Cross-border cooperation and climate change: a priority for the Pyrenees Working Community (CTP)

The Pyrenees Climate Change

Observatory (OPCC)

ECCA Conference Session

Climate Change Adaptation in Mountain Areas

Hamburg, March 18th

About the Pyrenees Working Community (CTP)

Eight political entities from three states:

• France (Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc-Roussillon)

• Spain (Catalunya, Aragón, Navarra, Euskadi)

• Principat d'Andorra

In its 2007 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified mountainous areas particularly sensitive to climate change.

Climate change impacts natural systems and socio-economic sectors.

Climate change has no borders: to work alone, without cooperation, is a nonsense.

Why cross-border cooperation and climate change is a priority to the Pyrenees Working Community (CTP)?

For these reasons, the CTP launched the Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) in 2010. The OPCC project has been scheduled in the European program POCTEFA (2011-2013). Its actions are supported by 65% by ERDF.

What is the main goal of the Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory (OPCC)?The OPCC’s goal is to monitor and understand the climate evolution in the Pyrenees, with the aim of becoming less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and adapting to its effects by defining appropriate adaptation strategies for socio-economic sectors and the most fragile natural areas.

How to get this main goal?• Data base: knowledge on the impact of climate change in the

Pyrenees.• Risk assessment: vulnerability of environment and society.• Mainstreaming: a better adaptation of economic activities and

natural environments by promoting the harmonious development of the mountains and its population.

• Capacity building: to promote awareness and adaptation among stakeholders.

• Networking: international visibility of the Pyrenees through Europe and the World.

The actions in OPCC's project

Seven actions: Climate, Biodiversity, Forests and Natural Hazards, Water, Remote Sensing, Geoportal and Adaptation

And a cross action:Coordination, Communication and lobbying

... in order to develop consistent adaptation strategies and to contribute to the adoption of the results and of the tools created by all administrations of the territory of the CTP.

Climate action in the OPCC's project: Development of a unique database of high quality climate series based on precipitation, temperature, and the definition of common indicators to all territories of the Pyrenees.

Biodiversity action in the OPCC's project: Network monitoring of species and populations of the vascular flora of the Pyrenees to detect the impact of climate change and to develop possible measures to control or adapt.

Forests and Natural Hazards in the OPCC's project: Understanding the potential impacts of climate change on natural hazards. Propose guidelines to improve the management of forests integrating climate change. Water in the OPCC's project: Apply knowledge of the impact of climate change on water resources. Develop methodologies to integrate climate change in the Drought Management Plan.

Remote Sensing in OPCC's project: Understand and characterize the effects of climate change on vegetation, snow and soil occupation.

Geoportal in OPCC's project: Development of a common protocol transboundary climate change monitoring. Diffusion studies, catalogs, data mapping and climate change in the Pyrenees: www.opcc-ctp.org

Adaptation action in OPCC's project: Understand and analyze adaptation initiatives in the territory. Diagnosing the Pyrenees vulnerability to climate change. Analysis of adaptation measures in other european mountains transferable to the Pyrenees. Seminar presentation: spring 2013.

Coordination, Communication and lobbying: Project coordination among partners, including the scientific committee. Communication and dissemination of the project through website, Newsletter, social networking, seminars, participation in conferences and events, and organizing the final event of the project .

Adaptation action in OPCC's project:

€100,000 (Aug 2011-April 2013)

Some results: Only a few initiatives specifically designed as adaptation measures out of 90 in the Pyrenees, mainly related to knowledge and scenario building.

•Tourism requires a lot of attention and initiatives should focus on integrating CC into current decision systems rather than being added to it as external measures.

•Agriculture and natural risk management require most of the future efforts in terms of new measures. For forestry it is more an issue of knowledge sharing than creation.

•Health and industry seem alien to the discussion so far.

Adaptation action:

Key conclusions• Adaptation is about integration of climate change into current

practice and not limited to specific adaptation measures per se. This has implications as to the adaptation approach to be followed at local level:-Whether to approach stakeholders by inviting them to

develop anadaptation strategy with a programme of measuresOR-Support or incentive them to include the factor “climate” into

theirexisting decision making framework.

• The Pyrenees have started to adapt in comparable ways to other mountain areas in the EU with most efforts focused on knowledge building.

• There is a key role for public institutions to help stakeholders to take into account the climate change in particular through knowledge development and diffusion.

Challenges OPCC 2013:

1. Final event of OPCC in autumn to publish final results with partners and stakeholders.

2. Strategy development in the short, medium and long term OPCC: the strategy is working closely with partners and the CTP executive committee.

3. International Symposium: we want to go beyond the project-POCTEFA OPCC, and make this event a true forum for discussing climate change in mountain areas.

Contacts:

Gabriel Borràs, Catalan Office for Climate Change (gborras@gencat.cat)

Anne Sota, Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory (a.sota@ctp.org)