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Karnak

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Literature review on land-use change, biodiversity, and climate (Karnak)

The project partners study changes in land-use, natural diversity, and climate.

Dette prosjektet ser på kor vidt omsyna til klimatilpassing og utsleppskutt er i konflikt med kvarandre eller dreg i same retning, og korleis klimapolitikken påverkar vilkåra for å nå måla om berekraftig utvikling.

The project is comissioned by the Research Council of Norway, and will create a review of research-based knowledge about connections between land use and land use changes in Norway and effects on and challenges for biodiversity, ecosystem services, climate adaptation, carbon sequestration and storage.

In particular, we will discuss what the research says about the following:

  1. how sustainable land use is in Norway

  2. dilemmas and conflicts between different societal considerations

  3. solutions, tools and development opportunities for land use that takes into account both climate and biodiversity

a scoping review

The work will be carried out as a "scoping review" of both peer-reviewed and gray literature in the area with relevance for Norwegian conditions. WNRI is the project owner, and carries out the work together with the subcontractors Miljøfaglig Utredning AS and the library at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.

expert and user groups

An expert group of three ecologists will ensure the quality of search criteria and analyses, while the relevance for spatial planning and management will be strengthened through a user group with representatives of four County governor offices and two municipalities.

Starting date: 1 february 2023

end date: 1 april 2024

Finansiert av: research council of norway

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Comparative analysis of the landscape of climate adaptation policy in the Nordics

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The project looks at climate change adaptation in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

The purpose of the project is to examine, analyse, and compare climate change adaptation in the Nordics, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

The project will look at the landscape of policy and legislation, identifying differences and similarities between the Nordic countries and analyseing the implications of these in terms of progress. The comparative analysis will include legislation, tools, analytical approaches, mechanisms of funding, as well as levels of intersectorial integration.

highly relevant findings

The results will be of relevance to all of the Nordic countries and can be used to draw lessons and learn from the experience of others, as well as for improving the national effort in the realm of climate change adaptation.

In addition to Western Norway Research Institute, Stockholm Environment Institute, University of Helsinki, and Danmarks Tekniske Universitet contribute to the research.

Starting date: 1 december 2022

end date: 30 june 2023

funded by: nordic council of ministers

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Adapt-map

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Mapping climate change adaptation in a selection of countries (Adapt-map)

Finland er blant landa forskarane har studert med tanke på det nasjonale arbeidet med klimatilpassing.

The prosject looks at climate change adaptation in five countries in Northern Europe. How have the autorities in these countries decided to approach and work with climate change adaptation at the national level?

The Norwegian Environmental Agency (Miljødirektoratet) has assigned Noradapt the task of mapping the climate change adaptation effort in Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria.

systems of governance

The mapping includes a study of relevant documents and interviews with representatives from the countries, with a particular focus on how systems of governance within climate adaptation policy function, including requirements and guidelines various actors are subject to, routines followed in provision of a common knowledge foundation at the national level (risk and vulnerability assessments), and systems used for measuring, reporting, and evaluating.

two noradapt partners

Two of the research partners in Noradapt, Norce and Western Norway Research Institute, are partners in the project in addition to Stockholm Environment Institute and the University of Helsinki.

Starting date: 15 september 2022

end date: 28 february 2023

funded by: norwegian environment agency

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Gotheca

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Glacier Impacts on the Hydrological Systems in Europe and Central Asia

Fieldwork at Tyrstigbreen, Stryn. Photo by Yongmei Gong, NTNU Department of Geography

The Gotheca project develops a comprehensive risk assessment scheme for a timely application of increasingly accurate predictions of freshwater availability and Glacier Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in glacierized regions to local mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Mountain ranges are often referred to as the water towers of the world because they store enormous amounts of fresh water as snow and ice and deliver freshwater to large areas further downstream. Global warming is causing increased melting, creating new natural hazards and affecting industries such as energy production and tourism across Europe.

instable water flow

In densely populated areas in Central Asia, frequent changes to the amount of meltwater from snow and glacial ice results in great variation in water flow throughout the year. This has a negative impact on the ecosystem, but also markets. These regions also face a recurring threat of flooding as a result of increased melting and GLOFs (Glacier Lake Outburst Floods).

climate adaptation tools

Gotheca will develop a risk assessment method that allows for prediction of the amount of freswater areas close to glaciers will have access to at different points in the year. The tool will also be helpful in predicting risk of GLOFs. This insight will constitute a resource for local and regional authorities involved in climate adaptation.

The project combines natural and social sciences with communication strategies to reach local stakeholders and develop a tool for risk analysis.

Glacial lake at Tyrstigbreen. Photo by Yongmei Gong, NTNU Department of Geography

sustainability goals

The research project Gotheca will use local insight to deliver new, research-based insights to local stakeholders and decision-makers so that they can develop appropriate measures. This will be of help to both developed and less developed areas that are directly dependent on meltwater to fulfil the UN’s Sustainability Goals.

TwO NORADAPT PARTNers

The project is lead by the Department of Geography at NTNU and involves participants from the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences in addition to other institutions outside of Noradapt.

Visit the project website

Start date: 1 october 2021

end date: 31 december 2025

Funded by: the research council of norway and NTNU

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TransAdapt

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Making trans-border climate change risks tangible for adaptation actions (TransAdapt)

The experiences of covid-19 have increased awareness of cross-border climate risk, ie that something is happening in one country linked to climate change, and that this has ripple effects in completely different countries. This is a type of risk society must also adapt to, in addition to "traditional" climate risk.

The main goal of the project is to investigate and show how one can put cross-border climate risk on the agenda in the local and national work with climate adaptation. The project also has four sub-goals.

Four of the research partners in Noradapt participates in the project: Nordland Research Institute, Cicero, Norce and Western Norway Research Institute. In addition to the Stockholm Environment Institute.

Sub-goals

  1. Develop an indicator-based top-down method for analyzing cross-border climate risk at national level

  2. Demonstrate how one can analyze cross-border climate risk for specific sectors

  3. Demonstrate how one can analyze risk ownership along and across value chains and policy levels

  4. Analyze governance at several levels, and across sectors, for adaptation to cross-border climate risk

Starte date: 01.12.2021

end date: 31.12.2025

financed by: Noradapt

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Co-Adapt

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Communities for Climate Change Action (Co-Adapt)

The goal of the project is to develop a participation tool for climate change action. The tool will facilitate climate adaptation and emission reductions in cities in Poland.

The project looks at strategies to overcome barriers to activity and grassroots participation, and we place emphasis on finding innovative designs for applied research on climate change action.

The project will help to strengthen resilience and integrate more people into participatory processes in urban communities, which can strengthen the cities' ability to adapt. The need for adaptation to climate change is increasing, also in cities.

The tool uses methods that are called "serious gaming" and will open up to experiment with strategies and solutions to climate problems. We would like to overcome the so-called "motivation gap" in the climate change adaptation and create a broad and large commitment to work with climate change action.

START date: 01.10.2021

end date:

financed by: the research council of norway

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Nordic perspectives on transboundary impacts of climate change

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The project is an assessment on cross-border climate risk for the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The main objective of the project is to improve the understanding of the effect of transboundary impacts of climate change in the Nordic countries. It also aims at identifying priority sectors and possibilities for joint Nordic action.

The leader of the project is Kati Berninger, Tyrsky Consulting.

START date: 21.09.2021

end date: 01.05.2022

financed by: nordic council of ministers

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Sustainability analysis of climate change adaptation measures

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The project will result in a sustainability analysis for selected climate adaptation measures that are relevant to Rogaland.

In the project, we will first map the climate vulnerability of the municipalities in Rogaland. This survey will then form the basis for the selection of climate adaptation measures to be analyzed. Technical criteria for climate adaptation measures must be described and quantified.

These parties participated in the project:

Research:

  • Western Norway Research Institute

  • SINTEF community

Municipalities/county municipalities:

  • Sauda municipality

  • Sola municipality

  • Gjesdal municipality

  • Karmøy municipality

  • Hjelmeland municipality

  • Rogaland County Municipality

Business/consulting companies:

  • Asplan Viak AS

  • Faber Bygg AS

  • Sweco Norge AS

  • Skjæveland gruppen

In the sustainability analyzes, the partners must first define which sustainability goals the climate adaptation measures are to contribute to fulfilling. These goals will cover the dimensions of technical performance, economy, environmental friendliness, compliance with regulations and societal benefits. The project will then define the criteria to be used to measure goal achievement for the selected climate adaptation measures.

In the next step, indicators will be prepared which in turn will be used to quantify these criteria. Due to uncertainty related to the climate of the future, scenarios will be included in the analysis, and it is the user partners who decide on the weighting of the various dimensions in the scenario analyzes. This three-step analysis; define goals, criteria and indicators, builds on existing and ongoing studies, and is an iterative process that requires strong user partner involvement.

The parties (municipalities and other stakeholders) shall jointly find out which goals and criteria are relevant for Rogaland, and find out what information and data are available that can add value to the indicators.

The fourth step in the sustainability analysis is to rank the climate adaptation measures. This ranking will provide the municipalities with a basis for choosing the most sustainable combinations of climate adaptation measures to mitigate the local vulnerabilities.

Project leader is SINTEF, contact person: Maria Barrio Hernandez

Project owner is Stavanger municipality, contact person: Hugo Kind

START date: 01.08.2021

end date: 31.07.2024

financed by: Regionalt forskingsfond Rogaland

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Barriers to climate change adaptation at local and regional level of governance

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The three collaborating parties - CICERO (project manager), Nordland Research Institute and Western Norway Research Institute - will, on behalf of the Norwegian Environment Agency, compile existing knowledge on barriers to achieving the national goal of climate change adaptation and the current policy instrument for climate change adaptation. The compilation of knowledge shall contain a clarification of the concepts barriers and policy instruments. Furthermore, the project will create an updated status for barriers at local and regional level through a broad involvement of relevant user groups.

START date: 01.06.21

end date: 31.12.21

financed by: norwegian environment agency

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Indicators for climate change adaptation of buildings and infrastructure in municipalities

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This project will further develop indicators for climate adaptation in municipalities, and adapt these to Western Norway. 

The project will build on existing research, and will primarily be a continuation of the project «Indicators for measuring climate adaptation of physical areas, buildings and infrastructure in small, medium and large municipalities», which SINTEF prepares together with the Network for climate adaptation in Trøndelag.

This project is based on the MRE model, as well as indicators developed for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the ZEN research center. The activity will also run in parallel with relevant work done on climate adaptation in the research center Klima 2050.

Partners of the project:

  • Western Norway Research Institute

  • Sintef

  • Osterøy municipality

  • Sunnfjord municipality

  • Kvam Herad

  • Sogndal municipality

  • Fitjar municipality

  • Kinn municipality

  • Luster municipality

  • Trondheim municipality

  • Vestland County Council

The municipalities will have different starting points. We will therefore start with a review of the municipalities' ROS analysis, municipal plan and climate plan (municipal sub-plan for climate or thematic plan for climate). Furthermore, we look at the climate vulnerability analysis. If the municipalities have not prepared the documents mentioned above, their preparation will be useful input to the development of indicators and their relevance to Western Norway.

We will further, using available data, develop a set of simple indicators for climate adaptation of buildings and infrastructure in municipalities. We want to focus on indicators that can be graded and are comparable between municipalities and over time. The indicators must also distinguish at the actor level and how far the municipalities have come in the climate adaptation work. A user guide for the indicators must be prepared, and the indicators must be tested.

We also want to develop economic indicators for climate adaptation of buildings and infrastructure in the municipalities. This entails indicators for benefit / cost analyzes for investments where the expected effects of climate change are taken into account, and for budget allocation to climate adaptation measures. Furthermore, we want to develop indicators for climate adaptation in operation, for example in the form of maintenance costs. Relevant indicators must be quantified in the project.

start date: 01.05.2021

end date: 30.04.2024

financed by: Regionale forskningsfond Vestland

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Participatory methods for climate change adaptation

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To secure sustainable development, climate change transformation and adaptation should be integrated into regional and local planning processes. There is also a growing need to mobilize and integrate local knowledge into these processes, as well as to develop greater understanding, engagement, legitimacy and social learning for and within the municipal populations.

Previous studies have found that municipalities often face barriers when interpreting flood-data and that increased uncertainty creates new challenges in different sectors. This may imply that there is a need to develop broader data-collections and better communication methods for risk assessment in local contexts.

Trying out methods

In cooperation with Vestland County Council, the partners Western Norway Research Institute, NORCE Climate, and the Department of Geography at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology will develop and test various participatory methods such as citizen science, visualization of climate change data and participation in planning processes. The research will be conducted in Osterøy, Sunnfjord, and Kinn municipalities, which also are project participants, and they all need to strengthen their efforts towards climate change adaptation.

The project will develop:

  • Citizen science methods that contribute to greater engagement and legitimacy to the knowledge basis for local adaptation measures

  • Vizualisation and communication tools for that makes knowledge available and relevant for citizens

  • Participatory methods for increasing citizens involvement in planning processes

Residents are encouraged to record flood and flooding events in one app and share weather data from private measuring stations. Photo: Department of Geography, NTNU

People can share their own data

"Citizen science" means that ordinary people take part in research. In this project, the inhabitants will be able to contribute by using a smartphone app for registering floods and flood events. They can also share data from their private weather stations.

The idea for the project came as a result of a course for Ph.D. and Masters' students organized by the Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation (CET) and Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities at The University of Bergen in collaboration with the Norwegian Centre for Sustainable Climate Change Adaptation and other partners the fall of 2019. The project-partners also participated in the course.

The project is led by Vestland County Council, by Lene Omdahl.

START date: 01.04.2021

end date: 01.04.2024

financed by: The Research Council of norway

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Klimathon

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The project is based on the premise that municipalities, other public agencies, companies and voluntary organizations have different challenges when it comes to climate adaptation, and that standardized "climate adaptation recipes" will not necessarily suit everyone. This applies to both regulations and guidelines and specific, nature-based challenges.

Klimathon was held in 2018 and 2019, both times in Bergen. The working methodology is experimental and exploratory, and is clearly inspired by the IT industry's "hackathons". Participants are encouraged to use their own experiences, public resources and insights from research in the climate field. They should not only discuss solutions, but also share, make visible and present what they come up with. (Photo: Andreas Graven)

This insight can create a starting point for knowledge development and the use of knowledge for the design of measures. In this way, Klimathon is an attempt to establish a kind of organizational infrastructure for reflection, perspective development and competence development, where the actors involved will in practice learn from each other. An advantage of a more organized Klimathon is that it simplifies the work of gathering and structuring knowledge about climate adaptation across sectors, whether it is a question of different parts of the public sector, between research and practice or between private and public.

This project will further develop Klimathon as a working method in three ways: Firstly by arranging a third edition in the autumn of 2020, Klimathon 2020, as a test of whether the working method is suitable for a region-based series of events for 2021. Secondly, the project will make a little more thorough analysis work on co-production as a theme to strengthen the professional foundation of Klimathon as a working method. Third, Klimathon also creates qualitative data that can be used in research. This means that the project will also reflect on the role that such data can play in research on climate adaptation and climate change.

Project leader is Simon Neby at NORCE Social Sciences. Both Vestland County Council, CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Nordland Research Institute, CET at the University of Bergen and Western Norway Research Institute participated.

Here you can read the report on Klimathon2020.

start date: 01.12.2020

end date: 21.12.2021

financed by: Noradapt

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Conflict and interaction in climate politics

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The fact that ski resorts follow the safe snow to the high mountains can quickly lead to conflict with other environmental considerations (Photo: Rudy and Peter Skitterians, Pixabay).

This project looks at the extent to which climate adaptation and emission reductions are in conflict with each other or moving in the same direction, and how climate policy affects the conditions for achieving the goal of sustainable development.

The main goal of climate politics is to cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to reduce the consequences of man-made climate change. At the same time, we must adapt society to the effects of climate change. Within climate politics and climate management, however, the government has to a small extent seen these political areas in context. Such a comparison is important because measures for one affect the other.

Adaptation can create new emissions

An example of conflict is adaptation in ski tourism: when the winters become shorter and we get less snow in the lowlands, people will travel longer to get safe snow. Driving far to find good snow conditions will lead to greater climate emissions and thus strengthen the greenhouse effect. We do not have a policy to prevent this behavior.

The ski destinations will also adapt, among other things by moving ski lifts higher up in the mountain sides. At the same time, this means that the skiing can come into conflict with the supervision of biological diversity in the high mountains - for example the wild reindeer. These animals are dependent on large, non-invasive areas, and Norway has committed itself to ensure their living conditions. This example shows the need to see adaptation, climate emissions and sustainability in context, so that measures for one do not affect the other.

Klimatilpassing bør ikkje føre til nye klimautslepp eller andre miljøbelastningar. Eit godt døme på berekraftig klimatilpassing er blågrøne strukturar, som både førebygger flaum og skapar grøne lunger i urbane strøk. Figuren viser open og lokal handtering av overvatn, og er henta frå NOU 2015:16, Overvann i byer og tettsteder — Som problem og ressurs.

Blue-green prevention

Fortunately, there are good examples of measures moving in the same direction. Establishing so-called "blue-green structures" in urban areas and cities, ie green areas combined with open streams and ponds, will both reduce the risk of surface floods and reduce the effect of heat waves in the local environment. Blue-green structures will also stimulate biological diversity by providing animals, plants and insects with better living conditions.

Advice on coordination

The researchers will study how politics can stimulate to good interaction between the various climate perspectives, but also how conflicts arise. They will study this at national, regional and local level; in addition, there is the connection between the different levels of management. The project will be limited to studying one county, and the study will include both the county municipality and the county governor’s politics. In addition, the researchers will look at two municipalities, with emphasis on spatial planning, transport and the built environment.

The work will result in advice to the governing authorities on how they can stimulate better coordination of policy so that society achieves interaction and not conflict between cuts in climate emissions, climate adaptation and sustainability management.

Four of the Noradapt partners

The research project is led by Western Norway Research Institute. In addition, researchers from the CICERO Center for International Climate Research, SINTEF and Nordland Research Institute participates in the project.

Start date: 01.08.2020

end date: 31.12.2022

financed by: The research council of norway & norwegian Ministry of Education and Research

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Norsk klimamonitor 2021

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Never before has so much research been done on climate adaptation in Norway. Different actors collect large amounts of data from a variety of sources, for different research objectives. Klimamonitor tries to gather these and lay the foundation for establishing a coordinated data collection across the society. In December 2021, we will launch a new website where we share the new insights from Klimamonitor.

People from different sectors come together every quarter of a year at the national conference #Klimaomstilling to update themselves on new projects and topics. Because it is difficult to get an overview of everything that goes on in this area, Noradapt, through the pilot project Klimamonitor, aims to gather the threads, both to provide an overview and to coordinate the collection of new data. Photo (from #Klimaomstilling 2019): Kyrre Groven.

That climate adaptation is a task that affects all parts of society is a recognition that is becoming increasingly relevant. The consequences of climate change place guidelines on planning, construction and maintenance, but it also affects how we live and how we can run businesses in the future. The Norwegian Environment Agency points out that everyone in society has a responsibility to contribute to solving the climate adaptation task: «the individual, households, private companies and authorities». Klimamonitor takes this recognition seriously.

Large-scale data collection

A preliminary project has brought together previous research outlining the main features of a large-scale data collection in three main parts of society: households and individuals, private business and public administration.

Main topics of the survey:

  1. Society's knowledge of and attitudes towards climate vulnerability

  2. Society's work on climate adaptation

  3. How society's work with climate adaptation is in relation to the goal of sustainable development

In 2021, the preliminary project has turned into the main project. An important goal for this main project is that the data collection should be well coordinated with, and broadly anchored with, other research and management actors who have an interest in research on climate adaptation in Norway. An important part of the preliminary project has therefore been to clarify plans, expectations and needs of others.

In the pilot project, pilot surveys were also carried out in many parts of society with different methods and procedures.

Public administration

Public administration is the part of society that, naturally enough, is best studied. Here we establish the status of knowledge by analyzing 13 previous population surveys of Norwegian municipalities, given in the period 2007-2019. We are also conducting a survey of County Councils and County Governors that map the division of roles and the understanding of roles between them.

Establishment of surveys in the municipalities and at directorate and agency level has also been discussed.

Private business

While some parts of society (and especially parts of the public administration) are well covered in the research literature, there are other parts that we do not have as good an understanding of. The private business sector and households are examples of this. In Norway, as well as internationally, the literature on private business is primarily about primary industries, tourism and finance.

In order to expand the understanding of the adaptation efforts in the private business sector, a pilot study has been carried out with consultants in collaboration with the Consulting Engineers’ Association. The survey shows, among other things, that the private business sector is less good than all parts of the administration, both in terms of initiative and knowledge related to climate adaptation.

Household and individual

This part of society is what we know by far the least about.

A review of international literature nevertheless shows that there are a number of dimensions of individual attitudes and power of action that are very useful to examine in a Norwegian context.

The pilot survey takes the form of a participation in UiB's Norwegian Citizen Panel.

Read the report from the preliminary project here

Start date: 01.05.2020

end date: 01.03.2022

financed by: noradapt

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Jostice

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Natural and societal consequences of climate-forced changes of Jostedalsbreen Ice Cap (Jostice)

The Jostice research project is the first major study of the Jostedal glacier. From the glacier front by the Nigard glacier. (Photo: Maria C. Knagenhjelm, County Governor of Western Norway)

The international research project with the short name Jostice will map various aspects of the Jostedal glacier. It involves measuring mass balance, runoff, ice volume and the local climate in the area around the glacier.

In addition to the scientific studies, there are assessments of how the glacier is affected by climate change and what the consequences will be for the local communities around the glacier - especially power production, tourism and agriculture.

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and Western Norway Research Institute (both in Noradapt) are among the partners in the project. In addition, The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, University of Oslo and University of Bergen and several international partners participated. The project has been awarded NOK 17 million from the Research Council of Norway.

Read more on Jostice's website

Start date: 01.01.2020

end date: 31.12.2023

financed by: the Research Council of Norway (klimaforsk)

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Sustainable climate adaptation in the food sector

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The project is about two types of climate risk in the food sector in Norway, ie agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries. The first is the adaptation to climate politics; the other is sustainable adaptation to climate change.

Because there is little progress in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, both in Norway and around the world, the focus on radical or profound shift is increasing. Such a shift requires extensive changes in how we produce and transport food, but also when it comes to what individuals must do. Therefore, the project will analyze how reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are related to sustainable adaptation to a changing climate. This raises some major questions about sustainability in the food sector related to greenhouse gas emissions, land use, food security, recruitment and a viable agriculture and how one can understand these connections.

Project leader is Grete Hovelsrud at Nordland Research Institute, from where also participated Bjørn Vidar Vangelsten, Leticia A. Nogueira and Brigt Dale participates. Helene Amundsen and Erlend Hermansen from the CICERO Center for Climate Research participates, and Mari Korsbrekke and Tone Rusdal from Western Norway Research Insetitute participates.

start date: 01.01.2020

end date: 31.12.2021

financed by: Noradapt

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Vannklimrisk

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Water management in a changing climate (Vannklimrisk)

More precipitation, but also more natural damage events such as floods and landslides, increase the risk of water pollution. The Vannkklimrisk project is a part of society's prevention of environmental toxins going astray in nature.

The project Vannklimrisk aims to strengthen the prevention of natural damage events that can lead to environmental toxins going astray in nature. Several public enterprises in three counties are involved.

Environmental pollutants accumulates

Climate change will lead to more heavy rainfalls and more drainage from landfills and brown sites on land to water bodies and affect both the ecological and chemical status in water bodies. Old and new environmental pollutants will be absorbed by aquatic organisms, accumulate in the food chains and eventually end up on our food plates.

An unexpected and very heavy rainstorm led to floods and landslides in several places in Jølster on 30 July 2019. Such incidents lead, among other things, to water being polluted, unless one effectively prevents flood-prone areas. (Photo: Linda Olin Reite, NRK)

The water management in Norway today, has too little knowledge of environmental pollutants and their impacts on water quality to assess whether the goal of the EU Water Directive will be reached by 2021.

NEW TOOLS

The project “Water management in a changing climate” will co-produce new knowledge, and develop new tools, that local and regional managers may use to identify local sources of environmental pollutants and analyze the risk of spreading in a changing climate.

Vannklimrisk involves building knowledge and developing new management tools in close collaboration with caseworkers in water management, climate adaptation, planning work and pollution.

digital mapping

The project group will develop a new digital mapping tool for identifying local pollutants, the "Miljøgiftkartleggjaren" and develop a GIS-based ROS analysis to assess whether pollutants may spread to the aquatic environment due to various climate impacts.

Toxicologist Torunn G. Hønsi at Western Norway Research Institute has carried out several projects on environmental toxins and increased runoff. The precursor to Vannklimrisk is Toksklim (2016-17), where public actors in Western Norway (RFF-financed). Photo: Western Norway Research Institute

The project will also explore and analyze how the collaboration between the municipalities, the County Council and the County Governor are in the three regions and explore new forms of interaction where researchers also participate, to better deal with the complex challenges of climate change on water management locally.

Many participants in three counties

The project partners are Western Norway Research Institute, NTNU Department of Geography, Vestfold and Telemark County Council, County Governor of Vestfold and Telemark, County Governor of Trøndelag, Trøndelag County Council, Vestland County Council and County Governor of Vestland and the municipalities, Tønsberg, Larvik, Sønd, Larvik Oppdal, Orkland, Tynset and Rennebu. The project owner is Vestland County Council, where the water region coordinator Merete Farstad is the project manager.

goals of the project

The main goal of the project is to develop forms of interaction and tools to enable the environmental and water management to assess the risk of spreading environmental toxins to the aquatic environment as a result of climate change.

In addition, there are three sub-goals:

  1. Co-create new forms of interaction for water and environmental management

  2. Develop a digital tool for mapping environmental toxin chains - “Miljøgiftkartleggaren”

  3. Develop GIS applications and ROS tools to analyze the risk of spreading environmental toxins and the impact on the aquatic environment as a result of climate change

Start date: 01.01.2020

end date: 31.12.2023

financed by: Regionale forskningsfond Vest

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Roadadapt

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Testing of two tools for analysing climate change risks and cost-benifit analysis of climate change adaptation in relation to road investment and maintenance operations (RoadAdapt)

The purpose of RoadAdapt is to test two new methods for assessing how well important road sections in Norway tolerate climate change, and possibly how much can be saved by implementing preventive measures.

Several of the major roads in Norway are closed for periods due to flooding, surface water and various types of landslides. Such problems are expected to increase due to climate change. Therefore, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration will obtain a better overview of where the issues lies and how far it pays to avoid problems in advance with prevention.

the Professionals make the assessments

The one method the researchers will try out, make use of the knowledge and experience of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s own professionals in various subject areas. The researchers will put their knowledge into a system by holding a series of structured gatherings.

These gatherings are set up so that professionals themselves make assessments of the consequences and probability of various incidents along a stretch of road. The researchers enter the assessments into a model to calculate the risk on the road section in a different climate.

The precautionary principle?

The second method to be tested in RoadAdapt is a tool for weighing costs against benefits. In other words: will it pay to prevent overwater on a flood-exposed road, or is the damage potential too small and the cost too high?

In this part of the study, the researchers calculate how much one can expect to save or lose by implementing preventive measures along the same stretch of road for which one calculates climate risk. The basis for the calculation is thus the risk assessment from the first method.

E-road 39

The road that will serve as a case in the study is a longer stretch of E39 between Agder and Sogn og Fjordane. Europaveg 39 starts in Trøndelag and runs via Trondheim, Ålesund, Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. The road was named E39 19 years ago.

Western Norway Research Institute is carrying out the project together with Menon Economics. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is the client.

The reports from the project can be found on Western Norway Research Institute's website.

start date: 25.09.2019

end date: 31.12.2019

financed by: The Norwegian Public Roads Administration

 
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Unchain

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Unpacking climate impact CHAINs. A new generation of action – and user-oriented climate change risk assessments (Unchain)

Unchain is an international research project about analyzing local climate risk together with the local inhabitants at the site. Western Norway Research Institute is leading the project, which has participants from several European countries.

The full project title of the Unchain project is Unpacking climate impact chains. A new generation of action- and user-oriented climate change risk assessments. In the years to come, climate change will continue to affect nature and society in various ways. This creates a number of undesirable climate risks, ranging from the increased risk of flooding in the cities to the fact that drinking water in the tap more often makes people ill due to increased run-off.

Risk can in most cases be reduced through various forms of adaptation measures. Traditionally, researchers and other "experts" have analyzed climate risk, but in Unchain, researchers and so-called "users" - people from outside academia - must work together to develop new methods for analyzing climate risk. The benefit is that one can pay more attention to local knowledge. The goal is that such a method in the next round will make it easier to design effective climate adaptation measures.

Other institutes in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Austria, Sweden and France also participates. The Norwegian part of the research is funded by the Research Council of Norway. The total budget for the project is NOK 20 million. The work will begin in September 2019 and will last for three years.

Read more about the project here.

START date: 01.09.2019

end date: 01.09.2022

financed by: the research council of norway

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Climate consequences Rogaland

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Assessing the consequences of climate change on nature and society in Rogaland - challenges, opportunities and priorities

In 2020, Rogaland will have its first county-wide climate adaptation plan, and Noradapt will provide an important part of the knowledge base.

The academic contribution is about describing the challenges and opportunities of climate change for the municipalities in Rogaland. The researchers from Western Norway Research Institute, CICERO and NORCE Social Sciences will propose measures and priorities for measures for Rogaland County Municipality. They will also contribute to compiling existing information on the consequences of climate change for nature and society in Rogaland.

financial consequences

Noradapt si utgreiing om klimakonsekvensar i Rogaland skal hjelpe Rogaland fylkeskommune i skrivinga av Regionalplan for klimatilpasning i Rogaland 2020-2050. Planen skal vedtakast hausten 2020.

Noradapt will map the consequences of climate change for different types of land in the county, with the main emphasis on vulnerability and robustness. In order to make the challenges concrete for the county municipality, the researchers will perform scenario assessments in selected areas. The economic consequences of climate change in various areas of society receive the greatest attention in this study.

Local profiles

The researchers aim to create climate profiles at the municipal level. Such profiles can be an important tool for systematizing local climate knowledge, as regional or county-specific climate profiles can become too general.

THREE steps

The work Noradapt performs for Rogaland County Council is divided into three sections:

  1. Analyze the overall consequences of climate change on nature and society in Rogaland

  2. Identify vulnerable and robust areas in Rogaland and discuss status, scenario and example

  3. Assess whether one can develop local climate profiles with an ecosystem approach, ie make connections between climate effects and what kind of habitat types characterize an area.

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute is a subcontractor of local climate analyzes in the project.

Read reports from the project on Western Norway Research Institutes's website.

START date: 20.08.19

end date: 31.12.19

financed by: ROGALAND FYLKESKOMMUNE