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Key message
Embed adaptation into new or existing plans and set up governance mechanisms to facilitate this integration.
You may want to develop a standalone action plan, but adaptation cannot and should not be done in isolation. Mainstreaming adaptation policies and measures (see Examples 5.1 and 5.2) can raise the profile of adaptation, ensuring efficient use of resources and synergies between policies by:
Strengthening existing plans through integrating adaptation
This involves incorporating adaptation policies into relevant local or regional plans (e.g. climate plans), where adaptation can synergise with mitigation efforts, as well as into spatial, development, sustainability and sectoral plans covering areas like transport, health and water management.
Establishing cooperative and participatory governance mechanisms
Establishing cooperative and participatory governance mechanisms to ensure successful mainstreaming of adaptation into different sectors and multi-level coordination.
If you already have an action plan, mainstreaming can also be used to improve ownership of adaptation activities in specific areas or sectors. This involves aligning efforts with other sectors aiming for transformative change. It can include efforts to implement adaptation pathways (by identifying when thresholds in a pathway are reached and new actions should be implemented). P2R's Regional Resilience Journey has practical guidance on this and co-designing portfolios of intervention.
Example 5.1 Mainstreaming adaptation into urban planning, Jena, Germany.
The city of Jena in Germany has about 108,000 inhabitants. It is exposed to various risks linked to climate change, most significantly heatwaves – a risk expected to increase substantially in the future. Between 2009 and 2012, a concept was developed for adapting the city to climate change, as part of a project funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development. The goal was to lay the ground for mainstreaming climate adaptation into urban planning. Thanks to the project, future development in the city will consider the impacts of climate change and opportunities for adaptation at the urban scale.
Example 5.2 Integrating adaptation into heritage planning, Salamanca, Spain.
Salamanca in Spain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To help address the impacts of climate change, particularly from heat-related hazards, the city has a new concept – green heritage. It developed a tool to prioritise adaptation options according to criteria such as risk reduction, economic feasibility, ecosystem services and the impact on the city’s heritage. The green heritage concept emerged through this work and is aimed at mainstreaming adaptation planning into heritage conservation. The city now has a catalogue of nature-based solutions suitable for heritage areas which will help Salamanca prepare for climate impacts while preserving its heritage.
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This translation is generated by eTranslation, a machine translation tool provided by the European Commission.