Final conference of the CHANGE WE CARE project

Funded by the INTERREG VA Italy - Croatia Program, this initiative concurred to provide European policy-makers with integrated options shared with stakeholders along with adaptation measures for vulnerable areas in order to protect coastal communities. The project activities included the analysis of the climatic risks impacting the Adriatic coastal and transition areas contributing to a better understanding of the impact of variability and climate change on water regimes, saline intrusion, tourism, biodiversity and agro-ecosystems affecting the cooperation area. It was coordinated by the Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR) and carried out in collaboration with ten other Italian and Croatian partners: Emilia Romagna Region (Italy), Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region (Italy), Veneto Region (Italy), Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (Croatia), Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research - ISPRA (Italy), Park and Biodiversity Management Authority-Po Delta (Italy), Public Institution for the Coordination and the Development of the Split-Dalmatia County - Rera SD (Croatia), the Public Authority for the Management of Natural Protected Areas of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County (Croatia), the Public Authority of the Vransko Lake Nature Park (Croatia), Faculty of Geodesy of the University of Zagreb (Croatia).

In addition to a broad knowledge on the current state and possible evolution of five pilot sites, selected as representative of the different types of Adriatic coastal areas, the main results of the project include a series of complete and versatile procedures for the characterization of current and expected environmental dynamics, as well as the definition of participatory response strategies to the effects of climate change. All this has resulted in providing policy makers with useful elements for the drafting of Climate Adaptation Plans in the pilot areas, and at the same time ensuring a follow-up of the Project.

During the conference, the issues relating to the impact of climate change on the Adriatic coastal areas were presented and discussed both from the ongoing processes and the prediction of future scenarios points of view, but also taking into consideration their effects at the governance level. Thanks to the intervention of international experts, an overview of the strategies and adaptation measures identified to increase the resilience of coastal areas to climate change were provided, contextualizing them within the broad framework of current challenges and future opportunities, in order to define a paradigm to be transferred to the Adriatic basin scale.