An intermunicipal initiative to deal with the effects of climate change

Under the official name of Adapta.Local.CIMAC – Planning of Municipal Climate Adaptation in Central Alentejo, this project consists of three components, aimed not only at providing municipalities with tools to promote climate adaptation and human resources prepared to ensure its implementation and monitoring, but also at raising awareness in local communities and preparing them to deal with climate change.

Component 1: Municipal Plans for Adaptation to Climate Change

• Prepare 13 Municipal Plans for Adaptation to Climate Change in municipalities without local planning tools for adaptation to climate change.
•  Elaborate one Municipal Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change in a municipality (Évora) with a Municipal Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change.

Component 2: Capacity building program in planning and setting up climate change adaptation operations

• Conducting three workshops to train municipal technicians from the departments of urbanism, environment and civil protection.
• Holding 14 municipal training sessions with municipal technicians from the departments of urbanism, environment and civil protection.

Component 3: Regional and local awareness of climate change

• Holding 14 local adaptation councils, involving relevant local stakeholders from different sectors and the school communities, to present current and future vulnerabilities and discuss adaptation measures.
• Two regional seminars on local adaptation to climate change.

The various components are carried out in an articulated manner, having as a structural element the elaboration of the Municipal Plans. The process of training municipal technicians is articulated with the various elements of the Plans, training technicians with the skills needed to collaborate in their production. In parallel, the regional and local awareness program will make it possible to involve communities and strategic actors in the whole process, besides reaching out to communities. Among the project’s benefits, we can name:

• Support municipalities to integrate adaptation to climate change into the review process of Municipal Master Plans;
• Strengthen the capacity of municipal technicians in the field of local adaptation to climate change;
• Increase the awareness and mobilization of local stakeholders, school communities and the population in the general, to the vulnerabilities and opportunities associated with climate change at the level of each municipality.
• Transfer knowledge between universities, companies, research centers and local governments;
• Share knowledge and experience with international partners.

IDN will provide technical assistance in the training program, participating in the initial seminar and in training workshops, sharing their experience in raising the awareness of school communities regarding climate change