CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN THE HERITAGE CITY OF SALAMANCA (ES): ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND BIG DATA

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Climate change is seriously impacting the historical centres of Spanish cities. Solutions need policies and adaptation plans that integrate a top-down perspective,focusing on the global problem to define physical vulnerability, with a bottom-up approach, assessing the specific threats and adaptive capacity of specific cities.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the LIFE VIA DE LA PLATA project is to create an adaptation model for climate change in Salamanca, a world heritage city in Spain, through the construction of Green Infrastructure and the improvement of Ecosystem Services. The project team aims to transfer their results for possible replication in 15 other heritage cities in Spain and 40 elsewhere in Europe.

Based on the Green Urban Infrastructure Plan of Salamanca, the project has the following specific objectives: 1.Demonstrate the effectiveness of 41 standard actions and establish a methodology for adaption in heritage cities. This will integrate 6 key elements: heritage city, adaptation to climate change, green infrastructure, ecosystem services, Big Data, and citizen participation; 2. Identify the specific problems of a heritage city and provide tailored solutions; 3. Design an Action Plan and a Roadmap for Climate Change Adaptation for the city based on the Urban Adaptation Support Tool (UAST) recognised by the EC and the Covenant of Mayors on Climate and Energy; 4. Establish the technical and methodological basis for building urban green infrastructures, taking advantage of the cattle routes that run through the Iberian Peninsula from north to south; 5. Monitor and control the state of the ecosystem services in the city with innovative technical indicators of intelligent data processing; and 6. Promote citizen participation, training and information dissemination.

The project contributes to the implementation of the Green Urban Infrastructure Plan of Salamanca, and will promote the design of the Action Plan and a Roadmap for Climate Change Adaptation of the city. These plans are aligned with the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change.

RESULTS

Expected results: Climate Change Adaption and Mitigation:

Action Plan and Roadmap for Salamanca;

Participation in Climate ADAPT and UAST of the European Environment Agency; and

Capture over 150 t carbon/ha in natural systems.

Green Infrastructure:

Construction of over 16 km and on 261 ha;

41 types and 72 specific actions;

111 865 trees and shrubs planted;

3 648 m of naturalised meadows;

156 nests and 8 breeding sites for otters;

Rain retention providing a minimum of 10% savings in irrigation water; and

A Methodological guide for construction of green infrastructure and climate change adaptation in a heritage city, including 41 technical sheets (good practices, images and examples).

 

Ecosystem Services:

Monitoring of 49 ecosystem services: 12 provision, 25 regulation and 12 cultural; and

Improvement of 30 ecosystem services in the short term and 19 in the medium term.

 

ICT (information and communications technology) and innovation:

12 prototypes of ecosystem services monitoring stations validated and exportable to other cities. Coverage of 11 homogeneous environmental units of the city in 6 zones;

Monitoring of 57 parameters to define scenarios, make predictions and propose solutions and recommendations for the management of green infrastructure and ecosystem services; and

Monitoring of 90 indicators.