have expressed feeling heard but not listened to. In the case of the wetlands, the
main issue is not drought, but flooding. Here, the water level is controlled by the
dam. In addition, drinking water and recreational (yachting) use provide incentives
to raise reservoir water levels especially during normally dryer times, and often
consequently flood inland marches at odd season. Beyond this scope, drought
protection is not considered a serious issue for the region at the moment. Some
awareness is evolving among the stakeholders, but its development is slow.
Even when in Somerset a number of subsequent droughts in 2010–2012 occurred,
it was not always treated very seriously by the people in the region. Unlike nature
organizations and some farmers who experience the variation of the water levels
continuously, for most town dwellers droughts do not have immediately observed
consequences as they do for nature. For town dwellers, drought is mostly correlated
to fine weather. Nevertheless, all organized stakeholders were quite advanced to
integrate drought aspects into their water-related climate adaptation plans. There was
a proactive approach to drought management that was addressed across water
supply, environment and even nature. After the big floods climate adaptation was
reframed as recovery and mitigation from flooding, and reduced opportunities to
include double-sided measures in the proposals to support the resilience of nature
areas. Though the region is still recovering from the flood, there is still much
reluctance to “piggy back” the flooding recovery with the issue of climate adaptation. This is likely remaining unchanged at least until the next big drought. Even then
its consequences for nature should be cleverly communicated to a mostly urbanized
society to increase the legitimacy of drought resilience measures.
While drought certainly is not a chief concern in the Twente region of
Vechtstromen, awareness of drought risks for nature is widespread among institutional actors such as governments and NGOs. Water authorities and as well as
province administration and the nature organizations also take the issue of drought
seriously. This is less so among the broader public and parts of the agricultural
community. The aim of pilot projects in the area is to raise awareness. Nature
organizations in the region do regard desiccation as a serious problem, though the
impact of nitrogen deposits is sometimes even more serious. Over time, the
awareness is gradually growing, while the drought issue is repeatedly mentioned as
one of the consequences of climate change. For the same reason occasional flooding
is not interrupting this development: both sides of the coin are almost always
mentioned together, and thus both floods and periods of drought contribute to the
feeling that climate change is not a prediction anymore but an ongoing phenomenon.
The overview shows that the levels of awareness of climate change and drought
impacts on nature are generally not very high and that they vary among different
actors within each region. Among regions there is some variation in awareness,
with the Twente region of Vechtstromen being most aware of drought and its
impacts. The Somerset region is a close second in level of awareness. The floods
events in 2013–2014 caused a great disruption, displacing drought awareness and
placing concerns over drought in the rear. In spite of this, the development over time
of drought awareness is showing a gradual increase. Consistent communication of
the impacts of droughts and floods has helped to promote awareness and sustain
dialogue and action surrounding both.
12 Cross-cutting Perspective on Nature
241
main issue is not drought, but flooding. Here, the water level is controlled by the
dam. In addition, drinking water and recreational (yachting) use provide incentives
to raise reservoir water levels especially during normally dryer times, and often
consequently flood inland marches at odd season. Beyond this scope, drought
protection is not considered a serious issue for the region at the moment. Some
awareness is evolving among the stakeholders, but its development is slow.
Even when in Somerset a number of subsequent droughts in 2010–2012 occurred,
it was not always treated very seriously by the people in the region. Unlike nature
organizations and some farmers who experience the variation of the water levels
continuously, for most town dwellers droughts do not have immediately observed
consequences as they do for nature. For town dwellers, drought is mostly correlated
to fine weather. Nevertheless, all organized stakeholders were quite advanced to
integrate drought aspects into their water-related climate adaptation plans. There was
a proactive approach to drought management that was addressed across water
supply, environment and even nature. After the big floods climate adaptation was
reframed as recovery and mitigation from flooding, and reduced opportunities to
include double-sided measures in the proposals to support the resilience of nature
areas. Though the region is still recovering from the flood, there is still much
reluctance to “piggy back” the flooding recovery with the issue of climate adaptation. This is likely remaining unchanged at least until the next big drought. Even then
its consequences for nature should be cleverly communicated to a mostly urbanized
society to increase the legitimacy of drought resilience measures.
While drought certainly is not a chief concern in the Twente region of
Vechtstromen, awareness of drought risks for nature is widespread among institutional actors such as governments and NGOs. Water authorities and as well as
province administration and the nature organizations also take the issue of drought
seriously. This is less so among the broader public and parts of the agricultural
community. The aim of pilot projects in the area is to raise awareness. Nature
organizations in the region do regard desiccation as a serious problem, though the
impact of nitrogen deposits is sometimes even more serious. Over time, the
awareness is gradually growing, while the drought issue is repeatedly mentioned as
one of the consequences of climate change. For the same reason occasional flooding
is not interrupting this development: both sides of the coin are almost always
mentioned together, and thus both floods and periods of drought contribute to the
feeling that climate change is not a prediction anymore but an ongoing phenomenon.
The overview shows that the levels of awareness of climate change and drought
impacts on nature are generally not very high and that they vary among different
actors within each region. Among regions there is some variation in awareness,
with the Twente region of Vechtstromen being most aware of drought and its
impacts. The Somerset region is a close second in level of awareness. The floods
events in 2013–2014 caused a great disruption, displacing drought awareness and
placing concerns over drought in the rear. In spite of this, the development over time
of drought awareness is showing a gradual increase. Consistent communication of
the impacts of droughts and floods has helped to promote awareness and sustain
dialogue and action surrounding both.
12 Cross-cutting Perspective on Nature
241