LIFE-MICACC project
LIFE16 CCA/HU/000115
"Municipalities as integrators and coordinators
in adaptation to climate change"
LIFE-MICACC project
LIFE16 CCA/HU/000115
"Municipalities as integrators and coordinators
in adaptation to climate change"
ADAPT2CLIMA
(LIFE14 CCA/GR/000928 project, entitled “Adaptation to Climate change Impacts on the Mediterranean islands' Agriculture”)
Second International Conference
Crete is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean, it is largely divided by barren mountain ranges with the exception of the Messara Plain. Looking at the landscape in summer, we would think that we have arrived in a drier area than Hungary. Few people know that Crete, especially in the western part is not at all dry, with an annual rainfall of up to 1500 millimetres (for comparison: Hungary’s average annual rainfall is around 550-600 millimetres). The problem here is due to the distribution of precipitation, as 90% of these enormous amount rainfalls during the winter and almost none in the summer. That’s what we need to learn about water management and climate adaptation, as uneven precipitation are becoming more prevalent in Hungary.
“It is important to follow the research in the Mediterranean, especially on water retention, as the effects of climate change and aridification make the biggest impact there. This is the best platform for collecting good practices.” Boglárka Lakatos, PANNON Pro Innovation Services Ltd. |
At the end of June 2019, the LIFE-MICACC project travelled to Crete to attend an international conference on adaptation to climate change organized by the LIFE project. Not only did we hear about water management issues there, as Sicily and Cyprus are also involved in the organizing LIFE project. In addition, the conference was truly international, with speakers from Poland, Australia and the Philippines.
“The biggest benefit of the LIFE ADAPT2CLIMA conference was that we could see that there are many projects in the international arena that work in a field similar to MICACC. In many lectures we have heard of work that overlaps, in whole or in part, with our activities, which is certainly encouraging.” Mátyás Farkas, WWF World Wide Fund for Nature Hungary Foundation |
For two days in two parallel sessions, we listened to presentations, first on expected impacts and then on proposals for solutions specifically for water management and agriculture. In addition, there was a section focused on local adaptation, creating climate strategies and there was a mitigation section too.
“It is a fundamental experience, that adaptation is increasingly important in Europe, both at government and local level. We have heard of several project elements similar to MICACC actions.” Klára Kerpely, WWF World Wide Fund for Nature Hungary Foundation |
During the intermission between the presentations, we had many opportunities for informal discussions with professionals working in similar fields like us, so we could have a longer talk with Vassilios Pisinaras, a member of LIFE AgroClimaWater.
Last but not least, the attendance at the conference helped out staff prepare for presenting our LIFE project at similar international conferences over the next two years:
“For me, the first day of the conference was more informative, not only from a professional point of view, but also from practical experience of how to give a good presentation.” Zsófia Szabó, Municipality of Bátya |
Since the LIFE-MICACC project is not yet in the phase to deliver results, for this reason, we have not a specific presentation , but we exhibited a poster, which describes the specific problems and innovative solutions for the five pilot areas of the project. The poster can be reached here.
The program, presentations and manuscripts from the conference are available here.
LIFE ADAPT2CLIMA International Conference, June 25, 2019 Heraklion, Greece
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