PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The current Marais Poitevin wetlands in France are ill-prepared to meet climate change impacts expected by 2050. The area is highly vulnerable because it lies below sea level, but it also has high carbon sequestration potential which should be better known, preserved or even increased. One of the main challenges comes from the wetlands’ fragmented and conflicted governance.
OBJECTIVES
LIFE MARAISILIENCE aims to develop new governance bodies and models for the Marais Poitevin area. This will allow a robust climate change strategy, aiming at increasing resilience and enhancing carbon sequestration, to be implemented and shared by local individuals, communities, businesses and civil society.
Specifically, the project will:
- improve local climate change governance by creating a Climate Agora to promote discussion between local stakeholders and inhabitants on climate change impacts
- co-construct a shared climate change strategy for the territory
- organise workshops to bring local stakeholders and inhabitants together around potential scenarios for living in the Marais Poitevin in 2050
- help persuade local stakeholders to get on board with climate adaptation and carbon sequestration
- create a climate change observatory to gather and share data on climate change and its impacts in the area
- replicate the methods used and the results on other similar areas elsewhere
The Maraisilience LIFE project actively involves 1 Regional Natural Park (RNP), 6 public institutions for intercommunal cooperation (EPCI), 1 university and 1 consortium in charge of managing aquatic environments and flood prevention.
RESULTS
The main expected result of the project will be a co-created climate change strategy for the Marais Poitevin wetlands.
The specific expected results are:
- climate change observatory:
- an online platform and database through more than 5 000 consultations
- production and dissemination of 12 maps/graphics
- 3 surveys across the lifecycle of the project
- identification of the carbon sequestration potential of 4 different types of natural habitats
- reports on climate change vulnerability and impacts on local biodiversity and rivers
- new governance models:
- 3 Climate Agoras each with 600 local people
- individual and collective workshops involving at least 250 elected representatives, 250 farms operators, 50 socio-economic stakeholders, 100 environment professionals and 150 inhabitants
- 5 experimental actions
- 10 different climate change scenarios
- 120 citizen actions
- communication, sustainability, replication and networking:
- dissemination of the project objectives to more than 10 000 people
- training of more than 200 technicians from local authorities
- a study tour for 50 professionals from other similar areas
- replication of the project methods, tools and results across 5 other structures by project end, and across 15 more by 5 years after project end
- an online collaborative workspace involving at least 30 organisations
