Multidimensional governance of climate change adaptation in policy making and practice
The Alpine Space is severely affected by climate change. Adaptation to already unavoidable climatic changes is needed to prevent unmanageable impacts and to safeguard climate-resilient and balanced territorial development. National climate adaptation strategies are in place in some Alpine countries, but implementation is inhibited by multiple obstacles in steering adaptation policies across sectors, levels & actors. Regional adaptation plans are just emerging, adaptation has hardly entered local agendas, and policy mainstreaming is limited on all levels. Governance has a key role in the transition from adaptation strategies to implementation in practice, but capacities for multilevel & cross-sector governance of adaptation processes are lacking in all countries. Adequate governance designs, models & formats, incl. effective cooperation pathways & coordination arrangements, are mostly still missing or not operational. _x000D_
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The project thus tackles joint key challenges of adaptation governance: vertical implementation across territorial levels; horizontal mainstreaming into sector policies; and more active involvement of local, regional & non-governmental actors. Transnational collaboration is essential to learn from shared strengths & weaknesses and from the diversity of governance approaches taken in different countries. The project builds on an existing network of the national authorities responsible for climate adaptation policy-making in 7 Alpine countries, ensuring direct application of outcomes. _x000D_
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The following main outputs will enable public & non-governmental actors to increase their adaptation governance capacities and to improve, effectuate and re-define their approaches: portfolio of multilevel governance approaches, good practices & innovations; pathways & options for mainstreaming adaptation; transferable stakeholder interaction formats; strengthened transnational cooperation networks & closer alignment of national & macro-regional adaptation efforts (EUSALP).