Project Summary

Climate change affects the IPA ADRION region significantly more than the world average, particularly with warmer air and sea surface temperatures all year round. While the average air temperature is worldwide about 1.1°C higher than pre-industrial times, the IPA ADRION temperatures are above 1.5°C higher. IPA ADRION region is facing increasingly complex climate-related challenges that are making it more vulnerable and exposed to climate shocks, disasters and consequently less climate resilient. Generally, nature-based solutions (NBS) for climate resilience aim to reduce climate risks while at the same time enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services. Whereas investment in NBS for climate resilience is gradually increasing, globally, funding needs are expected to triple by 2030 to effectively address the combined climate and nature challenges. The proposed NBS4RESILIENCE project is tackling the complex issue of various negative climate events and is presenting several fit-for-problem NBSs to increase climate resilience, safety and to overall improve the state of environment in IPA ADRION region. The main goal of NBS4RESILIENCE is to co-create, research & simulate, and transfer into enabling policy and actions plans climate resilient & risk reducing NBS considering and evaluating all their benefits regarding regulating climate and disaster risks as their primary design intention and goal. To achieve its ambition, NBS4RESILIENCE will facilitate the participatory process in gathering and enhancing state-of-the-art knowledge of NBS tailored for risk reduction and climate resilience and offer future guidance to decision makers on how to integrate citizens' participation into “NBS 4 climate resilience” interventions. With this, NBS4RESILIENCE will explore community benefits encompassing climate resilience, health, and inclusion based on implementing NBS for climate resilience. By introducing “participatory climate resilient planning”, NBS4RESILIENCE aims at changing people’s and public authorities' perception of resilient transition from something that "would be nice to do" to something that “has to be done and would love to do". This method will be tested through identification of urban climate challenges in each region/city through newly established "CLIMATE RESILIENCE FORUMS" as local nodes. A transnational "NBS for Climate Resilience" competition will be organised to develop interdisciplinary NBS solutions for more resilient and greener living. Based on the all-encompassing co-creation process, NBS4RESILIENCE will empower public actors to take action by showcasing 6 IPA ADRION pilots in 6 IPA ADRION countries to address 6 types of negative climate events: flooding (SI), erosion and landslide risk, heat (MNE), drought and water flow regulation, coastal resilience (EL), and prevention of wildfires (BIH). The pilot actions jointly developed, tested, evaluated, peer-reviewed and cross-simulated will result in the joint Transnational Climate Resilient NBS-based Transition Strategy for IPA ADRION validating different innovative risk reducing NBS options. Finally, NBS4RESILIENCE will foster long-term science-policy-practice collaborations that will deliver several policy proposals, and complemented NBS standards that will enable and catalyze implementation of NBS for climate resilience. Together with built capacities this will be the cornerstone of durable change in tackling climate resilience in IPA ADRION.