"Guidance for decision-makers, produced in the context of the INTERREG IIIB project "Developing policies and adaptation strategies to climate change in the Baltic Sea region (ASTRA)"--P. 2.

Climate change and ongoing transformation processes in economy and agriculture will have strong and multiple impacts in the Baltic region. In particular coastal zones face increasing hazards, e.g. due to sea level rise or changes in riverine nutrient loads and eutrophication. These changes also offer a wide range of new opportunities in the Baltic Region. Adaptation measures are needed but require a thorough and spatially differentiated understanding of underlying ecological, economic and social processes. Sixteen contributions by authors from eight countries give a comprehensive overview of these changes, their consequences and practical challenges with focus on coastal zones. Besides risks, the chances and opportunities of changes for the region are addressed and adaptation examples and strategies are given. The practitioners’ perspective and their demands are integrated in the various contributions.

Climate change adaptation is increasingly recognized as complementary part to climate change mitigation. Climate change affects sea level, the extent of flood prone areas and precipitation patterns among many others. To adapt to these changes, the tasks of municipalities and cities are to implement policies and strategies for changes in land use and coastal management as part of their future development. It is of vital importance to address the uncertainties of climate change scenarios when proposing adaptation measures that are socially viable and economically reasonable. The decision making process, promoted here, is based on scientific excellence as well on an integrated communication process. This book provides a comprehensive overview of key elements required for effective analysis and assessment of climate change impacts, economic cost-benefit analysis, communication processes and creation and transfer of knowledge, governance issues and implementation of related policies. It describes the results achieved by the BaltCICA (www.baltcica.org) project whose contributors come from the scientific and public administration communities. The regional cooperation has led to the implementation of climate change adaptation in several case studies. The BaltCICA project developed concepts, methodologies and tools for climate change adaptation that can be translated across other global regions. Scientists and students working on the development of climate change and adaptation strategies; public administrators in the related fields on local, regional and state level including environment, water management, civil defense; as well as professionals working with adaptation technologies, including engineering, technological solutions, urban planning agencies and construction, will value this innovative book.

The sociocultural and environmental dimensions of adapting to climate change in coastal regions and beyond take centre stage in this edited volume. Scientists from an interdisciplinary background address questions of how to cope with the challenge of climate change in different contexts. The book highlights aspects of coastal adaptation, response strategies, and factors for success at regional and local levels. A changing climate not only affects the natural world. Social aspects both are affected by and cause climate change, so need to be considered in adapting to it. Being key factors in creating and solving the challenges of climate change, end users, decision makers and local residents need to be encouraged to take action and adapt. Contents * Climate change in the Baltic Sea region. * Public environmental administration and local integration Tasks and perspectives * Regional perspectives concerning climate change and coastal adaptation. * Barriers to organizational adaptation processes * Social learning in climate change adaptation. Evaluating participatory planning * Climate change and a democratic culture * Taking on the challenge of household-level adaptation. * Socioeconomic and cultural issues in the planning, implementation and transfer of adaptation measures to climate change. * The example of two communities on the German Baltic Sea coast * Social dynamics of climate change adaptation in the KLIMZUG projects. Summary and outlook from the perspective of environmental philosophers

The Baltic Sea area is an old cultural landscape with a well developed international framework for monitoring, assessing and managing its marine ecosystems. It provides a good case study for other regions where such management is being set up. The chapters in this book are based on lectures given at a summer school on the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm in the summer of 2009. They cover a range of topics, spanning from detailed descriptions of political agreements that protect the marine environment, to basic modelling instructions, to an assessment of the possible impacts of climate change on the marine ecosystem, to a reflection on the role of climate scientists and their responsibility in society. This interdisciplinary book is primarily directed at students and lecturers of the environmental disciplines to provide an overview of the possible impacts of climate change on the Baltic Sea. It is also intended to serve as a background reference for scientists and policy makers, both for the Baltic Sea area and more generally. The book is a contribution to the BALTEX programme and to the BONUS+ projects ECOSUPPORT and Baltic-C.