How can water bodies become more resilient in the face of increasing droughts and heavy rainfall events? Which adaptation measures can be combined well and which are in conflict with each other? What is the potential of selected measures and how likely is their implementation in specific future scenarios?

These and other questions were discussed at the second workshop of the BMBF-funded project Sustainable Management of the Landscape Water Balance to Increase Climate Resilience (KliMaWerk) with about 20 participants from the Lippe catchment area in Wesel. In KliMaWerk, integrated measures and strategies for increasing hydrological and ecological resilience are developed for the Lippe catchment. The potential of individual measures for the catchment will be investigated.  The project team also analyzes which measures and strategies trigger synergy effects when implemented together. Ultimately, the aim is to identify combinations of measures that contribute to the simultaneous achievement of as many sectoral objectives as possible.  

During the workshop, the participants discussed and evaluated possible synergy effects as well as conflicts between corresponding measures in small groups. In addition to representatives of the water industry, representatives of nature conservation, agriculture, forestry and fisheries as well as relevant authorities took part. The discussion of the participants from different sectors made it possible to discuss the potential of certain measures and strategies from different perspectives and to increase the understanding of the needs of the other water-using sectors. Furthermore, the participants discussed plausible implementation pathways and measures for different climate change scenarios.

The results of the workshop feed into the further analyses of the project. The future scenarios will be used to model the impact of measures in the Lippe catchment. Ultimately, the aim of the project is to derive recommendations for the implementation of measures to deal with low water and drought in rural and urban catchments.