Mid-mountain adaptation to climate change (LIFE MIDMACC)

Mountain areas in southern Europe are considered to be highly sensitive to the impacts of climate change due to, among others, the decrease in available water, the extent and severity of droughts and the increased frequency of fires. In addition, these areas have suffered in recent decades from rural abandonment and reduced socio-economic activity, leading to a progressive loss of the mosaic landscape and revegetation of mountain slopes.

These processes have undermined the ecological services provided by mountain areas, such as the provision of water to the lower parts of the basins, as well as the sustainability of agricultural and forestry systems and their economic income.

In order to reverse this situation and adapt these areas to the new climate change conditions, the project will promote the recovery of the agro-sylvo-pastoral mosaic in these areas.

The main objective of LIFE MIDMACC is to promote climate change adaptation marginal mid-mountain areas of northern Spain, while improving socioeconomic development. The specific objectives of the project are:

● To develop and implement landscape adaptation in marginal mid-mountain areas to improve their environmental and socio-economic resilience to climate change; ● To assess the socio-economic and ecologic effectiveness of such measures, working across sectors and at multiple scales and determining related implications through widespread monitoring and modelling; ● To involve key managers and economic and environmental agents in the design, development and assessment processes and work to get affected regional committees involved early in decision making; ● To create a coordinated policy framework among regional governments to improve the sustainable use of marginal mid-mountain areas; ● To develop integrated climate change adaptation guidelines for mid-mountain areas; ● To raise awareness at local and regional levels about societal and environmental climate change adaptation in mountainous areas; ● To support how European policies on climate change adaptation in mountainous rural areas are applied and developed.

 

Results and products

 

The main results of the 4 MIDMACC adaptation experiences and their pilot demonstration cases are available here:

Adaptation in vineyards: Report with the 3 rd year monitoring results of the implementation C3 action

Adaptation in forestry management: Report with the 3rd year monitoring results of the implementation action C2

Adaptation in extensive livestock farming, pasture management and land clearing: Report with the 3rd year monitoring results of the implementation action C1

 

Scaling up of pilot experiences at basin level (modelling): Report of the pilot monitoring upscaling results to the river basin scale

 

Other reports:

 

· Adaptation measures for climate change in Mediterranean mid-mountains: a practical guide

· Analysis of the vulnerability of the mid-mountain to the impacts of climate change