Climate Change: Impacts, Costs and Adaptation in the Baltic Sea Region

Project description

Adaptation to climate change calls for cooperation and integrated approaches in the Baltic Sea Region. The BaltCICA project with local and regional partners prepared regions and municipalities to cope with a changing climate.

BaltCICA aimed to achieve a better capability to deal with the impacts of climate change at those levels, where concrete adaptation measures have to be implemented and are directly experienced by the population.

The project focused on the most imminent problems that climate change will cause in the region. Special emphasis was put on assessing the impacts of climate change on water bodies and drinking water supply, as well as adapting to sea level rise and changing frequency and magnitude of floods for the cities and regions located along the Baltic coast.

All measures were developed in cooperation with local authorities and administrative bodies and were discussed with other stakeholders.

The project aimed at transferring successful methods of development and implementation of adaptation measures from pilot studies to other case studies in the region facing similar problems.

Activities

The BaltCICA project identified and implemented climate change adaptation measures in various case studies in the Baltic Sea Region. The case studies were also used to explore the still relatively unknown costs and benefits of adaptation. New scientific methodologies for increasing the participation of stakeholders in adaptation planning were developed and employed.

The 13 BaltCICA case studies focused on specific thematic areas, such as metropolitan planning and adaptation strategies (Hamburg, Tampere, Helsinki and its Metropolitan Region), groundwater and climate change (Hanko, Klaipėda and Falster), the environment (North Vizdeme and Karklė) as well as scenario development and citizen participation (Kalundborg, Riga, Klaipėda, Tampere and Hamburg).

Results

The BaltCICA project has:

identified adaptation measures and implemented them in the Baltic Sea Region
produced new knowledge relating to climate change impacts, costs and benefits and governance of adaptation
reduced uncertainty in decision-making in relation to adaptation by strengthening the science-practice link
increased participation of stakeholders and citizens in adaptation related decision-making

Lessons learned:

Adaptation to climate change cannot be solved solely locally, but it calls for cooperation and integrated approaches in the Baltic Sea Region. The 13 case studies produced successful methods of development and implementation of adaptation measures to transfer to other areas in the region facing similar problems.