Rio Ceira River Basin
DSB has been a Norwegian project partner (donor project partner) in a predefined project in Portugal, under the programme area, Climate Change and Climate Adaptation. The project promoter is the Portuguese Environment Agency (AGA).
The project was a follow-up to the climate programme from the previous funding period and aimed to reduce vulnerability to climate change for the area associated with the Rio Ceiras (near the city of Coimbra) river basin. The Rio Ceira River is located in an area that was hit hard by the extensive forest fires that ravaged Portugal in 2017. Local partners in the project consisted of municipalities in the region, local NGOs and universities.
Plans for the management of natural resources and ecosystems, including river basins, need to be reassessed and updated in order to increase resilience to current and future impacts of climate change. The project strengthened the management of the Rio Ceira's river basin, ecosystems in and around the river, as well as incorporating past and present socio-cultural aspects related to the river.
Vulnerability analysis of climate change
DSB was a Norwegian project partner (donor project partner) in a predefined project in Portugal that focused on vulnerability assessments of climate change, under the programme area Climate change and climate adaptation. The project promoter is the Portuguese Environment Agency (AGA).
The project, National Roadmap for Adaptation, aimed to support the public measures for adaptation to climate change, set at different levels of territorial intervention. Particular emphasis was placed on the implementation of the Sendai framework, and the project was a direct follow-up after the major forest fires in Portugal in 2017.
The existing vulnerability assessments in Portugal were carried out at the beginning of 2000, focusing on sectors. These assessments were updated with the latest available information on climate change by territories/regions, given the marked differences that exist in mainland Portugal and archipelagos.
One of the changes introduced in the revision of the National Spatial Planning Programme was the integration of adaptation as one of the main drivers for the future assessment of territorial interventions.
The predefined project has contributed to this vulnerability assessment update. A key objective of the assessment has been to support the local, regional and national levels for the implementation of climate change adaptation.