BASE was selected as a best practice project at the Adaptation Futures 2016 Conference which took place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from 10 until 13 May 2016. The conference was one of the largest ever held on climate change adaptation. BASE partners presented the project's research and tools in two sessions:
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Local climate change adaptation: Barriers and enablers for mainstreaming and implementation (Presentations are available at the conference website)
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Adapting scientific methodologies - how to compare & evaluate case studies as well as integrate & upscale data (Presentations are available at the conference website)
BASE presentations during the conference included:
- BECCA – a multi-purpose guide and evaluation tool for adaptation
- BASE methodology framework for 23 case studies
- Upscaling adaptation economics: Challenges and successes
- Economic evaluation of climate change adaptation measures: Results and lessons learned from 23 European case studies
- Climate change adaptation: Implementation barriers and enablers across Europe
- Innovative participatory methodologies review
- Twenty-three BASE case studies, a common methodological framework and key results
- BASE: Adaptation in Europe from a bottom-up and top-down perspective
- Multi-level perspective for adaptation in Cascais, Portugal
- What is an appropriate policy response for adaptation?
- Payment for ecosystem services – paying farmers for using farmland for flood control
- Assessing costs and benefits of heat warning systems at European level: A methodological framework
Posters included:
- A global analysis of adaptation case studies: State of the art
- Priorities and options for adaption to changing flood risks in the EU
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation: Perceptions, planning and action at the municipal level
- Is scientific knowledge used for the implementation of sectoral adaptation policies in Europe?
The conference programme included 155 diverse and wide-ranging sessions, which were grouped into seven themes and three intersecting issues, including: Cities and infrastructure; Food, Forestry and rural livelihoods; Fresh water availability and access; Public health; Ecosystems and ecosystem based adaptation; Disaster risk reduction; The Arctic, as well as Risk assessment; Adaptation planning and evaluation; Institutions and governance; and Finance, investment and business.
The conference fostered an active exchange of new and practical ideas, experiences and insights among governments, businesses, researchers and civil society from around the world. The conference gave participants the opportunity to share experiences and practical and scientific knowledge about implementing adaptation strategies and projects, while the Adaptation Practice Expo and Business Fair connected knowledge-based supply to practitioners' demand.
Prevention, resilience, practical solutions, tangible results and human rights were among the themes touched upon by keynote speakers in the opening session of the conference. On the second day, Queen Máxima took the podium in her capacity as the UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. The Queen gave an inspiring speech about climate change and access to financial services, and in particular the urgency of opening up financial services to those who have thus far been denied access to it. The closing session welcomed a number of young scientists presenting their research; it served as the basis for a lively and engaging session and gave the opportunity for a retrospective of the highlights of the conference. As stressed by the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment Sharon Dijksma, more is to be done and more will be discussed at the COP22 in Marrakesh at the end of the year.