NATURAL HAZARDS

PATHWAY 3

NATURAL HAZARDS

PATHWAY 3

Support measures to enhance individual risk precaution

Basic information:

Alpine specific character

High vulnerability in the Alps.

Full protection from natural hazards and climate change impacts through public-financed protection measures will not be feasible, private households and economic stakeholders will have to develop additional risk precaution measures. Individual measures can include no-regret measures with co-benefits (e.g., passive cooling systems to deal with increasing heat and at the same time to support energy efficiency) but also protection measures for natural hazards (e.g., provision of sandbags to protect from flooding).

An Alpine-wide risk governance approach has the objective to give a stronger role to the civil society in risk management. To meet this objective, additional measures on awareness raising and capacity building are however necessary. Also, a coordination of individual measures through regional coordinators has the potential to trigger considerable activities through streamlining and making use of effects of scale.

Sequence of implementation steps:

Alpine adaptation toolbox:

  • Teaching materials
  • Toolbox to develop local/regional adaptation planning
  • Tools to assess risk at household level and to explore adaptation options
  • Links to risk maps

Linked to CAPA

Set-up of an operational network of regional adaptation coordinators, if possible in all regions of the Alpine area to:

  • Increase capacity of local decision makers and the civil society
  • To ensure an effective knowledge transfer
  • To support and coordinate specific implementation measures

Capacity building programme for teachers, educators, education institutions etc

Roadshow targeting at citizens, educators, local authorities, etc. with hands-on experiences:

  • Virtual Reality experiences, e.g., to visualize impacts of permafrost thawing
  • Visualisation of risk maps, etc.
  • Training session on using protection materials
  • Etc…

Incentivizing individual risk precaution measures (e.g., flood-protection measures for buildings, climate-neutral solutions for cooling, etc.)

Further Information:

  • Existing regional energy coordinators and climate alliances
  • Network ALPACA for communication and coordination
  • Alliance in the Alps, Alpine Town of the Year Association
  • Decision makers at local, regional and national level
  • PLANALP working group and EUSALP AG8

  • Development of a comprehensive toolbox for capacity building and supporting individual risk precaution measures
  • Implementation of network of adaptation coordinators
  • Implementation of funding/incentive scheme to support individual risk precaution measures

  • Toolbox: number of tools integrated in the toolbox
  • Network: Number of regional adaptation coordinators organised in an Alpine wide network
  • Qualification program: number of participants
  • Road show: number of road show stops and participants
  • Incentive programme: number of protection measures incentivised

  • Existing Best Practices: “local natural hazard advisor” in Switzerland or the “adaptation advisory services for municipalities” in Austria
  • Project on developing regional adaptation strategies: e.g., https://klar-anpassungsregionen.at/, Klimzug programme in Germany (until 2014))
  • Project on developing regional adaptation strategies: e.g., https://klar-anpassungsregionen.at/, Klimzug programme in Germany (until 2014))
  • Project FRANCA (flood risk anticipation and communication in the Alps) (EU LIFE programme)
  • Project PATCH:ES – Private Adaptation Threats and Chances: Enhancing Synergies with the Austrian NAS Implementation
  • See all measures listed for Pathway “Implementation of an Alpine-wide permafrost and erosion monitoring”
  • GoApply – Multidimensional governance of climate change adaptation in policy making and practice (Project ASP) (stock-taking No. 69)
  • Klima-Toolbox Surselva (stock-taking No. 88)
  • Local adaptation to climate change in Alpine municipalities in Italy (seminars for practitioners) (stock-taking No. 110)
  • Climate adaptation consulting for municipalities (stock-taking No. 115)

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CLIMATE TARGET SYSTEM

The Alps are specifically prone to natural hazards with different scopes, including local events such as avalanches, rockfalls, torrential hazards and landslides as well as larger events like floods. A generally growing population and accumulation of human assets and settlements in hazard-prone areas as well as extreme events tend to increase natural hazard risk. As natural hazards do not stop at regional or national borders, an Alpine-wide common framework to deal with large-scale and potential cross- border impacts is required. Special consideration needs to be given to permafrost areas and potential risks related to permafrost instabilities as well as large-scale flood events with impacts on overall river basins - these natural hazards have the potential to lead to large-scale and cross-border impacts.

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