The Alpine region is subject to more severe, more recurrent and more unpredictable disasters connected with Climate Change (CC), with higher impacts on nature and humans. Conventional weather patterns are being replaced with volatile climate events that are becoming increasingly difficult to cope with. Working on managing these uncertainties and facing the catastrophic events that derive from CC is an urgent matter that has to be dealt with NOW in order to give Highly Affected and Exposed Territories (HAET) a fighting chance.

ADAPTNOW will work on strengthening the adaptive capacity of HAET by implementing and evaluating the available climate adaptation and risk mitigation management tools and practices, assessing the Climate Adaptation Plans and developing Climate Services to support the territories and their local public authorities.  

Ultimately, ADAPTNOW aims at making risk and adaptation planning more integrated, collaborative and inclusive. This will be reached through a more dynamic, agile and participatory planning process in which all local stakeholders need to be involved. 

ADAPTNOW brings together regional sectoral agencies and research centers from five AS countries to support Pilot Actions and help set up and run Climate Services in support of 7+ HAET in the Alps. The consortium has decided to focus their efforts in implementing and evaluating the adaptive capacity of pilots within predominant hazards in the Alps: Heatwaves, Heavy rains/floods and Gravitational/landslides. Key sectors have been identified to assess related impacts: Urban infrastructure, Forestry, Tourism and Health. 

A replication action will link at least 6 additional HAET outside the consortium to test the replicability of climate adaptation and risk mitigation tools and practices, climate services and policy recommendations to ensure that HAET in the Alps can also strengthen their adaptation capacities.

Contact person: Fabio Carnelli (fabio.carnelli@eurac.edu)