Climate change and resilience in the Western Balkans – the latest from UNEP Western Balkans Climate Resilience Workshop Vienna, 11 May 2016 UNEP Vienna Programme Office – Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention 1

Why mountains matter 2

Extractive industriesHydropower/ Infrastructure Transport Tourism Environmental challenges in mountains Climate change Waste 3

UNEP’s portfolio on mountains Climate change Env. Governance Ecosystem Management Chemicals and waste Environment under Review EBA Mt. Flagship Project, REGATTA, Cc and adaptation in the Alps, Climate change in the Carpathians etc. Global Mountain Waste Outlook, extractive industries/mining (South East Europe) Carpathian Convention, transboundary institutional mechanism: Caucasus scientific network, ICSD (Central Asia), Africa Assessments, Atlas, policy briefs, UNEP-Live, etc. ECOPOTENTIAL – use of Earth of Observation in Protected Areas, Great Apes Partnership Survival (GRASP) Global Mt. Partnerschip, SDGs/Post-2015 and mountains, collaboration with global MEAs (UNFCCC,CBD,UNCCD) 4

“Climate change action in developing countries with fragile mountain ecosystem from a sub-regional perspective” Duration: , Total: 1.75 Mio. EUR co-financed by Austria (UNFCCC FSF) Objective: Support to mountainous developing countries to integrate mountain specific climate change adaptation into relevant development policies/plans/strategies  from a sub-regional perspective -Understand climate change vulnerabilities and impacts (synthesize information) -Analysis of relevant policies and frameworks and bottlenecks -Trigger policy action from a sub-regional perspective -Inter-regional exchange of experiences with other mountain regions (in particular regional mechanisms: Alpine and Carpathian Convention and HKH/HICAP) Main Outputs:  Participatory assessments (synthesis) related to climate change and adaptation  Establish (inter)-regional cooperation platforms and support development/review of sub-regional climate change action plans/strategic agendas etc. in context of relevant institutional mechanisms Targeted regions: East Africa, Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia, Andes 5

Launch of “Mountain Adaptation Outlook series” high-level side event COP21, Paris, Int. Mountain Day Current state (synthesized) of knowledge and information related to climate change and adaptation in targeted mountainous sub-regions: 2015: Balkan, Caucasus 2016: (Tropical) Andes, East Africa, Central Asia 2017 (planned): Hindu Kush Himalayas, Carpathians UNEPs inter-regional project “Climate change action in developing countries with fragile mountainous ecosystems from a sub-regional perspective” (funded by Government of Austria) Identified priority action towards promoting/development of mountain agenda on the sub-regional level (implementation of Rio+ 20 outcome!) Participatory governmentally owned approach (East African Community, Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development, etc.) With support of the Government of Austria and further co- financing support by Government of Norway Partners (not exhaustive): 6

Objectives of the Assessments State and trends of climate change Vulnerability of mountain ecosystems to climate change Climate change adaptation policies and strategies Policy gap analysis Priority areas for future action 7

8 Launched at COP21 in Paris, 2015

The Western Balkan Mountains 9

10 Climate change in the Western Balkan Mountains Western Balkans Mountains a hotspot for climate change Increase in temperature above the world average Increase in extreme heat days Decreased precipitation Heat and less rain combine to make the region drier

Key risk sectors covered: Water Land resources Agriculture Forests and biodiversity Energy Transport, infrastructure and communication Mining Tourism Human health 11

Key risk sectors: Water 12

Key risk sectors: Agriculture 13

Examples of policy coverage of sectoral risks 14

Gap analysis Whether the policies adequately cover the climate change risks Findings: Lack of mountain focus Most sectors lack coverage on some or all scales (local, national, sub-regional etc.) Need for increased coordination Lack of forward looking policy responses More Specific gaps are presented per sector 15

16 Created through a participatory approach National experts from the Western Balkans countries participated in workshop in Budva, Montenegro 6-8 July, 2015 To validate findings and provide further input Also, questionaires responded to by national focal points

17 Next steps Building on Series of Regional Mountain Adaptation Outlooks: o Share of experience and knowledge between mountain regions (following same methodology used for outlooks) o Establish (inter)-regional cooperation and dialogue and foster development of projects based on experience exchange: Mountain cluster within GAN Network? o Support development/review of sub-regional climate change action plans/strategic agendas etc. in context of relevant institutional mechanisms (e.g. High Andean Initiative, EAC, ICSD) to guide further coherent development of activities & initiatives o Catalysing concrete follow-up action (project ideas, etc.) promoting climate change adaptation in mountains using financial and technical assistance programmes and facilities Inter- regional Regional Regional/ national

Road infrastructure in the Western Balkan Economic growth is expected to bring a massive growth in infrastructure and transportation needs high vulnerability to climate change; high pressure on land usage; high fragmentation of landscapes;

Climate Change impacts on Road Infrastructure Higher temperatures can cause pavement to soften and expand, leading to rutting, blow-ups, potholes, stress on bridge joints; Climate change expected to increase frequency of phenomena that pose severe danger to road infrastructure such as: flooding landslides wash-outs wildfires The need for adaptation measures, especially in the transport sector, is urgent;

Project: “Enhancing Environmental Performance and Climate Proofing of Infrastructure Investments in the Western Balkan Region from an EU integration perspective” Project Objective: To reduce vulnerability of road infrastructure to climate change in the WB by mainstreaming EU best practices on climate proofing infrastructure and green infrastructure Total Budget: 1,7 Million Expected Duration: In the pipeline Planning and capacity building for climate resilient road infrastructure in WB

The project aims to: Strengthen national capacities to understand and respond to emerging climate related risks through strategic integration of climate proofing measures and green infrastructure into infrastructure development; Establish regional and national frameworks for integrating climate proofing measures and green infrastructure into infrastructure development; Create an enabling environment for investments in and funding opportunities for climate proofing and green infrastructure in the WB; Adapting to present and future climate conditions Broad concept of climate proofing- including green infrastructure

Green Infrastructure as an adaptation measure Environmental benefits + Climate change adaptation and mitigation benefits + Ecosystem based risk reduction = Safer and more resilient road infrastructure example: use of protection forests in Austria Green infrastructure is multifunctional and can be a cost effective tool for climate proofing

Thank you for your attention! 23