aquaknow   Extranet   Newsletter      

Developing plans to adapt to climate change in the Vipava river basin

Monday, 21 March 2016 Posted in News, BeWater News

Članek v slovenščini

Climate change and other pressures are affecting the environment and water resources in the Vipava River Basin. Plans are needed on how to adapt the management of the river basin and its water resources to changing future conditions.

 

Scientists from the Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia are involved in the BeWater project and have organised several workshops to discuss water management in the context of global change for the Vipava River Basin. In a first workshop the participants identified challenges related to water management and discussed options to deal with these challenges. In a second workshop and an open consultation, no less than 20 options were refined and evaluated. Preferred options were the creation of inter-municipal expert working group for the Vipava river basin, raising awareness of different groups of stakeholders and construction of water reservoirs on the watercourses in the upper part of the Vipava river basin.

On Wednesday 23 March, a third workshop will be organised at the premises of the regional Chamber of Craft and Small Business in Ajdovščina, in close cooperation with experts from Ecologic Institute. The workshop will focus on the development of a Vipava River Basin Adaptation Plan. The workshop will consist of interactive sessions to identify how options identified in the previous workshops can be combined and whether there are potential synergies and conflicts between them. Furthermore, the workshop will explore how the options can be eventually implemented in practice. Participants of the workshops will include amongst others representatives of government institutions responsible for water management and nature conservation, regional development agency, municipalities, researchers, high school teachers, as well as a local farmer and company involved in water management.

“In previous workshops we discussed with stakeholders on possible options that would tackle identified pressures and challenges, including climate change in the Vipava river basin. At this point, we will examine the options altogether on how to actually implement them” says Manca Magjar, who is a researcher at Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia and is coordinating the Vipava case study in the BeWater project.

Similar workshops are carried out in three other river basins in the Mediterranean area, located in Cyprus, Spain and Tunisia. The four river basins cover different environmental and socio-economic settings within the Mediterranean area.

 

The BeWater Project receives funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration. The project aims to develop River Basin Adaptation plans in the Mediterranean through citizen participation. For more information, please contact Manca Magjar.

 

23/03/2016 Vipava stakeholder workshop