Titchwell Marsh lies towards the western end of the North Norfolk coast in UK. It forms a key part of the North Norfolk Coast Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The freshwater and brackish habitats at Titchwell are protected by seawalls. However, these walls would have been in danger of not being able to withstand the next few years due to coastal erosion and rising sea levels.
The rural district of Aurich in Lower Saxony is the northernmost district of Germany, bordering the Netherlands and the North Sea. Its natural environment is characterised by the Wadden Sea, by three islands off the coast and by more than 70km of coastline. Dominant habitats include coastal wetlands and inland moors and swamps. Large areas of the Aurich District are protected, the Wadden Sea National Park of Lower Saxony being only one example. In addition, large areas lie below sea level, both on the islands as well as a strip 2 and 15 km wide behind the mainland coast.
Hesketh Out Marsh is the biggest managed realignment project in the UK, and is one of the country’s most important estuary habitats for birdlife. The original saltmarsh was isolated from the estuary in 1980 by the creation of an outer wall, and was used for growing crops. With the sea level rising, it was necessary to create stronger sea defences. By a process known as “managed realignment”, seawater has been let back in to flood the land, re-creating saltmarsh and providing space for nature.
At the request of the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy (DGITM), Cerema (Centre d’Études et d’Expertise sur les Risques, l’Environnement, la Mobilité et l’Aménagement) under supervision of the French Administration, completed in 2015 a systematic review of standards and guidelines on the design, maintenance and operation of transport infrastructures. The aim of this review was to adapt transport infrastructures and systems to future climate conditions and foster greater resilience to the effects of extreme weather events.
Klaipėda is a coastal city with almost all of its territory located on coastal lowland, and the Smeltalė river situated in the Southern part of the city, falling into the Curonian Lagoon within the city area. Regular floodings of the southern city areas due to flash floods in the Smeltalė River and Baltic Sea level fluctuations are the main problem of the Klaipėda city case study area.
The Alfacada and Tancada coastal lagoons are located in the Delta del Ebro Natural Park. The lagoons are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, particularly sea level rise, in combination with sediment deficit due to river regulation, leading to exacerbated coastal erosion and subsidence. Local management practices (e.g. intensive rice farming) have also affected the natural habitats and species, causing wetland loss and changes in salinity and water quality.
Situated in East Anglia, Norfolk Broads (Broadland) is one of the finest areas of wetland in Britain. It includes both open water, the Broads themselves (a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes), and the low-lying marshland surrounding the tidal reaches of the Yare, Waveney, Bure rivers and their tributaries. These rivers reach the sea at Great Yarmouth.
The NBS URBAN project seeks to integrate nature into urban planning, reinforcing the use of ecosystems and nature together with existing infrastructures in order to locally adapt to climate change in the Basque Country region, using for such purpose a map for their identification and deployment.