a north-south dipole in the projected changes characterizes wheat yields. In the wheat regions negatively affected by climate change, adaptation strategies will play a key role in counterbalancing the impacts of the projected changes.&#160;

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Sustainability of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies: Experiences from Eastern Ghana

Environmental Management and Sustainable Development ◽

10.5296/emsd.v5i2.9845 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 84 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Frank Kwaku Agyei

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Low Cost ◽

Adaptation Strategy ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Farming Communities ◽

Climate Risks ◽

Short Rotation ◽

Low Cost Strategy

Climate change risks are wide spread, and they are transforming the socio-environmental infrastructure of economic development. Whether they are included or not in the development of national adaptation strategies, rural populations continue to employ diverse climate adaptation strategies to withstand climate induced vulnerabilities inimical to their livelihoods. Using the case of farming communities in Eastern Ghana and through semi-structured interviews, this article addresses the questions: which climate risks confront farmers, what are farmers’ adaptation choices, and which adaptation strategies are sustainable and why? The paper argues that farmers use range of adaptation strategies to minimize climate risks. Nevertheless, some strategies do not sustain the anticipated positive outcomes. Local choices of adaptation strategies were skewed towards advancing general income, and poorly promoted healthy ecological systems. Farmers’ choices of climate strategies were based on, among others, personal intuition or historical experience, knowledge of strategies, and availability of resources to implement a particular strategy: sustainability measures weakly influenced selections. Short rotation and mixed species cropping, farming at several locations, and drought tolerant crop varieties were sustainable initiatives to farmers. The main qualities of successful initiatives were low cost strategy, economic equity, and flexibility to precipitation and temperature. Climate adaptation strategy can be sustainable if it is less costly to establish, and flexible to places and seasons.

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