technical and advisory services for financing and realising projects related to
climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation.
• Transnational cooperation and exchanges of experience with adaptation
processes: Knowledge transfer across national borders and between managers
of individual sites must be improved.
• Awareness raising: Dedicated action should be taken to raise awareness of the
local effects of climate change and the need for adaptation. The benefits of
ecosystem-based adaptation through climate-adapted management in protected
areas should be explored and illustrated in this regard. The potential of adaptation
activities in protected areas to provide win-win situations for strengthening environmental, economic and societal resilience on the local level must be capitalised.
• Guidance for land use-related adaptation activities: Cooperative processes
based on stakeholder involvement should be strengthened to guide autonomous
or unplanned adaptation of other sectors (e.g. farming, forestry or water
management). Existing provisions for the protection of natural resources need
to be enforced and economic instruments (e.g. subsidies and rural development
programmes) must be harmonised to prevent maladaptation. Climate change
policies of other sectors must not become an additional threat to biodiversity.
20.6 Priorities for Future Work and Open Questions
20.6.1 Adaptation as a Cross-Sectoral Issue
Biodiversity protection is an important component of sustainable economic growth
and the protection of societal systems. Climate change adaptation cannot be
planned and implemented separately for biodiversity protection. Climate change
adaptation will involve changes in land and natural asset use. All sectors and
policies have to plan adaptation strategies and often these sectors will need additional areas to mitigate the impacts of climate change, for adaptation measures and
for nature disaster protection. As long as the adaptation of different sectors is not
coordinated, conflicts will arise and the objectives of biodiversity and nature
conservation will be harder to achieve, causing ecological and ultimately economic
damage. Therefore, climate change adaptation needs to be understood as a coherent
cross-sector task with common aims but specific measures.
20.6.2 Adaptation as a Long-Term Process
Adaptation processes are focused on the regional and local level. Climate change is
starting to affect protected areas on the local level. This trend will continue and
many regions will have to handle the intensifying impacts for a long time. Hence,
20 Conclusions and Recommendations for Adapting Conservation Management. . .
299
climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation.
• Transnational cooperation and exchanges of experience with adaptation
processes: Knowledge transfer across national borders and between managers
of individual sites must be improved.
• Awareness raising: Dedicated action should be taken to raise awareness of the
local effects of climate change and the need for adaptation. The benefits of
ecosystem-based adaptation through climate-adapted management in protected
areas should be explored and illustrated in this regard. The potential of adaptation
activities in protected areas to provide win-win situations for strengthening environmental, economic and societal resilience on the local level must be capitalised.
• Guidance for land use-related adaptation activities: Cooperative processes
based on stakeholder involvement should be strengthened to guide autonomous
or unplanned adaptation of other sectors (e.g. farming, forestry or water
management). Existing provisions for the protection of natural resources need
to be enforced and economic instruments (e.g. subsidies and rural development
programmes) must be harmonised to prevent maladaptation. Climate change
policies of other sectors must not become an additional threat to biodiversity.
20.6 Priorities for Future Work and Open Questions
20.6.1 Adaptation as a Cross-Sectoral Issue
Biodiversity protection is an important component of sustainable economic growth
and the protection of societal systems. Climate change adaptation cannot be
planned and implemented separately for biodiversity protection. Climate change
adaptation will involve changes in land and natural asset use. All sectors and
policies have to plan adaptation strategies and often these sectors will need additional areas to mitigate the impacts of climate change, for adaptation measures and
for nature disaster protection. As long as the adaptation of different sectors is not
coordinated, conflicts will arise and the objectives of biodiversity and nature
conservation will be harder to achieve, causing ecological and ultimately economic
damage. Therefore, climate change adaptation needs to be understood as a coherent
cross-sector task with common aims but specific measures.
20.6.2 Adaptation as a Long-Term Process
Adaptation processes are focused on the regional and local level. Climate change is
starting to affect protected areas on the local level. This trend will continue and
many regions will have to handle the intensifying impacts for a long time. Hence,
20 Conclusions and Recommendations for Adapting Conservation Management. . .
299