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Final stage in the development of four River Basin Adaptation Plans

Thursday, 30 June 2016 Posted in News, BeWater News

Using a novel approach developed within and for the BeWater project, four River Basin Adaptation Plans are being developed that aim at fostering adaptation to climate change within targeted river basins. These plans have been formulated over the course of the project and represent the result of intense team effort, wide stakeholder involvement, targeted information gathering, critical analysis and thoughtful planning. The plans will be available in August 2016.

final stage rbap 300

A key objective of the BeWater project is the collaborative development of adaptive water management approaches at the river basin scale in the Mediterranean region, and specifically of a River Basin Adaptation Plan for each of four pilot case studies: Tordera (Spain), Pedieos (Cyprus), Rmel (Tunisia) and Vipava (Slovenia). These plans have been formulated over the course of the project and represent the result of intense team effort, wide stakeholder involvement, targeted information gathering, critical analysis and thoughtful planning. The plans developed for these basins will serve as a reference for other basins - within the Mediterranean region and beyond - that wish to increase their resilience and undertake such a participatory development process.

The main emphasis of the adaptation plans is on river basin management under global change, based on the outcomes of the co-design and evaluation of adaptation responses by stakeholders and scientists. Taking into account the outcomes of interactive workshops, consultations and ad hoc stakeholder interviews, as well as available scientific information, this intense consultancy process led to the elaboration of a narrative of the basin and the identification of the main challenges faced, as well as the formulation of potential water management options to improve inappropriate water management practices and legislation and address the main river basin needs. Each individual option was elaborated in detail and then grouped in bundles, based on the identification of key options and potential co-benefits between the individual options. Each bundle was then further elaborated regarding the timing of implementation as well as implementation opportunities, which were then synthesised in bundle-specific factsheets which are included in the plans.

This intensive collaboration resulted in the main input for the creation of the plans, as well as in recommendations for uptake and further action within each basin. Following their publication, next steps within the BeWater project will include activities aiming at the dissemination of the plans and raising interest for policy uptake in locally relevant arenas, such as the organisation of a local policy forum in each of the four river basins in early 2017. 

 

Photo credits: Manca MagjarIzVRS