Adapting nature protection to the challenges of climate change in Europe: basis of dynamic collective learning (LIFE #CC #Naturadapt)

The rapid anthropogenic climate change is impacting ecosystems through changes in mean temperature and climate variability, and other associated impacts such as sea level rise or increased ocean acidification. For the management of protected areas, this means that they have to respond to these changes in a forward-looking and adaptive manner.

The NaturAdapt project aims to integrate climate change adaptation into the management and protection of natural sites. Managers of protected areas will be supported in the process of implement new adaptive planning and governance tools accounting the challenges of climate change in Europe.

In detail, the NaturAdapt has following objectives:

• To develop the methods, tools and services that will enable managers to perform climate change vulnerability assessment and develop adaptation plans for natural protected areas;
• To facilitate the access to operational knowledge on adaptation that responds cost-effectively to the effects of climate change;
• To support the emergence of a community of practitioners that will share and collaborate on innovations;
• To raise awareness among all actors of biodiversity development and land use planning on the effects of climate change on the management of nature protected sites.

The project started in 2018 and first results and educational formats are already available. A survey (online and offline) in France and in Europe has identified existing initiatives, and helped to better understand the expectations and needs of European protected area managers to integrate climate change adaptation into management practice. Webinar series on climate change adaptation and protected area management have been held and (online) seminars have been developed and implemented (available online).