European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 2013 Session Climate Change Adaptation in Mountain Areas by Gabriel Borràs, Catalan Office for Climate Change Hamburg, March 18th

1. Cross-border cooperation and climate change: a
priority for the Pyrenees Working Community (CTP)
The Pyrenees Climate ECCA Conference Session
Change Observatory Climate Change Adaptation in Mountain Areas
(OPCC)
Hamburg, March 18th

2. About the Pyrenees
Working Community
(CTP)
Eight political entities
from three states:
• France
(Aquitaine,
Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc-
Roussillon)
• Spain
(Catalunya, Aragón,
Navarra, Euskadi)
• Principat
d'Andorra

3. Why cross-border cooperation and climate change is
a priority to the Pyrenees Working Community
(CTP)? 2007 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
 In its
Change (IPCC) identified mountainous areas particularly sensitive
to climate change.
 Climate change impacts natural systems and socio-economic
sectors.
 Climate change has no borders: to work alone, without
cooperation, is a nonsense.
For these reasons, the CTP launched the Pyrenees Climate
Change Observatory (OPCC) in 2010. The OPCC project
has been scheduled in the European program POCTEFA
(2011-2013). Its actions are supported by 65% by ERDF.

4. What is the main goal of the Pyrenees Climate
Change Observatory (OPCC) ?
The OPCC’s goal is to monitor and understand the climate evolution in the
Pyrenees, with the aim of becoming less vulnerable to the impacts of
climate change, and adapting to its effects by defining appropriate
adaptation strategies for socio-economic sectors and the most fragile natural
areas.
How to get this main goal?
• Data base: knowledge on the impact of climate change in the Pyrenees.
• Risk assessment: vulnerability of environment and society.
• Mainstreaming: a better adaptation of economic activities and natural
environments by promoting the harmonious development of the mountains
and its population.
• Capacity building : to promote awareness and adaptation among
stakeholders.
• Networking: international visibility of the Pyrenees through Europe and the
World.

5. The actions in OPCC's project
Seven actions:
Climate, Biodiversity, Forests and Natural Hazards, Water,
Remote Sensing, Geoportal and Adaptation
And a cross action:
Coordination, Communication and lobbying
... in order to develop consistent adaptation strategies
and to contribute to the adoption of the results and of the tools
created by all administrations of the territory of the
CTP.

6. Climate action in the OPCC's project: Development of a unique
database of high quality climate series based on precipitation, temperature,
and the definition of common indicators to all territories of the Pyrenees.
Biodiversity action in the OPCC's project: Network monitoring of
species and populations of the vascular flora of the Pyrenees to detect the
impact of climate change and to develop possible measures to control or
adapt.
Forests and Natural Hazards in the OPCC's project:
Understanding the potential impacts of climate change on natural
hazards. Propose guidelines to improve the management of forests
integrating climate change.
Water in the OPCC's project: Apply knowledge of the impact of
climate change on water resources. Develop methodologies to integrate
climate change in the Drought Management Plan.

7. Remote Sensing in OPCC's project: Understand and characterize
the effects of climate change on vegetation, snow and soil occupation.
Geoportal in OPCC's project: Development of a common protocol
transboundary climate change monitoring. Diffusion studies, catalogs, data
mapping and climate change in the Pyrenees: www.opcc-ctp.org
Adaptation action in OPCC's project: Understand and analyze
adaptation initiatives in the territory. Diagnosing the Pyrenees vulnerability
to climate change. Analysis of adaptation measures in other european
mountains transferable to the Pyrenees. Seminar presentation: spring 2013.
Coordination, Communication and lobbying: Project coordination
among partners, including the scientific committee. Communication and
dissemination of the project through website, Newsletter, social networking,
seminars, participation in conferences and events, and organizing the final
event of the project .

8. Adaptation action in OPCC's project:
€100,000 (Aug 2011-April 2013)
Some results: Only a few initiatives specifically designed as adaptation
measures out of 90 in the Pyrenees, mainly related to knowledge and
scenario building.
•Tourism requires a lot of attention and initiatives should focus on
integrating CC into current decision systems rather than being added
to it as external measures.
•Agriculture and natural risk management require most of the future efforts
in terms of new measures . For forestry it is more an issue of
knowledge sharing than creation.
•Health and industry seem alien to the discussion so far.

9. Adaptation action:
Key conclusions
• Adaptation is about integration of climate change into current practice and
not limited to specific adaptation measures per se. This has implications
as to the adaptation approach to be followed at local level:
-Whether to approach stakeholders by inviting them to develop an
adaptation strategy with a programme of measures
OR
-Support or incentive them to include the factor “climate” into their
existing decision making framework.
• The Pyrenees have started to adapt in comparable ways to other
mountain areas in the EU with most efforts focused on knowledge
building.
• There is a key role for public institutions to help stakeholders to
take into account the climate change in particular through knowledge
development and diffusion.

10. Challenges OPCC 2013:
1. Final event of OPCC in autumn to publish final results
with partners and stakeholders.
2. Strategy development in the short, medium and
long term OPCC: the strategy is working closely with
partners and the CTP executive committee.
3. International Symposium: we want to go beyond the
project-POCTEFA OPCC, and make this event a true
forum for discussing climate change in mountain areas.

11. Contacts:
Gabriel Borràs, Catalan Office for Climate Change
(gborras@gencat.cat)
Anne Sota, Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory (a.sota@ctp.org)