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Research programmes in support of the development of national adaptation policies
Italy

The Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea (IMELS) has initiated the process of the preparation of the Italian National Adaptation Strategy to climate change. This aims to provide guidelines for short and long term adaptation, to support the mainstreaming of adaptation in current sectoral policies and to inform future adaptation action plans. A national project called SNAC (“Elementi per una Strategia Nazionale di Adattamento ai Cambiamenti Climatici”) “Elements to develop a National Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change” has been funded by the IMELS, from 2012 to 2014. A comprehensive scientific literature review provided an extensive knowledge base on past, present and future climate change and on impacts and vulnerabilities of micro/macro sectors to climate change (water resources; desertification, soil degradation and droughts; hydrogeological risk; biodiversity and ecosystems; health; forestry; agriculture, aquaculture and fishery; energy; coastal zones; tourism; urban settlements; critical infrastructures). Vulnerability assessments also generated information for two case studies (the mountain areas of the Alps and Apennines, and the Po river basin).

Knowledge base produced through this process was further enhanced by an ongoing dialogue on climate change adaptation among national institutions. Two panels were established for this purpose. An “institutional panel” coordinated by the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea, involving representatives of relevant institutions (e.g. Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies, Ministry of Health) and other institutional stakeholders (e.g. Department of Civil Protection, Union of Italian Provinces), and a "technical panel of experts", involving about 100 members of the national scientific community (Medri et al., 2013). The involvement of stakeholders at multiple levels was one of the advantages of the adopted approach, contributing not only to the provision of information for the development of the Italian NAS but also to raising the awareness for the need for efficient adaptation planning.

More information: www.minabiente.it; www.cmcc.it/projects/snac-elements-to-develop-a-national-adaptation-strategy-to-climate-change