A Climate Change Adaptation Plan for the Pedieos River Basin

The water researchers of the Cyprus Institute presented a Climate Change Adaptation Plan for the Pedieos River Basin to the Environment Committee of the Cyprus Parliament, on 15 February 2017. Modelling studies conducted by The Cyprus Institute show how Cyprus is becoming warmer and drier, whereas more flood events can also be expected. Societies need to become aware how to adapt to these changes. 

The Adaptation Plan for the Pedieos River Basin was developed as part of BeWater, an EU-funded science and society research project. Similar plans were developed in Spain, Slovenia and Tunisia, with support from European and international research organizations, consultancies and experts in stakeholder engagement. Dr Adamos Adamou, chairman of the Committee on Environment, stressed the importance for Cyprus to participate in such European research cooperation projects.

This article in Catalan

BeWater project was featured in the online newspaper iagua.es following the successful stakeholder event held in Tordera River Basin on 24 January 2017, where the River Basin Adaptation Plan and water management options were presented and the potential and possibilities for their implementation considered.

Read the full article (Spanish)

 

Photo credits: Sarah Adams

Collaboration between science and society has led to the publication of a handbook documenting the participatory approach used in developing adaptive management plans for river basins.

The handbook, a product of three years' collaborative work during the EU-funded BeWater Project, describes the BeWater approach, which brought together experts, practitioners, policy makers and citizens to plan for adaptation to global change in four Mediterranean river basins.

The step-by-step guide facilitates replication and modification of the approach by other basins that wish to undertake a scientific participatory process to increase river basin resilience. The handbook is also intended to support environmental decision-making processes in other fields and sectors.

River basin management affects the citizens living in them. A new article by Dr. Steven Libbrecht in the December 2016 issue of the magazine Sustainable Mediterranean addresses how stakeholders can be involved in river basin adaptation planning. The issue includes publications from the Summer University of Samothraki 2016, with a focus on the integrated management approaches for biosphere reserves and other designated areas.

Within the framework of the summer school, Dr. Steven Libbrecht presents the BeWater approach and he reflects on how a partnership of a local party knowing the basin and the stakeholders, a scientific expert party and a stakeholder engagement expert party can successfully work together to operationalise the approach.

The article is available for download (pages 65-69).

“Citizen participation at work: Experiences from the BeWater project” is a new article by Dr. Annelies Broekman and Ms. Anabel Sánchez reflecting on the BeWater approach to involve society in river basin adaptation planning in four river basins.

The article reflects on the experiences gained within the project on how citizens from around the Mediterranean have participated in adaptation planning for the management of their local river basin in response to global change. The article highlights that the approach was met with enthusiasm by local stakeholders and enhanced mutual learning between science and society.

The article is available for download.

The sixth edition of BeWater News briefs you how citizens from around the Mediterranean have participated in adaptation planning for the management of their local river basin in the light of global change.

In this edition, you will also find information on the closing act of the project meeting on Tunisian youth, and how the BeWater approach and results have been presented at numerous international, European and Mediterranean conferences and workshops on water and adaptation, as on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP22 last November.

This edition also includes other news and upcoming events such as the BeWater European Policy Event and the River Basin Adaptation Conference.

BeWater News, Edition 6, December 2016

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BeWater recently concluded its involvement with the Tunisian youth in the Rmel River Basin and the Zaghouan Region. This was a youth initiative jointly developed with the Global Water Partnership’s “Youth for Water and Climate” since mid 2015, to raise the Tunisian youth’s voice with regards to water resources management and climate change adaptation, both at national and international level.

A closing event was held for the youth initiative consisting of two successive workshops on 12 and 19 November 2016. The idea behind the event was to familiarize the participating youth representatives with a) the water management options and the River Basin Adaptation Plan developed for the Rmel Case Study within the BeWater Project and b) the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - particularly those linked to water security, and experiences on their implementation.

Under the theme ‘The role of water in Adaptation to Climate Change’, the MEP Water Group organised a well attended public session on the 6th of December at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The session was chaired by Esther de Lange, President of the MEP Water Group and featured four high-level panellists who stressed the importance of water, while addressing the topic of adaptation to climate change.

Entering its final phase, the BeWater Project has recently launched its outscaling campaign aimed at disseminating the project’s results to stakeholders in the wider European and international community not involved in the project so far but potentially interested in leveraging the lessons learnt during the project.

In this context, the BeWater approach and results will continue being presented at numerous international, European and Mediterranean conferences and workshops on water and adaptation, with the recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP22 Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, being the latest relevant example.

The BeWater project is entering its final phase, with the publication of the four River Basin Adaptation Plans marking a major milestone. Having worked for the past three years with local stakeholders in Pedieos, Tordera, Rmel and Vipava, it is now time to reach out to the wider community sharing the experiences obtained during the project.

The four River Basin Adaptation Plans foster adaptation to climate change through a novel approach integrating science and society. As important they are for the individual river basins, they also aim to serve as a reference for other basins - within the Mediterranean region and beyond - that wish to undertake such a participatory adaptive water management process to increase their resilience. The project’s outscaling campaign currently launched aims to disseminate the project’s results to stakeholders not involved in the project so far that might be interested in leveraging the lessons learnt.

An overview on the BeWater approach for participative and bottom-up management of river basin was presented during EFIMED Week 2016, held in Calabria Region (Italy) from the 7th to the 9th of November. Sihem Jebari from INRGREF (Tunisia) presented insights and results obtained in the Rmel Case Study River Basin, part of a round table focused on innovative and participatory approaches.

The BeWater approach, along with the insights from the Montagne Fiorentine Model Forest (Tuscany, Italy) and of the network of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves (ICTA-UAB), showed how the success of an initiative may often be determined by the use of bottom-up approaches. Although all three cases had an emphasis on stakeholder participation, they each presented different methods for engagement. The Montagne Fiorentine Model Forest has established a trademark for local timber products, while in the Biosphere network, local stakeholders are encouraged to be directly involved, with great importance attached to communication and educational dimensions. In the case of Rmel’s river basin in Tunisia, the process of putting together a river basin adaptation plan with the participation of local stakeholders was described.

The Pedieos River has for centuries been closely linked with the flourishing of Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. Researchers at The Cyprus Institute just published two scientific research papers on studies carried out on the Pedieos River in the context of the BeWater project.

The first study examined the historical flooding of Nicosia caused by the Pedieos River and the mitigation measures adopted throughout the city’s history. Historical records showed prayers and other religious rituals as means to manage floods in the 14th century, while technical measures such as stormwater drainage networks and dam construction prevailed in the 20th and 21st century. The study concludes that as flooding issues still persist and become more complex with the rapid development of the city, integrated planning and informed policy implementation that makes good use of the lessons of history can be of critical importance.

Citizens from around the Mediterranean have participated in adaptation planning for the management of their local river basin in the light of global change. Based on a novel approach developed over the course of the EU-funded BeWater project, stakeholders from four Case Study River Basins were engaged in a collaborative process with experts and policy makers.

The process has culminated in the drafting of four River Basin Adaptation Plans, aimed at fostering adaptation to climate change within the basins. The innovative participatory approach is not only replicable in other Mediterranean river basins, but could be used in other environmental decision-making processes or scaled up to develop guidelines of national and international relevance.

With future climate change projections for the Euro-Mediterranean region estimating an increase in water scarcity and droughts, substantial socioeconomic losses and environmental impacts are expected to significantly affect river basin dwellers. Sustainable water management strategies are needed urgently. To maximise their effectiveness, local communities must engage with such strategies and play an active role in their development.

The recently developed river basin adaptation plan for the Vipava river basin contains water management options to tackle the challenges arising from global change. Two options described in the plan will now be implemented.

The BeWater partner Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia will participate in the forthcoming LIFE project called ViVaCCAdapt – Adapting to the impacts of Climate Change in the Vipava Valley.

6-9 June 2017, SECC, Glasgow

The theme of ECCA 2017 is ‘Our Climate Ready Future’. Our vision is to inspire and enable people to work together to discover and deliver positive climate adaptation solutions that can strengthen society, revitalise local economies and enhance the environment. We will bring together the people who will deliver action on the ground –from business, industry, NGOs, local government and communities – to share knowledge, ideas and experience with researchers and policymakers.

Set in the cultural city of Glasgow, at the heart of a city-region that is putting climate adaptation and climate justice at the core of decision-making, ECCA 2017 offers a unique opportunity to visit innovative local adaptation projects and share experience of how climate adaptation can work in practice.

ECCA 2017 is aiming to encourage broad participation and interaction across the science, policy, business and practice communities. There will be three types of session: Practice, Science and Science-Practice, as well as a business-focused day.