1. Chapter 5: Water management and adaptation
Strategic Steering Group on Climate Change and Water
Meeting 29 April 2009, Brussels
Peter Kristensen,
European Environment Agency
and ETC/Water (Ecologic)

2. Impacts and vulnerability
Challenges
Adaptation to climate change or
Take climate change impact into account in measures
Water resource management
Flood risk management
Drought management plans
Water quality management/ pollution control
Climate checking of PoMs (Program of Measures)
Impacts and vulnerability

3. The role of adaptation in the 2nd and 3rd WFD cycle From 2008 policy paper for Water Directors
33. In the subsequent cycles, the Programme of Measures needs to be made climate resilient as a default and firmly based on scientific evidence, notwithstanding the fact that knowledge and new data are constantly evolving.
34. Ensuring compatibility between Programmes of Measures and adaptation concerns is particularly important in the case of measures that involve long- term investments, such as large infrastructure projects.
35. For these RBMPs, incorporating climate change could include:
Improving the information basis,
Iterative climate-checking of the measures,
Considering broader water management issues related to climate change (e.g. related to land use, or water demand/supply management),
Improving of monitoring to detect climate change impacts (Chap. 4)
Exploring potential needs for adjustment of reference conditions/type changes of water bodies. (Chap. 4)
Available at

4. Outline of chapter 5 Water management and adaptation
5.1 Introduction 6½ pages (Text may be reused in general setting the scene chapters)
5.2 Building adaptive capacity 6½ pages (Climate change impacts and adaptation is a new issue; building adaptive capacity is a prerequisite for including CC in RBMPs – the section may be moved before chapter 4)
5.3 Delivering adaptation actions 12 pages
5.4.1 Description of adaptation actions
5.4.2 Selection and appraisal of adaptation actions for RBMPs
5.5 Climate checking of program of measures (PoMs) 6 pages
5.5.1 Rationale for climate checking of PoMs
5.5.2 Guide to climate checking of measures
5.5.3 PoMs and energy and greenhouse gas emission footprint (missing)
5.6 Recommendations – checklist 1 page

5. Building adaptive capacity
‘Building adaptive capacity’ involves creating the information and conditions (regulatory, institutional, managerial) that are needed before vulnerability assessment and adaptation actions can be undertaken.
Relevant for the guide but may be moved before chapter 4

6. Checklist for building adaptive capacity
Write down a plan for building adaptive capacity by RBD Authorities. For each task specify the activities foreseen (see below). Based on the project plan estimate for each task the resources needed and prepare a timetable.
Research and climate change assessments
Consider the opportunity to establish overviews of existing relevant science/research information on climate change impacts in the river basin in the form of inventories, a meta-database and a web-page.
Explore options for involving climate change research activities in the river basin management planning.
Data collection and monitoring (overlaps with chapter 4)
Evaluate historical data series for their coherence; evaluate possibility of exploiting additional sources of information (e.g. stakeholders, universities)
Does current data collection and monitoring provide adequate monitoring of climate change impacts? Does current data collection and monitoring provide monitoring of the effectiveness of adaptation measures?

7. Checklist for building adaptive capacity II
Standards and policies
Prepare an overview of relevant standards that may be updated to consider possible future climate change impacts.
Awareness-raising
Think of ways of raising awareness of climate change impacts in the river basing, including
The possibilities of producing a leaflet/brochures on climate change impacts;
Having river basin workshops focused on climate change impacts; and
Ensuring that climate change impacts aspects are communicated through the RB Authorities homepage.
Working in partnerships
Map institutional and stakeholder responsibilities in relation to climate change impacts and adaptation.
Ensure that climate change aspects are discussed on stakeholder meetings and discuss how relevant water-relevant sectors can contribute to adaptation

8. Delivering adaptation actions
Delivering adaptation actions involves taking actions that will help to reduce vulnerability to climate risks, or to exploit opportunities.

9. Checklist for delivering adaptation actions
A strategy/plan for delivering adaptation actions by RBD Authorities should specify for each issue the actual actions foreseen to answer the question (see below).
Based on the resulting plan, an estimation of the resources needed (human and financial) as well as a timetable to deliver the chosen adaptation actions should be prepared.
Which adaptation actions do we have at our disposal?
• Where to look for actions in their context
Who should be involved in the planning, appraisal and implementation process?
Which possible actions do we come up with?
How do they respond to the appraisal process based on the criteria (Table 5.5)?

10. Climate checking of program of measures (PoMs)
‘Climate checking of measures, is checking the ability of the proposed measures to perform under future climate. Particular emphasis should be placed on ensuring that the PoMs are sufficiently adaptive to future climate conditions.

11. Checklist of Program of Measures
For all measures / PoMs RBD-Authorities are planning to use in the future the following guiding questions should be addressed.
Questions to be addressed
Is the RB vulnerable to climate change and may these changing conditions affect the effectiveness of the envisaged measures?
Is the achievement of the WFD objectives ensured with the actual PoM under changing climatic conditions?
Which possible alternative measures do we have that are more robust to climate change?
Based on the answers of these questions the PoM should be modified if necessary. Nevertheless, whether an adjustment is necessary or not, the process of the climate check has to be documented.

12. Checklist of Program of Measures II
For all measures the following guiding principles should apply:
Any significant investment should only be made for no-regret options
Select measures that are resilient to a wide range of plausible climate conditions (i.e., low regret), rather than optimal for a single ‘central’ scenario.
Implement further investigation if low regret measures cannot be identified because of low confidence in the problem(s) and in the solution(s).
If possible measures with multiple-benefits – so called win-win measures – should be favoured.
Measures should not add to the overall burden of CC/ CO2
Screen all measures for comparability with existing policy instruments and other adaptation actions planed.
Maximise synergies with other adaptation measures through planning liaisons and stakeholder consultation.

13. Good country/river basin examples
Source: