1. Emilio D'Alessio
Architect, Town Planner, Sustainable Development Consultant
Coordinamento Agende 21 Locali Italiane
15th
Meeting of the Mediterranean Commission
on Sustainable Development
Malta, 10-12 June 2013
Toward an INTEGRATED ADAPTATION POLICY
for the MEDITERRANEAN CITIES:
the ACT project

3. The ACT project aims to demonstrate that through an
INCLUSIVE and PARTICIPATED PROCESS, shared by ALL
THE LOCAL ACTORS INVOLVED, it is possible to develop
a LOCAL ADAPTATION PLAN to forecast and mitigate
ENVIRONMENTAL , SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF
CLIMATE CHANGE on the most vulnerable sectors of the
European Cities in THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN

4. SPECIFIC TARGETS
 definition of a STANDARD METHODOLOGY to create LOCAL ADAPTATION
STRATEGIES, by means of a participatory approach within the Local
Communities,
 INVOLVEMENT OF LOCAL ACTORS (private sector, citizens, health system,
civil protection, etc.) in the development of a local adaptation strategy
 ENHANCING THE COMPETENCE OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES in understanding
the effects of climate change, and hence in planning and implementing
policies and actions to adapt to them.
 PROMOTING AND IMPLEMENTING SYNERGIES between adaptation and
mitigation policies at the local level
 Providing the Mediterranean Cities, characterized by different territorial,
socio-economic and climatic conditions, WITH A COMMON METHODOLOGY
FOR LOCAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT.

5. The municipalities chosen as partners represent different context due to their dimensions (Bullas counts 11,000
inhabitants, Patrass counts around 200,000 inhabitants and Ancona 100.000) and to their main economic activity.
This will facilitate the diffusion to other contexts and will enhance the applicability of the model.
ACT PARTNER CITIES

6. A warming stronger in summer and weaker in
winter is predicted for all the emission scenarios
Temperature projections:
Ancona, Bullas and Patras
 Then mean temperature exhibits an
increasing trend which is almost linear
throughout the whole century.
 For minimum and maximum
temperatures, the trend does not show
significant differences with respect to the
increase of mean temperature.

7. Larger uncertainty and irregular behaviour
of precipitation projections
Precipitation projections:
general results for Ancona,
Bullas and Patras
ANCONA: the model predicts a reduction of the
annual cumulated precipitation during the last 10
years of the century, ranging between - 1.8%
(SMHIRCA) and - 17.0% (RM5.1).
-
BULLAS: ranging between - 29.7% (SMHIRCA)
and - 39.0% (RACMO2).
PATRAS: it’s estimated a reduction of the annual
cumulated precipitation at the end of the 21st
century, ranging between - 5.5% (RACMO2) and -
28.3% (RM5.1).

8. INNOVATVE ASPECTS
 Down-scaling and Bottom-up approach:
The forecast of climate change impacts will be smaller in scale and will involve empirical-
statistical analysis and modelling, in order to describe more precisely the effects of climate
change on the municipalities involved in the project. The innovative bottom up approach is
crucial to define a climate change scenario that is closer to local communities and
therefore more functional to a local action.
 Sector vulnerability and impacts:
The proposed approach integrates the knowledge and results based on different
modelling tools, including IPCC scenarios at regional scale, empirical-statistical
downscaling and current trend recognition and evaluation, and develops on this basis
climate change evaluation and forecasting at local level. The following social,
environmental and economic impact assessment aims at defining the most relevant local
vulnerabilities.
 Direct involvement of local authorities and stakeholders during all the key stages of
the process:
Local stakeholders will be involved in the definition of the actions that can be included in
the local adaptation strategy and as well as in the evaluation phase through a participated
process during the cost-benefit analysis.

9. ACHIEVED RESULTS
 State of the art review (31-05-2010)
 Mediterranean basin scenario (30-06-2010)
 Roadmap for the local adaptation strategies 31-03-
2011
 A shared methodology for the local Impact
assessment analysis
 Establishment of 3 Adaptation Board (03-03-2011)
 3 Adaptation Local Plans (Bullas, Patrass, Ancona)
 Guidelines for implementing a LOCAL ADAPTATION
STRATEGY

10. The Local Adaptation Board
The Local Adaptation Board is one of the main
instruments of stakeholder engagement thought in the
project.
3 LABS were established last March to ensure a
lasting participation of all local stakeholders as a place
where all the actors involved in a particular sector
have the possibility to discuss and decide a common
strategy and common actions to tackle the local
impacts of climate change
10 members per Board totally: The number of
participants can vary according with city dimension,
but in any case it won’t be more than 10 people in
order to assure an effective collaboration and team
work between members.
Focused Teams directly interested to the specific
impacts and issue analysed (4 Ancona, 3 Patras, 2
Bullas)
ANCONA
BULLAS
PATRAS

14. Problems and Barriers
 The lack of economical and financial resources.
Fund raising remains a crucial problem to be solved in order to
guarantee a continuous investments in new technologies and
innovative solutions.
 The weak involvement of local communities and Institutions.
If not continually stimulated, the key-local actors were not able to work
as an integrated system within shared and concerted strategies.
 Difficulties in Communicating the concept of “ADAPTATION”
 Not so much consolidated experiences, knowledge and skills on
this field.
Exchanging best practices, ideas and good experiences is the
mandatory pathway to follow.

15. WWW.ACTLIFE.EU