KLIMZUG-Nordhessen - Regional Network for Climate Change Adaptation - Northern Hesse
Background and Goals
"KLIMZUG-Northern Hesse", the transdisciplinary network for climate adaptation in the model region of northern Hesse will develop, implement and test structures, institutions and procedures for the adaptation to climate change in the areas of natural resources, energy, transport, tourism and health. This will be done by a close cooperation between researchers, local enterprises, decision-makers, administrations and the civil society. Climate Change-Adaptation Officers, -Managers and the -Academy represent the link between research and practice partners and hence ensure the project’s sustainable and effective governance.
Adaptation to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events or a shifts in precipitation, represents a major challenge for science and practice. Within this project, structures, products and services will be developed and implemented for climate adaptation in northern Hesse. This requires close cooperation between partners from science, business, politics, public administration and social groups.
The research and practical projects focus on the following six areas of action:
- Scenarios:
With the participation of those affected the need for adaptation in the region will be figured out based on the expected climate change. Substantive tasks will be determined and elaborated in the other working areas. The result will be a common perspective concerning the climate change adaptation in northern Hessen, compromising each thematic scenario in the sub-projects. - Resources:
Resource-specific issues to adaptation to climate change in the field of agriculture, water and forestry are being researched and recommendations for adaptation measures developed. Thereby, the analysis of climate change-induced changes in the availability of surface water and groundwater is of interdisciplinary importance. The results will form the basis for adaptation measures of local authorities and other persons in charge. This field of action consists of the three research subprojects agriculture, water management and forestry. - Energy:
The projects in this field of action deal with the consequences of climate change on the regional energy needs and the physical effects in buildings as well as the possibilities of adapted drying technology of crops. This field of action consists of the three research projects supplying energy, indoor climate and solar drying and the two practical projects energy production and solar drying. - Transport:
The impact of climate change on different types of transport in northern Hesse will be analyzed and forecasted. Appropriate adaptation strategies that are based on measures of the traffic and mobility management will be derived. In two research projects traffic measures and adaptation strategies to climate change will be developed both in economic transactions by hedging the urban supply and passenger transport. The measures will be discussed and voted with local actors. The aim is to develop a coordinated plan of mobility management focusing on operational-related traffic. The field of action traffic consists of the two research projects passenger and commercial transport as well as the practical project mobility industry. - Tourism & Health:
In the field of tourism and health, scientific issues of climate change for the tourism industry in Northern Hesse, and for health care concerning the urban and rural populations in this region will be researched. In addition, the participants will develop a Europe-transferable, academic qualification concept for healthcare professionals. The field of action consists of the four research projects regional tourism, health prevention, qualification and vector monitoring as well as two implementing projects associated with these issues. - Society:
Within this field studies will be carried out, to figure out the supporting and hindering social factors regarding the technical solutions from the other fields of action (particularly political, legal, economic and psychological ones). In addition, recommendations will be developed to achieve the necessary behavioral changes. Along with the project the results will be fed back into the other fields of action. The field of action consists of the four research projects legal affairs, regional governance, perception and business perception and action patterns. Here also three practical projects are involved, fulfilling the following governance institutions: climate change adaptation officer (KAB), climate adaptation manager (KAM) and Climate Adaptation Academy (KAA).
The overall objective of KLIMZUG northern Hesse is to develop and prove the regional governance formation for adaptation to climate change and to enable transferability to other regions. Therefore partly existing and partly new forms of transdisciplinary cooperation between science, politics, administration, economy and civil society actors will be developed. These aim to develop tailored climate adaptation measures and instruments in close cooperation between science and practice in the region and to convert them into binding action of regional actors.
The focus is to test three governance institutions which shall encourage and guide climate adaptation measures in the economy (climate adaptation manager), the management (climate change adaptation officer) and society (Climate Adaptation Academy). They are responsible for the identification of regional adaptation requirements, for the development of solutions, for the implementation of these solutions in regional acting and are thus of particular importance for the entire process and the development of governance formation.
Content time
toResearch area/region
Country
- Germany
Region of implementation (all German federal states)
- Hesse
Natural spatial classification
- Low mountain ranges left and right of Rhine
- Central low mountain ranges and Harz
Spatial resolution
Northern Hesse
Steps in the process of adaptation to climate change
Step 1: Understand and describe climate change
Approach and results
Basing on the global climate change scenarios (IPCC Report), the global climate trends are studied on their small-scale effects within this project. The central task here is to scale down the global calculations (20x20km grid), i.e. to refine the resolution in order to make small-scale statements. To meet climatic statements in areas of high altitude/valleys or cities, existing regional climate maps will be analyzed and linked to global trends. In addition to databases of the Service Group Adaptation (SGA) with regard to regional differentiation opportunities of climate modeling, in particular own area-related data will be included. Thus integrative scenarios will be developed and discussed. The results expected are climate maps and calculations of small-scale climate projections for the model region of northern Hesse.
Parameter (climate signals)
- River flooding
- Heat waves
- Altered rainfall patterns
- Higher average temperatures
- Extreme precipitation (incl. hail, snow)
- Storm
Further Parameters
Extreme weather events, wind, characteristic temperature days
Step 2a: Identify and assess risks - climate effects and impact
Approach and results
Climate change is happening already and calculations show that the average global temperature could rise by 1.1°C to 6.4°C until the end of the 21st century (based on the period from 1980 to 1999; after IPCC 2007). As a result the probability of precipitation during summer is decreasing in our latitudes and increases in the other seasons. In addition, more extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, flooding, heat, drought and storms need to be expected.
In the region of North Hessen in general it can be assumed that phenomena such as increase in hot weather conditions and heatwaves, loss of frost and ice days, moderate increase in tropical nights, decrease in summer and increase in winter precipitation, change in vegetation period and changes in the runoff characteristics of the rivers, will occur.
Step 2b: Identify and assess risks - Vulnerability, risks and chances
Approach and results
Stakeholders or populations will be affected differently by the looming climate change. The social vulnerability is results from both the regional impacts of climate change (such as lower summer precipitation and extreme weather events) as well as from the social, political and economic response options to these changes. The adaptive capacities do not vary only between sectors (e.g. agriculture and transport sectors), but also within individual sectors (e.g. winter and summer tourism) or the affected groups (e.g. age groups with different income). During the implementation of adaptation measures conflicts of interest and objectives will therefore be unavoidable. The analysis will help to detect these (potential) conflicts, assess their consequences at an early stage and to develop strategies for their processing.
Step 3: Develop and compare measures
Measures and/or strategies
The procedure for the development of adaptation measures in the project is as follows: determining the regional adaptation needs; developing technical solutions for climate change adaptation measures; investigation of supporting and hindering social factors (political, legal, economic and psychological) regarding the adaptation measures; development of recommendations for action as required behavioral change can be achieved.
The central task of the Climate Adaptation Officers in local authorities is to link the research and implementation projects, involving all relevant actors and to support them. They coordinate the climate change adaptation activities within the government and between government, business, science and education.
In the field of economy three climate change adaptation manager will be set up within the three clusters of regional management tourism and health, mobility management and decentralized energy technologies. The climate change adaptation manager are the link between regional development, economic clusters, companies and research. They shall cooperate with all business clusters and are therefore a structural element in the formation of the Northern Hesse governance.
Caused by the large number of research and implementation projects a Climate Adaptation Academy of Northern Hesse was founded, which is supported by the county of Kassel (VHS Region Kassel). The results of the climate-relevant research projects are transferred to educational opportunities and be widely disseminated. Together with the University of Kassel a curriculum to qualify as a Climate Adaptation Manager will be developed as well. The Climate Adaptation Academy is one of three innovative governance institutions. It will be the focal point for the entire project and all its project partners to develop and carry out joint, coordinated education opportunities and events on climate adaptation in northern Hesse. In addition, the Climate Adaptation Academy is the information and communication platform for all stakeholders and the different communities in Northern Hesse.
Time horizon
- 2036–2065
- 2071–2100 (far future)
Conflicts / synergies / sustainability
There is a high uncertainty regarding the extent of climate change, the regional impact and the temporal urgency of adaptation measures. Measures that will collide with well-established interests will therefore be more difficult to establish and implement. Against this background, it is a challenge for individual sectors, sub-regions or even the region as a whole to develop mandatory adaptation strategies that are deemed necessary or appropriate and meet with broad acceptance. Through strengthening of participatory elements within the project it will be contributed to a mitigation of conflicting interests and in this way increases the acceptance of the individual measures.
Step 4: Plan and implement measures
Measures and/or strategies
Based on the expected climatic changes and extreme weather events in the region of northern Hessen, regional climate adaptation needs will be identified between researchers and regional implementation partners.
For the climate adaptation needs in the areas of natural resources (agriculture, forestry and water management), transport, tourism, health care and energy use sustainable solutions will be developed. To realize these proposed solutions they need to be implemented into individual and collective action by the actors and must fit into the existing structures. Therefore solutions should be developed which are adapted to the social conditions and can be further developed.
Within the implementation projects, substantive solutions will be realized and tested. Thereby the regional governance formation can be checked as a whole for its adaptive capacity at the same time.
Participants
Funding / Financing
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) - research priority: "KLIMZUG – Managing climate change in the regions for the future "
Project management
University of Kassel
Cooperation/Partners
University of Kassel, Northwest German Forest Research Station , University of Applied Sciences Fulda , Regionalmanagement NordHessen GmbH, MoWiN.net e.V. , vhs Region Kassel, deENet GmbH , Administrative District Kassel, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Limón GmbH, Hessencampus Kassel, Regional Council Kassel, Health Authority Region Kassel, Municipal Council Kassel, Administrative District Kassel, Administrative District Waldeck-Frankenberg, Administrative District Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Werra-Meißner-District, Schwalm-Eder-District
Contact
Universität Kassel
Kompetenzzentrum für Klimaschutz und Klimaanpassung (CliMA)
Kurt-Schumacher-Str. 25
D-34117 Kassel
