7OP BeWater - IzVRS

Making society an active participant in water management adaptation in the context of global change

The BeWater project is being carried out under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme as part of the Science in Society initiative. The aim of the BeWater project is to promote dialogue and cooperation between science and society in the field of sustainable water management and adaptation to climate change in the Mediterranean.

The project partners involve both scientists and other interested stakeholders in co-decision-making processes for water management across four pilot catchment areas in the Mediterranean region, located in Slovenia, Spain, Cyprus and Tunisia. In the pilot catchment areas, we are identifying the challenges posed by climate change and possible approaches to water management. Based on the information gathered, stakeholders are collaborating to draw up climate change adaptation plans for their regions. In Slovenia, project activities are being carried out in the Vipava river basin, which was selected due to its numerous hydrological, morphological and biological pressures, as well as pollution.

Collaboration between the scientific community and society in the preparation of river basin adaptation plans is an innovative approach developed as part of the BeWater project. The challenges and opportunities for water management identified during the plan’s development were used as input data and incorporated into the river basin adaptation plans. In autumn 2016, the Vipava River Basin Adaptation Plan was published on the BeWater project website, alongside the plans prepared for the other pilot river basins included in the project.

As part of the BeWater project, two short reports are to be produced to disseminate the results; intended primarily for decision-makers and strategic planners, as well as other stakeholders interested in shaping and influencing these plans. Report No. 1, published in April 2016, contains three key messages based on the identified water management options, an analysis of existing river basin adaptation plans and climate change adaptation strategies. Upon completion of the project in March 2017, Report No. 2 will be produced, containing a summary of the project’s key findings, a final analysis of the strategic plans, and recommendations for decision-makers and those responsible for formulating these strategies.

Link to further information

http://www.bewaterproject.eu/
Link to archived content: http://old.www.izvrs.si/bewater-making-society-an-active-participant-in-water-adaptation-to-global-change/