On 9 November 2013, the headline of the Portuguese Expresso newspaper read, “The sea could swallow almost 100 meters of the Coast of Aveiro”. The article referred to the results of a research project by Aveiro University (AdaptaRia), which modelled the effects of coastal erosion and rising sea levels on the coast South of Aveiro in northern Portugal. These concerns were not new.
In late May and early June 2013, Central Europe - in particular the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland - was facing severe flooding mainly caused by the heavy rainfall in a number of already saturated river basins.
On 16 April 2013, the European Commission adopted a broad new Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, which aims to enhance Europe’s preparedness and capacity to respond to climate change impacts at local, regional, national and EU levels. The BASE project provides key support to the EU strategy by strengthening the knowledge base and providing tools to guide decision making on adaptation towards a sustainable Europe.
