30 August 2012, Tallin, Estonia
Baltic Sea Region (www.eu.baltic.net)
In spite of the need to encounter negative consequences of a changing environment, the literature suggests that there may be a more positive attitude and differing perceptions towards the impacts of climate change: In the Baltic Sea region, climate change seems to be mainly viewed as an opportunity and less than a challenge. Here, climate change and ongoing socio-economic transformation and industrialized agriculture may be considered as main causes of strong and multiple impacts of climate change. In contrast to this, Latin America is expected to be faced with serious challenges due to climate change. In this context, CELA partner Tallinn University of Technology (TUT) organized the third international capacity-building seminar on “Opportunities and challenges for climate-smart adaptation in Europe and Latin America” on 30 August 2012. More than 50 participants from authorities, enterprises, the academic sector and the organized civil society (NGOs) as well as the international group of CELA partners attended the seminar. The event was hosted by the Estonian Ministry of the Environment in the capitol city of Estonia, Tallinn.
Mr. Meelis Münt, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of the Environment, underscored in his opening speech that adaptation was absolutely relevant for his Baltic Sea state. The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe and often regarded as one of the largest bodies of brackish water in the world.
Next, Prof Enn Loigu, Director of the Department of Environmental Engineering, Tallinn University of Technology, welcomed the participants and international project partners. He reminded the audience of the ongoing need for more awareness of climate change, its causes and consequences and its global dimension which may sometimes be overlooked in those countries such as Estonia that may not have to cope with climate impacts in the same way as the Central and Southern American region, for example, where flooding, severe periods of droughts, extreme events and the melting of glaciers can be observed already today.
Mrs Reeli Jacobi from the Estonian Ministry of the Environment informed the audience about Estonia’s current efforts in developing a national climate change adaptation strategy which is expected to be finalized in 2015. To date, Estonia does not yet have formulated a dedicated climate change adaptation strategy, however, a range of measures is at least taken under sectorial plans reaching out until 2020, such as the forest development plan, the health plan, the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action plan or the Nature Conservation Development Plan. Features of adaptation have also been reflected in the Environment Action Plan, the Development Plan and the Ambient Air Program. Moreover, several recent EU-funded projects, for example ASTRA, BaltCICA, BaltAdapt or BaltClim, supported Estonia on the road towards developing a national adaptation strategy.
Further expert speakers from Estonia included Mrs Agne Aruväli from the Ministry of the Environment who spoke about Estonia’s implementation of the EU Flood directive due by 2015, Prof Alvina Reihan from TUT who introduced the recent EU research project Promitheas-4 about the evaluation of mitigation and adaptation policy portfolios resulting in prioritization of research needs and gaps.
Jan Karremans, Technical Director of EUROCLIMA
Finally, a range of climate change projects from the Baltic Sea Region as well as from Latin America were presented, the Baltic Climate Project by Mrs Piret Kuldna from the Stockholm Environment Institute which conducted vulnerability analyses for the BSR region and produced a toolkit which includes 120 examples in 15 topics, e.g. good planning practice, vulnerability analyses etc. The BaltClim Project which is developing roadmaps for adaptation strategy development in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was presented by Mrs Laura Remmelgas from the Baltic Environmental Forum. Widening the scope to Latin America, the organizers welcomed Jan Karremans (see picture), Technical Director of the EUROCLIMA regional cooperation program, which focuses on the development of climate-smart public policies in Latin America.
Last but not least, the CELA partners ran the afternoon session with a set of presentations on the state of adaptation to climate change in their home countries.
Download the presentations here:
Programme: CELA seminar 2012, Tallinn
(254.3 KiB, 257 hits)
01 Introduction
Leal (443.1 KiB, 146 hits)
02 Moving toward climate change adaptation strategy for Estonia
Reeli Jakobi (2.3 MiB, 210 hits)
03 Flood directive implementation work in Estonia
Agne Aruväli (642.8 KiB, 163 hits)
04 Climate change mitigation/adaptation policy instruments in Estonia – introduction of PROMITHEAS-4 project
Assoc. Prof. Alvina Reihan, Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Environmental Engineering (1.6 MiB, 294 hits)
05 Baltic Challenges and Chances for local and regional development generated by Climate Change – BalticClimate
Piret Kuldna, Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre (760.0 KiB, 142 hits)
06 Approaching national adaptation strategies to climate change in the Baltic States (BaltClim)
Laura Remmelgas, MTÜ Balti Keskkonnafoorum (65.4 KiB, 184 hits)
07 EUROCLIMA regional cooperation programme: science and networking for climate-smart public policies
Jan Karremans, Director Technical Assistance (1.9 MiB, 134 hits)
08 Renewable Energies and Sustainability: Bolivia
M. Sc. Horacio Villegas Quino, Institute of Socio-Economic Research (IISEC) / Bolivian Catholic University (908.6 KiB, 236 hits)
09 Climate-smart adaptation in Guatemala
Dr. Nelson Amaro, Ph.D., International Cooperation Advisor to the Vicepresidency, CELA Director, Universidad Galileo, Guatemala (614.4 KiB, 175 hits)
10 Towards Climate Change Samrt Adaptation in Peru
Muñoz, Department of Engineering Peruvian Catholic University - PUCP and Chavez, Department of Climate Change, Desertification and Hydrological Resources (1.6 MiB, 203 hits)
11 CLIMATE-SMART ADAPTATION IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR- EXAMPLES FROM NICARAGUA
NEJAMA NARVAEZ (1.6 MiB, 188 hits)
12 Climate-smart adaptation – current initiatives and best practice examples from the EU
Prof. Walter Leal, HAW Hamburg, Germany (2.3 MiB, 176 hits)
