Case study summaries

There will be a 1-day workshop on Monday 11 May (the day before the ECCA conference in Copenhagen starts) to share experiences between all the cases that are being studied for the BASE project. We were asked to provide short summaries of our case studies, attached here below. Everyone was also asked to invite and bring a stakeholder from the cases we're studying. this didn't work out for our cases, as people were too busy or had already other plans. Interactive, participatory, knowledge-exchange platforms may be very laudable and beneficial. But in practice, sometimes the ambitions or intentions of the organising party doesn't always match with the agenda, resources, strategy or interests of the invited groups...

SECTOR CLUSTER: COASTAL ZONES

South Devon Coast around Dawlish

Objective:To understand what influences the process of adapting this part of the coast to a changing climate, in terms of institutional barriers and enablers. This is a small retrospective and current case study on adaptation in coastal areas. In this case, the main railway line (and only line connecting the Southwest) runs straight along the rocky cliff shore, and is vulnerable for storm impacts and erosion. Last winter (after severe storms in Feb 2014), the railway was closed for two months. The institutional setting around this case is rather complex and fragmented. For example the seawall and railway tracks are owned and managed by a government-owned company, the train services are run by a private company, the local authorities do not have the resources and capacity to make major decisions around this part of the coast, and the national authorities claim adaptation in in this areas is a matter of the local authorities. There were several adaptation measures considered (e.g. raising the sea wall, rerouting the railway more inland), after extreme weather events severely damaged the seawall and railway last winter. The seawall and railway have been repaired (to the way they were before the big damages). However adaptation to the impacts of storm surges and erosion seems to be losing priority again, and it appears everything regarding adaptation has been put on hold. This making it an interesting and important case to study barriers and enablers for climate change adaptation.

    

SECTOR CLUSTER: AGRICULTURE & BIODIVERSITY
Dartmoor National Park
Objective: To understand barriers and enablers in climate change adaptation in this National Park. After a brief moment of attention for climate change adaptation (in 2011), the national park authority was instructed by higher level government to take climate change off the agenda again. Whilst the national park authority states not to be currently active in climate change adaptation, there other initiatives taking place that do address several adaptation issues. One of these was initiated by local farmers, another was a 5year project initiated by a drinking water company and university researchers. The farmer-led initiative includes measures such as measures to maintain public access (e.g. after damages from extreme weather events); to enhance biodiversity; to maintain mosaic landscape with openness and some parts with higher vegetation; to maintain training of commoners to able to fight wildfires and remove vegetation where needed to reduce potential of wildfires. It is expected to be hampered by the new agri-environmental schemes policy starting 2016. The 5year project is focused on preservation of the blanket bog (e.g. by gully blocking to keep wetness), is led by the drinking water company and university researchers, and will not be continued after it finishes this year. The variety and number of local actors, together with dynamics between local and national priorities, make this case valuable to study and learn from.