The LIFE SHARA project “Awareness and knowledge for adaptation to climate change”, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of MITECO, has concluded after five years of work. During this time, it has created an important climate change adaptation community in Spain and Portugal.

The LIFE SHARA project “Awareness and knowledge for adaptation to climate change”, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), has concluded after five years of work. During this time  it has created an important climate change adaptation community in Spain and Portugal.

In line with the objectives of improving adaptation to climate change, generating knowledge and increasing social awareness, LIFE SHARA has managed to train more than 3,000 key sectoral agents that will multiply knowledge on climate change adaptation in society as a whole. More than 30 events have been organized, including seminars, trainings, trainings and actions aimed at journalists, in which more than 3,500 people have participated.

LIFE SHARA has promoted cooperation between Spain and Portugal and has served to strengthen ties with the European Environment Agency. Among the main partners that have participated in the project are the Spanish Office for Climate Change (OEEC), the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), the Autonomous Agency for National Parks – through the National Center for Environmental Education (CENEAM) – and the Portuguese Agency for the Environment. The project has had a budget of more than 1.5 million euros and has been co-financed at 57% through the LIFE funds, the European Union’s financial instrument in the field of environment and climate action.

CONSOLIDATION OF THE ADAPTECCA PLATFORM
Within the framework of the programme, the AdapteCCa platform, a consultation website on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, has been improved. It has been
the quantity and quality of information has been increased and new functionalities have been added, such as the climate change scenario viewer, which allows
Consult regional climate change projections for different variables and scenarios caused by global warming.

New modules have also been incorporated, such as the adaptation case study, which includes a selection of more than 40 initiatives of Administrations
public entities, private sector entities and social organizations. This interactive module connects with Climate-ADAPT, the European platform for adaptation to the
climate change. In addition, AdapteCCa offers users all kinds of resources on adaptation to climate change in Spain, such as images available free of charge in the CENEAM photo library, a documentation search engine or a section for access to visual materials.

COOPERATION AND LINKAGES
One of the main milestones of LIFE SHARA has been the creation of a stable framework for Spain-Portugal cooperation for the exchange of information on
shared vulnerabilities, in order to identify priorities and determine common future actions. In this sense, the online celebration of the I Iberian Conference for Adaptation to Climate Change (#Adaptes), from 18 to 20 November 2020, laid the foundations for continuing with the cooperation work between Spain and Portugal and highlighted the importance of creating a scenario of collaboration to advance in adaptation to climate change.

COMMITMENT TO TRAINING AND INFORMATION
The training and awareness of all key actors has been one of the pillars of LIFE SHARA. In this context, 4 sectoral seminars have been organised to assess the impact of the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change, PNACC 2006-2020, on improving adaptive capacities and collecting contributions for the new PNACC 2021-2030. In addition, an evaluation report has been prepared, which identifies the remaining challenges and lessons learned for the future.

On the other hand, 30 narratives of experiences of adaptation to climate change have been developed to publicise real cases in different geographical areas and productive sectors. In addition, the travelling exhibition “Adaptation. The other fight against climate change” to show the importance of the human response to the impacts of climate change.

The Layman report is an informative summary of the project that compiles all the information related to its execution, the actions developed within the framework of it
project and the results achieved. It is available online in Spanish and English.

Once the LIFE SHARA is over, the Biodiversity Foundation and the Spanish Office for Climate Change will continue to work through the After LIFE SHARA Plan, to ensure that the results of the project continue over time, establish new actions to disseminate and improve the AdapteCCa platform and give continuity to the actions of LIFE SHARA. It also seeks to consolidate cooperation between Spain and Portugal and continue with the communication of results and learning between the two countries.