The novelties developed within the framework of the LIFE SHARA project for the dissemination of inspiring practical cases of adaptation to climate change in Spain were presented.
The Director General of the Spanish Office for Climate Change (OECC), Valvanera Ulargui, participated this morning in an informative breakfast, organized within the framework of the LIFE SHARA project, to present practical cases of success in adaptation to climate change. These cases and experiences will be collected in a new module within the AdapteCCa platform on Adaptation to Climate Change in Spain.
This initiative, developed by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge within the framework of the LIFE SHARA project, has the collaboration of the OECC, the Biodiversity Foundation and the Center for Environmental Education (CENEAM). The aim is to offer a mosaic of inspiring cases to promote action on adaptation in Spain through practical descriptions of very diverse projects and experiences, thus contributing to the objectives of the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change.
MORE THAN 40 ADAPTATION EXPERIENCES
The new case study module compiles more than 40 adaptation experiences promoted by Public Administrations, private sector entities, organizations and other Spanish entities to address the risks associated with climate change in different geographical areas, socioeconomic sectors and natural systems.
The adaptation cases range from local to international initiatives, and address the multiple impacts derived from climate change in Spain, including drought, extreme temperatures, effects on human health, floods, desertification or sea level rise. The case study module is accompanied by a publication that compiles some nationally representative initiatives to facilitate the dissemination of experiences
Likewise, a selection of the photographs illustrating the case studies has been incorporated into the AdapteCCa Image Bank, which contains more than 300 images on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Spain, available for free download in order to provide disseminators, journalists, communicators and anyone interested with specific resources for the graphic representation of adaptation to climate change.
CASE STUDIES
The presentation of the web portal has been complemented with the description of three specific cases, which have been presented by the experts involved in its development.
On the one hand, Juan Luis Beresaluze, head of the Environment and Green Areas Service of the Alicante City Council, shared the experience of the La Marjal Flood Park, a unique green infrastructure in Spain designed to prevent flooding while acting as a green recreational area.
For his part, Daniel Hernández Torres, project coordinator at the Global Nature Foundation, presented the Life Agriadapt project, focused on the sustainable adaptation of European agricultural systems to climate change.
Finally, Alex Richter-Boix, researcher and communication technician at the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), presented Mosquito Alert, a citizen science project to evaluate and control the presence of mosquito species that carry viruses that cause diseases such as Zika, dengue and chikungunya.
The diversity of the initiatives on display represents the variety of climate challenges facing Spain, but it is also an example of the different solutions that can be developed to avoid or reduce present and future damage from climate change and build a more resilient economy and society.
A COMMITMENT TO KNOWLEDGE
Generating, updating and disseminating better knowledge about these practical cases has a multiplier effect when it comes to seeking the necessary answers to face the climate emergency, contributing to the objectives of the PNACC 2021-2030, a plan aimed at promoting tangible transformations with defined effects.
One of the objectives of the LIFE SHARA project is precisely to train and raise awareness about adaptation to climate change, as well as to contribute to improving communication on this subject, which is why these informative breakfasts of the project are aimed especially at disseminators and communicators.
The LIFE SHARA “Awareness and knowledge for adaptation to climate change” is a project of MITECO, coordinated through the Biodiversity Foundation, the Spanish Office for Climate Change, the Autonomous Agency for National Parks and the State Meteorological Agency, and of which the Portuguese Environment Agency is also a member.
