About Co-Adapt

Co-Adapt identifies 3 barriers to climate adaptation:
1. we need to move beyond existing actors and empower stakeholders to take practical action through a more open policy process;
2. unsustainable development & land management practices have degraded ecosystems and the natural water management processes, increasing flooding and exacerbating the effects of drought;
3. the effects of climate change are very uncertain, yet we need to make adaptation decisions now and need to find flexible, adaptive strategies that do not create high future costs.

New solutions need to be developed and applied to improve resilience. In a context of reduced public financing, better, more robust and cost-effective measures are needed. In response, Co-Adapt’s unique contribution is a strong focus on cocreation of nature based and natural process solutions, in the framework of adaptation pathways – three pillars supporting each other to deliver highly durable results

Guide to the Co-Adapt framework, with tools for co-creation, adaptive pathways and NB&NPS, incl. e-Learning resources to support uptake of the Co-Adapt approach by professionals and organisations responsible for water and spatial management.

Co-creation approaches to adaptive pathways planning for climate change adaptation developed and tested in 8 regions, engaging stakeholders to demonstrate new, climate-proofed approaches to adaptive water management to at risk communities and land-owners.

Co-created adaptive water management solutions (nature based and natural process solutions) developed and tested in 8 catchments, demonstrating to all stakeholders how natural flood management measures can deliver cost effective protection.

A Crossborder strategy incorporating 2Seas vision, and regional transition roadmaps to replicate the Co-Adapt approach for adaptive water management to assist regional/local water and spatial management agencies to replicate and transfer the Co-Adapt approach.

Cross border cooperation is the only way to deliver the project’s objectives and results. A leader/follower approach will be applied in co-creation (VLM) and spatial integration (PNB). PPs will form joint teams to peer review co-creation and pilot investments, for cross-border added value, and to evaluate them. PPs will jointly plan and prepare project outputs.

Exchanges between partners will enable knowledge sharing and build long-term relationships for cross-border collaboration.

In our consortium we have partners with experience in adaptation techniques, stakeholder mobilisation and co-creation of public interventions. By putting these capacities together we create the opportunity to develop, pilot and demonstrate participative climate adaptation actions to increase the adaptation capacity of our partner regions.

We can take the best of these differing approaches and skills and develop new hybrid approaches that improve the coordination between strategy and ground-based actions

Co-Adapt will develop, test and roll-out a new framework for co-creation of nature based & natural process solutions (NB&PS) in the framework of adaptation pathways – three pillars supporting each other to deliver highly durable results.

Co-Adapt will also integrate co-creation into spatial development & water management planning for the first time, for more effective implementation of adaptive management.

Co-creation refers to the active participation of end-users in various stages of a process: as initiator; co-designer; co-implementer. The use of co-creation in adaptive water management is infrequent and ad hoc, and is not fully incorporated into mainstream practice.

NB&NPS are recognised as beneficial solutions for flood and drought management that also create wider social value and greater resilience to climate change.

Adaptation pathways enable adaptation decisions to be taken now which deliver benefits today whilst not creating high future costs through irreversible decisions.