KlimaScout - The Wiki for climate change adaptation
Background and Goals
With the KlimaScout Wiki - an interactive website on which towns and communities can access concept or add it themselves - the climate alliance is supporting local authorities in adapting to climate change.
To date, only a few cities have published concepts for climate change adaptation. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized local authorities often lack the personnel, knowledge and financial resources to create appropriate strategies. The questions involved include "How will climate change actually impact my town or community?", Which areas of the local authority will be affected?", and "What are the local authority's options for adapting?".
The objective of the KlimaScout Wiki is to provide towns and communities with a resource that will help them to develop adaptation strategies and to initiate and implement local adaptation measures. KlimaScout is based on cooperation with experts. As with the Wikipedia Internet platform, volunteer authors can share their experiences. Specialists from the more than 400 climate alliance member communities in Germany play a particularly important role and are encouraged to be involved.
As well as a platform for local authorities, KlimaScout also provides a website for citizens. This is where they can find practical advice for protecting themselves and infrastructure against extreme weather events. Particular attention is paid to the effects of adverse weather, flooding, drought, heat and cold.
Content time
Research area/region
Country
- Germany
Steps in the process of adaptation to climate change
Step 1: Understand and describe climate change
Approach and results
In association with the development adaptation strategies, the Wiki contains a section on the establishment and selection of regional climate scenarios and provides advice on more extensive sources of information. Other sections such as "Political background" and "Local success factors and recommendations" also deal with climate scenarios.
Parameter (climate signals)
- Heat waves
- Extreme precipitation (incl. hail, snow)
- Storm
- Dry periods
Further Parameters
extreme weather events
Step 2a: Identify and assess risks - climate effects and impact
Approach and results
Many of the articles on the Wiki involve climate effects caused by heat waves, local severe rain events, flooding and storms, e.g. in the context of towns and climate effects or in the sections devoted to the measures, for which the climate effects are set out for each field of action, corresponding to the German adaptation strategy.
Step 2b: Identify and assess risks - Vulnerability, risks and chances
Approach and results
The issue of vulnerability is dealt with extensively and pragmatically in the "Development of adaptation strategies" section. The "Evaluation and assessment of climate change susceptibility" module sets out the vulnerability analysis process, which acts as a basis for selecting and implementing measures. Vulnerability also plays an important role in KlimaScout in the descriptions of individual measures.
Step 3: Develop and compare measures
Measures and/or strategies
To counter the effects of climate change, KlimaScout supports local authorities in introducing structured adaptation activities. The range of measures in the Wiki is based on the fields of action defined in the German adaptation strategy (DAS) and is aimed primarily at local authorities. For each field of action, an overview article and numerous examples of measures are provided. The section for citizens also provides plenty of tips.
Participants
Funding / Financing
German Federal Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU)
Project management
Klima-Bündnis / Climate Alliance
Cooperation/Partners
Competence Centre on Climate Impacts and Adaptation (KomPass),
project executing organisation: German Environment Agency (UBA)
Contact
Klima-Bündnis
Europäische Geschäftsstelle
Glavanistr. 28
D-60486 Frankfurt am Main
