Cooperation and participation process for the further development of the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (participation process DAS)

In consideration of the ongoing climate change, adaptation to its inevitable consequences has gained relevance in recent years both in research and in politics. In Germany, the Federal Government resolved the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS) in December 2008 and the Adaptation Action Plan (APA) in August 2011. The APA is continually evolving: A progress report on the implementation of the measures and an update in form of an "Adaptation Action Plan 2" (APA 2) were formulated in the end of 2015.

The DAS aims at involving relevant stakeholders in the development and implementation of the Action Plan through communication and participation processes. Together with the project partners IKU, ecolo – Agentur für Ökologie und Kommunikation and Dr. Torsten Grothmann the IÖW accompanies and consults the competency centre “KomPass - Climate Impacts and Adaptation in Germany” in the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) regarding these participation processes.

In the project, regular participation processes were evaluated and recommendations for future events were developed. Furthermore, the development of the progress report was supported by an online consultation. Stakeholders are continuously involved through different participatory approaches (stakeholder dialogues, national dialogue events, online consultation, market places, workshops) and informed through a newsletter on climate adaptation. Additionally, the project team conducts pre-studies for the establishment of KlimAdapt, a platform for climate adaptation services. The project hence contributes to the development and perpetuation of the national adaptation process through various participatory formats.