Groningen and North Drenthe take action to limit the effects of climate change
Government agencies, water boards, and water utilities in the provinces of Groningen and North Drenthe—20 in total—have endorsed the Regional Climate Adaptation Strategy. This is a collaborative approach aimed at making the region climate- and water-resilient by 2050, thereby preparing it for the impacts of climate change. With different starting points for the organizations involved area-specific a joint area-specific effort is being made to work with climate change.
Henk Kosters, alderman of Noordenveld and vice-chair of the Climate Adaptation Steering Group: “To make our region climate-resilient, we need to step up our efforts together. vigour this strategy lies in its area-specific approach, in which water and soil guide spatial planning. We are also focusing as much as possible on the connexion other societal challenges, such as healthcare, construction, and housing."
Focus on collaboration
The Regional Climate Adaptation Strategy identifies challenges related to land use planning, but above all to collaboration. Melissa van Hoorn, a member of the Provincial Executive of Groningen: "By joining forces, we are ensuring that our region will be well prepared for increasingly extreme weather in the future. We have therefore translated these challenges into guiding principles for the organizations involved."
These principles focus on retaining and temporarily storing rainwater and mitigating heat. Opportunities to combine functions are also important, such as a solar farm with a balancing lake promoting biodiversity by increasing green spaces in urban areas. Other topics include researching the impact of drought on urban areas, establishing agreements on climate-resilient new construction, exchanging knowledge on the design of business parks and industrial areas, and raising awareness of climate change among residents, such as the conscious and efficient use of water.
Risks
The organizations involved have queue the risks and vulnerabilities. Various tests show that the Groningen/North Drenthe region is vulnerable to the effects of heat, drought, heavy rainfall, and flooding. For example, we see vulnerability to heat and drought in urban areas and on higher sandy soils. Among other things, this can have consequences for human health. In low-lying areas, we see particular impacts on housing and work during heavy precipitation, with the associated risk of flooding. The risks and vulnerabilities have been analysed discussed, and this strategy has been developed based on that analysis.
Taking steps
The Regional Climate Adaptation Strategy is the regional implementation of the national Delta Program for Spatial Adaptation (2018), which aims to make the Netherlands climate- and water-resilient. Discussions are then held with various organizations to further develop the strategy and identify projects that will lead to a regional implementation agenda. In the working region, €13.1 million from the national Climate Adaptation Impulse Scheme fund is available for measures.