Climate and Water under Change CliWaC

The Einstein Research Unit “Climate and Water under Change” (CliWaC) is a transdisciplinary research initiative of the Berlin University Alliance to investigate water-related risks under climate change. In an innovative methodological way, the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary project CliWaC will bring together social and natural science as well as practical expertise from stakeholders to support the governance of mitigation and adaptation measures in response to climate change. In addressing these questions, CliWaC will focus on the model region Berlin-Brandenburg in which a complex combination of contrasting natural, societal and political conditions will be examined. Particularly, the different needs, options and perceptions of urban and rural areas will be considered. Water-related research topics addressed by CliWaC include ecosystems, biodiversity and ecosystem services, flood and wastewater management and water resource management.

With ecological-economic valuations of ecosystem services, comprising also a representative survey of regional residents, IÖW will investigate the regional population’s preferences towards cultural ecosystem services associated with different adaptation options. Furthermore, how adaptation options can be prioritized according to multiple dimensions, while considering the effects on integrating provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services, will be addressed. The project team will evaluate the costs and benefits of coordinated cross-sectoral action and engage stakeholders and the public in a multi-criteria decision-making process. The process will equally consider material, social, and institutional changes, i.e., changing social-ecological-technical mechanisms, governance arrangements, and legal instruments, as well as risk perceptions and adaptation practices in the face of uncertain climate change.

More information: https://www.cliwac.de/