Newsletter no. 15
Newsletter 15 from Coordination Unit for Research in Climate Change Adaptation, KFT.
- KFT is established under the government’s strategy for adaptation to climate change in Denmark. Participating institutions: Aarhus University (AU), Technical University of Denmark (DTU), University of Copenhagen (KU), Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS).
KFT Newsletters – a Platform for Researchers
Recipients of KFT newsletters are invited to contribute to the newsletter concerning climate, climate impact and climate change adaptation research. News of interest includes information on calls, networks, launched projects, events, etc.
Contributions can be submitted to kft@dmu.dk and will be considered by KFT against the criteria of theme and general interest. Please add sender information to allow KFT to collect further information.
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KFT and the Science-Policy Nexus
KFT is responsible for the Danish the Database on Climate Research Projects. The database is an important tool to support the coordination of accumulated research knowledge in Denmark and is also a platform for disseminating new findings on climate research. The information here is valuable both in a national and international context and it is promoted through KFT’s international network. It is, however, important that the database is updated continuously and we encourage you all to add new relevant projects that you have. This can be done electronically (via add new project) and will only take a few minutes.
KFT and international activities
Denmark is now participating in the Joint programming Initiative: “Climate” – Connecting climate Knowledge for Europe. JPI-Climate is a joint initiative among 12 European countries now being members of the recently established JPI-Climate Governing board. Further institutions linked to the Governing board includes: NORDFORSK, the ERA-net CIRCLE-2 and the European Commission (DG-research)
The initiative aims for developing and implementing a common research-agenda within four major areas:
1) Moving towards reliable decadal climate predictions
2) Researching and advancing climate service development
3) Sustainable transformations of society in the face of climate change
4) Improving tools for decision-making under climate change
Read more about joint programming, and the Danish participation in joint programming initiatives here.
Follow development of the initiative: “JPI-climate” here.
News about projects/funding
Three new KFT projects approved by the steering committee
KFT launch three new projects in 2011 with a total budget of approx 2.3 Mio DKK. Output from the projects supports the continuous development of the national adaptation website: www.klimatilpasning.dk.
The project “Groundwater modelling” leaded by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) will result in projections of changes in groundwater levels in Denmark in a 2050 perspective following the A1B scenario. Contact Senior Geologist Lisbeth Flindt Jørgensen (lfj@geus.dk) for further information about the project.
The project “Climate adaptation in Danish municipalities” will provide an overview over adaptation initiatives and policy development at the local level in Denmark. Based on input from interviews and a questionnaire a concept will be developed for a follow up on the development of adaptation practise and policies at the local level. Contact Senior advisor Vibeke Nellemann (vne@life.ku.dk) for further information
In a third project, maps and metadata currently available at the website “klimatilpasning.dk” will be replaced or supplemented with maps based on ENSEMBLES projections. Contact researcher Martin Drews (mad@dmi.dk) for further information
First Danish Professor in adaption at University of Copenhagen
Forest and Landscape at Faculty of Life Sciences (LIFE), University of Copenhagen, has from April 01 2011 appointed cand. hort., ph.d. Marina Bergen Jensen as professor in Design and Construction of Urban Landscapes Adapted to Climate change.
LIFE thereby enhances its focus on urban development and climate change by appointing a professor with a unique insight into and experience with the handling of rainwater in urban areas.
PhD on adapting cities to heavy rain events
On the 4th of April 2011 Ole Fryd, Forest and Landscape, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, defended his PhD thesis entitled "Planning for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems". The thesis explores ways to approach climate change adaptation as a "wicked problem". It specifically addresses the potential of "green" water infrastructures as a means for adapting Danish cities to more intensive rain events, and highlights the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and collective learning as an integrated part of the planning process. A digital copy of the thesis can be obtained by contacting ofr@life.ku.dk
PhD-study on transferability of landscape based adaptation method
Patience Mguni, who has a B.Sc. in Rural and Urban Planning from University of Zimbabwe and a M.Sc. in Urban Planning and Management from the University of Aalborg, is employed as a PhD-studendt at Forest and Landscape, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen. She explores the transferability of climate change adaptation strategies between Copenhagen and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. She focuses specifically on adaptation to increased flood risk due to changing precipitation patterns, by means of landscape designs.
NORD-STAR successfully launched
The Nordic Centre of Excellence NORD-STAR pursues the vision of a Nordic region that can adapt sustainably to the inevitable impacts of climate change and the unintended consequences of climate policy. Its goal is to enable Nordic stakeholders to design and implement successful adaptation policy and practice. The project was funded last year and on May 24th 2011 if was launched. Professor Michael Goodsite from Aarhus University is leading the project. Follow news about a training programme etc. here.
Upcoming events
June 14, 13-16.30. The Centre for Regional Change in the Earth System (CRES) will host a joint seminar at GEUS. The joint seminar will gather several projects funded by the Danish Council for Strategic Research (COADAPT, RiskChange, CRES, ECOCLIM) as well as other key ongoing activities within climate and climate change adaptation research, e.g. NORD-STAR, KFT/GEUS national groundwater mapping project and the Information Centre for Climate Change Adaptation. More information about the seminar may be found on the CRES homepage.
September, 12-14. The 2011 UK/Ireland Planning Research Conference “Planning Resilient Communities in Challenging Times”, see homepage for more information.
October 5-6,. Bridging the gap between scientists and practitioners in environmental science International conference in Denmark (Aarhus). Deadline for abstracts extended to June 15, see homepage for more information.
Links
Climate change: evidence from the geological record
The UK Geological Society has November 2010 prepared a position statement on climate change, focusing on evidence from the geological record.
Nordic climate change adaptation research network (NORDCLAD-Net)
As the climate is changing, society has to prepare for new and partly unknown future conditions - society will have to adapt. NORDCLAD-Net is a concerted effort to bring out the best from Nordic research on adaptation to climate change. In November 2010 the network organized the first conference on Nordic adaption and in June 2011 they offer a PhD course on “Mitigation and adaptation: conflicting or complementary strategies?” See the webpage for highlights and summary of the conference as well as links to relevant publications and news.
The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE)
It’s an online resource with case studies, a directory, list of tools and a virtual library. Main focus is on North America.
Kind regards,
The KFT Secretariat