Developing plans to adapt to global change in the Tordera river basin
Climate change and other pressures are affecting the environment and water resources in the Tordera 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 Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) are involved in the BeWater project and have organised several workshops to discuss water management in the context of global change for the Tordera 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 a consultation, no less than 33 options were refined and evaluated. Preferred options were establishing ecological flows and recovery of groundwater levels, access and availability of information, the involvement and commitment of citizens and agreements for adaptive forest management.
On Friday April 8th, a third workshop will be organised at 'la Rectoria Vella', St. Celoni, in close cooperation with experts from Ecologic Institute. The workshop will focus on the development of a Tordera 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 local and regional administration, managers, NGO's, researchers, farmers and other citizens.
“In previous workshops we discussed with stakeholders what options we have to adapt and prepare the Tordera river basin to various pressures and challenges, including climate change. Now we will look at these options altogether and how they could be actually be implemented” says Anabel Sánchez, who is a researcher at CREAF and is coordinating the BeWater project.
Similar workshops are carried out in three other river basins in the Mediterranean area, located in Cyprus, Slovenia 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 Anabel Sánchez.
Photo credits: CREAF