The Climate Challenge

The South Moravian Region lies in the southeast of the Czech Republic, and it is home to the country’s second largest city of Brno.  Agricultural land covers 60% of the area of the region.  Vine growing is a specialty in the region, which has more than 90 % of the total area of vineyards in the country.  Climate change projections indicate the growing probability of drought in the region. In 2011-2012, the region witnessed an extreme drought episode that was classified as one of the worst in the past 130 years. In the autumn of 2011, for example, the total precipitation represented only 10-30% of the long-term average for Moravia. Projections for 2050 indicate the occurrence of this type of drought event every 20 years. 

The Adaptation Response

In order to determine stakeholder perceptions and evaluation adaptation options, a quantitative questionnaire was distributed among wine growers situated in South Moravian region in November 2014. The potential adaptation measures discussed can be categorised as changes in insurance policies such as risk transfer tools; land use practices like introducing no-tillage technologies and shifting agricultural activities, and water saving practices in the form of increasing water retention and improving the efficiency of irrigation systems.   

The People and Institutions Involved

Since the adaptation process in the Czech Republic is mostly top-down, the actual implementation of specific adaptation measures depends on the implementation of National Adaptation Strategy approved in October 2015, which will be supported by Adaptation Action Plan (to be formulated in 2016). Therefore, the adaptation activity on the regional and local level and specific sectors is currently limited. In case of agriculture, specifically vine growing, the non-existence of a cross-sectoral adaptation strategy has left adaptation actions rather fragmented, related mostly to the farm management regime and largely autonomous.

The Outcome of Action

In the case of South Moravian wine growers, almost two thirds of the respondents agree (48% agree, 26% strongly agree) that climate change is happening. Only 18% of farmers perceive that climate change will have positive impact on their vine production while 36% perceive that climate change will affect them negatively. Ninety-three percent of respondents perceived measures to increase water retention as important. The majority of respondents also supported shifts in the timing of agricultural practices and pest management. In terms of barriers to climate change adaptation, 67% of respondents agreed that farming policy regulations may represent an obstacle in climate change adaptation. Furthermore, 73% of respondents perceive economic losses from smaller subsidies as an important barrier.

Contact

Eliška Krkoška Lorencová, lorencova.e@czechglobe.cz

Relevant Links

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Full Report

The full report of this case study can be read here.

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