Cooperation and participation process for the further development of the German Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change Final report
With regard to advancing climate change, adaptation to its unavoidable consequences has gained in relevance in recent years, both in research and politics. Starting point for the political process in Germany has been the drafting of German Adaptation Strategy (DAS) to Climate Change and the Adaptation Action Plan (APA), both adopted by the German Federal Government in 2008 and 2011. In 2015, a progress report on the strategy, including an update of the action plan was adopted.
Cooperation and participation are important prerequisites for successful adaptation to climate change. Openness and cooperation are also key principles in the German Adaptation Strategy. In this regard, the development and implementation of adaptation policies has been accompanied since 2009 by an intensive process of stakeholder participation.
Within the project "Cooperation and participation process for the further development of the German Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change", the IÖW accompanied this participation process together with its project partners.
The final report presents key results of the project. At the beginning, it refers to an evaluation of participation and communication formats within the framework of the German Adaptation Strategy as well as additionally implemented formats. This part includes also recommendations made for the optimization of the formats in terms of content and methodology. Also, it highlights additional needs and networking opportunities with regard to the integration of underrepresented stakeholder groups as well as previously less considered contents.
The core of the final report comprises a reflection on the participation formats implemented in the project (five thematic stakeholder dialogues, one larger national dialogue, three cooperation platforms, one larger conference, consultation process on the progress report of the German Adaptation Strategy as well as workshops for the development of a guideline for vulnerability analyses). In addition, the report presents the concept development for a German platform for climate adaptation services (KlimAdapt). In the meantime, the insights gained (through user and provider surveys) have been incorporated into the establishment of the German Climate Preparedness Portal (KLiVO portal). The report concludes with a summary of the work done on editing and optimizing the climate adaption newsletter provided by the Federal Environmental Agency.
In addition, the report refers to several products developed within the project.
