1. Key Results and Recommendations
ESPACE: European Spatial Planning: Adapting to Climate Events
Key Results and Recommendations
Bryan Boult
Head of Environment Futures and Sustainability
Hampshire County Council
EEA Expert Meeting on Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Indicators,
September 2008

2. Issues for North West Europe
High population densities
Valuable ecological assets
High economic prosperity
Climate change will impact significantly on all of
these sectors.
Spatial planning systems have a crucial part to play in minimising these impacts but they currently do not take account of climate change.
One of the key areas of work is the development of a suite of new tools and models for practitioners and policy makers to test existing policies and to look at how they stand up to the impacts of climate change. 
One of these tools is the Decision Testing Tool which will allow strategic decisions to be simulated and tested against a range of future climate scenarios. This tool will allow the user to assess how sustainable various decisions are to the uncertain future that climate change will bring.
Using the Main River catchment in Germany as a case study area, the Bavarian Water Management Agency (LFW) are developing a suite of models to simulate the impact of regional climatic changes on water management (e.g. - changes to the discharge levels and flood frequencies). The modelling work has already had an impact at a National level - in 2004 the results of the model simulations were used to formulate the first ever statement for the adaptation of flood protection by the Bavarian Ministry.
The current regional water system in The Netherlands is not large enough to cope with the predicted increase in the frequency and intensity of rainfall.  In an attempt to 'make space for water', Waterschap Rivierenland (WSRL) has developed a range of Guiding Models that can be used in regional planning in the search for water storage areas  (ESPACE Project 2004a). In these models, several functions are interconnected to water such as ecology, cultural history, agriculture, tourism and urban issues.  This ensures that the models can be used as a holistic tool for planning by taking the characteristics of the local environment into account in the decision making process. 

3. Barriers
Lack of institutional frameworks to support adaptation to climate change
Lack of policies / legislation
Lack of awareness amongst planners and decision makers
Complexity of planning systems / frameworks
Inability of institutional frameworks to support adaptation
Uncertainty of impacts of climate change
Uncertainty of extent of adaptation required
Uncertainty of which adaptation measures are appropriate or will be successful

4. ESPACE Aims
Ensure adaptation is recognised and incorporated into spatial planning systems at the European, national, regional and local levels.
Develop adaptation strategies and policy guidance to deal with the long-term impacts of climate change.
Raise awareness amongst a wide range of stakeholders.

5. “Putting adaptation at the heart of spatial planning”
The Strategy
“Putting adaptation at the heart of spatial planning”
Partners spent 4 years developing both the overarching strategic outputs and the detailed policy guidance, tools and policies
Working within the project was undertaken at a range of levels:
Partner specific case studies
Case study specific smaller groupings pf partners
Collectively as part of the wider ESPACE partnership
Workshops and conferences built on the work of the partnership but also allowed for input from a much wider audience
Range of outputs have been delivered targeted at different levels (i.e. organisations, through to governments to the European Union

6. 14 Recommendations
The 14 recommendations are the “fundamental principles” of the ESPACE Project
Each recommendation is complemented by a series of case studies, tools and examples of policy advice
Aimed at all levels of governance including European Institutions, national governments and regional and local authorities.

7. 3 Key Recommendations
Make Climate Change adaptation a core objective of spatial planning
Look beyond the lifetime of your plan by understanding your climate risks
Combine two approaches for integrating adaptation into spatial planning
Managing change
Risk management

8. ESPACE Extension
Through the delivery of ESPACE, it became apparent that there are some major obstacles to the delivery and implementation of adaptation to climate change at the local level.
The ESPACE Partnership felt strongly that there was a need to investigate both what the key barriers are and how to overcome them.
This led to the ESPACE Extension.
The basis to the Extension was to better understand what needs to change in order for adaptation to climate change to be implemented effectively by the relevant local implementation/delivery agencies.

9. Conclusion – Review of Policy Barriers
This research shows that adaptation is not yet viewed as an overarching policy objective, nor yet is it considered essential to our ability to meet other policy objectives, like sustainability.
In undertaking this work, we assumed that many of the barriers to adaptation would come from policy itself, but we found that there are significant barriers in the perception and interpretation of policy. This finding underlines the importance of combining change management and risk management approaches for integrating adaptation into spatial planning.
This piece of work has uncovered areas that need further investigation in terms of climate change adaptation, and this report formed the baseline for other projects in the ESPACE Extension, which investigated perceived vs. real barriers in spatial planning policy.

10. Conclusions from Partners’ Actions
Increase the adaptation knowledge of and relevance for leaders and decision-makers
Pursue policy consistency through shared guidelines
Tap into existing partnerships and networks
Improve access to information and advice
Need to convince local politicians of urgency
Difficulty to define climate proof due to complexity
Lack of instruments and guidance to deliver policies
Cash for knowledge building in practice promised by Government
Do not put climate change in special box
Multi functionality is essential (air quality + heat islands, infrastructure + flood defense)
Cross sectoral approach (organisations)
Professional boundaries must be crossed

11. Conclusions
How national governments set legislation and the culture of how legislation is interpreted, is an important influence on whether policies pose barriers to adaptation
At the European level, consistency of legislation allows experiences to be shared across the Member States, but also creates problems with a “one size fits all” approach.

12. EEA Workshop Discussion Points
How best to structure the monitoring of adaptation actions?
How to possibly develop vulnerability indicators?

13. Key Issues at National Level
Climate proof !?
Urgency? Responsibilities? Behavioural change?
How should we deal with uncertainties?
How do we reserve space for investments (possibly) needed in the future?
Analysis of vulnerability
How are threats and opportunities of areas analysed and used?
Strategies
Which spatial strategies are carried out to enhance resilience
and flexibility?
Measures
How are climate proof measures realised in the development,
planning and design of areas, housing districts and buildings?

14. Outline Strategic Vulnerability Analysis
Before the plan process begins use 3 key ESPACE recommendations
To achieve truly ‘sustainable development’, make climate change adaptation a core activity in spatial planning
Climate change adds an extra dimension to planning - it can challenge basic assumptions on availability of land (change the shape of the country) and its uses over medium and long term.
Adopt 2 main approaches :- Change & Risk Management
Prepare to review national planning laws, policies, codes etc to ensure climate risks are considered over whole of the decision lifetime

15. National Strategy Reduce vulnerability + enhance adaptive capacity
Resistance, resilience and flexibility (= climate proof)
Risk management
Sensible use of natural systems (soil, water, air and ecosystems)
Prevent social and economic disruption
Minimise undesirable effects
Identify opportunities (economic, spatial quality)

16. Adaptation / Resilience Indicators
Most of the current indicators being used to measure adaptation are process indicators – i.e. they monitor progress made in identifying adaptation actions in different sectors and how far they have been implemented.
Climate change presents a wide variety of pressures, and the relative urgency of these pressure may change over time, from area to area, and as our response to climate change develops.
Therefore it is impossible to generate
a single set of indicators to measure
resilience for all time.
As a highly strategic issue that challenges many underpinning assumptions of business-as-usual,
climate change poses significant organisational development challenges to most organisations.
Hampshire County Council, SECCP and ABA have been developing a tool for assessing
organisational capacity to respond to climate change.

17. Indicators
It is important to consider the development of indicators for assessing both vulnerability and adaptation within the context of spatial planning.
Understanding the risks / vulnerability
Assessing resilience
How to adapt to risks and improve resilience – i.e. methodology – includes spatial planning, behaviour change etc.
Measuring progress – output indicators, longer-term progress, data issues
Reviewing “plans”
As a highly strategic issue that challenges many underpinning assumptions of business-as-usual,
climate change poses significant organisational development challenges to most organisations.
Hampshire County Council, SECCP and ABA have been developing a tool for assessing
organisational capacity to respond to climate change.

18. Indicators - Conclusions
Output indicators for adaptation can only be realistically developed for the local level.
Generic “global” indicators are only likely to measure process not outputs.
Spatial planning does provide an opportunity to tie these two issues together to develop a coherent approach to adaptation.
As a highly strategic issue that challenges many underpinning assumptions of business-as-usual,
climate change poses significant organisational development challenges to most organisations.
Hampshire County Council, SECCP and ABA have been developing a tool for assessing
organisational capacity to respond to climate change.

19. Organisational Change Tool
ESPACE – An Innovative Approach
Organisational Change Tool

20. Organisational Change Tool
What enables one organisation to tackle climate change more effectively than another?
How does an organisation know when it's stalled on the climate change agenda?
What does an organisation have to do next in order to progress?
As a highly strategic issue that challenges many underpinning assumptions of business-as-usual,
climate change poses significant organisational development challenges to most organisations.
Hampshire County Council, SECCP and ABA have been developing a tool for assessing
organisational capacity to respond to climate change.

21. Organisational Change Tool
Improving the capacity of organisations to respond to climate change through:
Identifying where organisations and projects stand in key performance areas
Targeting improvements
Maintaining progress
Defining work programmes

22. Organisational Change Tool
6 Distinct Levels:
Level 6 – The ‘Champion Organisation’
Level 5 – Strategic Resilience
Level 4 – Breakthrough Project
Level 3 – Efficient Management
Level 2 – Stakeholder Responsive
Level 1 – Core Business Focused
Research suggests that organisational responses to sustainable development issues such as
climate change progress in levels, with each Response Level both providing new capabilities and
providing a foundation for work at the next level. While not every organisation needs to act
from the highest levels, bodies that take substantial decisions which will affect communities,
services and estates over decades – e.g. major public bodies – do need the ability to work from
the higher levels when needed, as well as the systems to provide solid activity on a day to day
basis.

23. Further Information