The European RegionsAdapt initiative highlights some of the Urban Klima 2050 actions and the coastal risk analysis carried out in the Basque Country
20/04/2023
The 2021-2022 progress report of the European RegionsAdapt initiative gives the videometry installation and early warning systems for monitoring the effect of waves and adapting to climate change on the Basque coast as an example, as well as the study into alternatives for adapting the Zarautz seawall.
The European RegionsAdapt initiative, which is part of the Regions4 international network of regional governments, harnesses ambition and action on climate adaptation, facilitating access to the latest innovations, tools and best practices at a regional level around the world. In its 2021-2022 progress report, it identifies the Basque Country as a region in which coastal adaptation to climate change has been identified as one of its priorities, and highlights the actions it has in place to adapt to rising sea levels caused by climate change.
Under the heading ‘Regions in action: preparing for rising waters on the Basque coast’, the publication gives the actions of the LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050 project in urban areas where “video monitoring systems and weather forecasting systems are implemented to prevent risks in coastal areas and to integrate the new information into risk prevention plans”. The report also refers to the ‘Study of alternatives for actions in rigid environments on the Zarautz beach’, which was drawn up in 2021 and “focuses on its promenade, with the idea of reducing the impacts of the combined effect of waves and tides on it”, together with “a second initiative to analyse the impact of climate change on energy infrastructures”.
Furthermore, the report mentions the Kostaegoki project, which was prepared by Ihobe to provide relevant information and tools to the competent bodies in relation to the effects of rising average sea levels caused by climate change and the impact of waves on the Basque coast, with a view to using them to plan and manage coastal areas in order to meet the challenges posed by this global phenomenon. In addition, this project comes with a cartographic viewer (https://gis.ihobe.eus/kostaegoki/) which makes it possible to view both the flood spots in different scenarios and the results of the risk assessments carried out.
