The conference "Cities and Climate Change – the deluge ahead" on the prevention, adaptation and management of heavy rainfalls took place in Münster on 7 April 2016. The conference brought together 180 participants from management, policy, science, consultancy and practice and was organized by the Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKULNV) and the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy, Building, Housing and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MBWSV). The objective of the conference was to provide a platform for dialogue and exchange between the participants. The knowledge transfer was aimed at increasing the awareness of climate impacts as well as showing the need for prevention.
The conference was organised to mark the occasion of Münster’s heavy rain event in July 2014in, which was foreseen but nevertheless caused significant damage to the city. Many other extreme weather events have shown that municipalities are not sufficiently prepared.
The discussions and presentations showed that one of the biggest challenges is changing the thinking and actions of relevant actors. Active collaboration and cooperation on all levels are needed to bring forward climate protection and adaptation in the future. Exchange and knowledge transfer across various disciplines, administrative levels and actors at all levels are particularly important.
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