Minden-Lübbecke District: Regional Climate Adaptation

25. August 2020

Drought, heat, heavy rain – the past few years have shown that the climate is changing. It is precisely the effects of climate change on agriculture, forestry and health that affect a wide range of actors and show cross-relationships with each other. In order to adapt the region to climate impacts, Minden-Lübbecke County is participating in the European project Evolving Regions. In Düsseldorf, the kick-off with all participating regions and NRW Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser took place. “We need to be more resilient to climate impacts, and this is already evident today,” says Landrat Dr. Ralf Niermann. “Even today, we are working together across the board at mind-lübbecke, and through the project we can now put these first approaches on a completely new footing.”

The focus of Evolving Regions is the practical testing of measures that are intended to serve as a blueprint throughout the country and Europe. In minden-Lübbecke district, a climate impact analysis will be carried out over a period of almost two years from 2021 onwards, in which various scenarios and action strategies will be considered. Based on this, the district defines three fields of action in which it implements concrete measures. “The project allows us to determine where we need to start first. However, it is also clear that climate adaptations in all relevant areas of municipal and regional planning must be considered,” says Dr. Beatrix Wallberg, Head of the District Environment Agency.

During the implementation phase, the relevant actors will be networked with each other – also interregionally. The project partners receive individual advice for the financing of the individual measures. In minden-Lübbecke district, there is already a round table on climate impacts in the district, which includes representatives of agriculture, forestry and water associations, among others.

Evolving Regions was initiated by the Technical University of Dortmund and will be led and coordinated by it in the coming years. In addition to the district, six other regions in NRW and one region in the Netherlands are participating in the project. It is funded by the EU’s LIFE environmental programme and co-financed by the NRW Ministry of the Environment.