Danube Climate Adaptation Workshop

Munich, 29/30 March 2012. To make steps towards the elaboration of a Climate Adaptation Strategy, a workshop was organised by lead country Germany and the ICPDR Secretariat. This followed a process started in 2010, when ministers emphasised that the impacts of climate change will increase and develop into a significant threat in the Danube River Basin if the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is not complemented by climate adaptation measures.

The Climate Adaptation Strategy for the Danube River Basin, as stated in the Danube Ministerial Declaration 2010, "should be based on a step-by-step approach and encompass an overview of relevant research and data collection, a vulnerability assessment, ensure that measures and projects are climate proof respectively “no regret measures” and ensure that climate adaptation issues are fully integrated in the 2nd Danube River Basin Management Plan in 2015".

As a basis of the development of the Climate Adaptation Strategy for the Danube River Basin a study was developed by the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety) in collaboration with experts in the Danube River Basin (Danube Climate Adaptation Study). The aim of the study was to provide foundations for a common, Danube-wide understanding of future impacts of climate change on water resources and suitable adaptation measures.

Workshop

The workshop served as a working meeting and required the active participation of all participants. The main background information for the discussions at the workshop was the Danube Climate Adaptation Study. Latest  information on ongoing activities with regard to climate adaptation in countries of the Danube River Basin were also presented.

Based on this input, in two parallel working group sessions basin-wide coordination requirements were discussed. The group discussions focused in particular on identifying the main impacts of climate change on water resources and sectors as well as options for coordination with regard to the different impacts. Furthermore, the expectations towards a basin-wide adaptation strategy were discussed.

Outcomes

The outcome of the workshop – a common understanding of impacts and measures – together with the study results, constituted vital input for the elaboration of the Danube Climate Adaptation Strategy during 2012.

This workshop was funded by Germany.