„Natürlich“ an den Klimawandel anpassen

Start des Projekts OPERANDUM

Already today, extreme weather events can be perceived. The fact that weather extremes will be more pronounced in the future or will occur more frequently is a result of numerous climate projections. A highly important issue in the European research landscape is how humans can adapt to climate change. Thereby, a specific focus is on identifying methods that are as cost-effective and sustainable as possible. For this reason, the European Commission has called for intensive research into nature-based solutions (NBS). One of the funded activites is the project OPERANDUM ‚OPEn-air laboRAtories for Nature baseD solUtions to Manage environmental risks‘. Here, within nine different Open Air Laboratories,
shortly 'OALs', different NBS will be investigated to achieve an integrative knowledge about NBS efficacy against environmental risks.

The OPERANDUM project is led by Silvana Di Sabatino from the University of Bologna. The GERICS, as a representative of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, is one of the 26 partners in OPERANDUM. The kick-off meeting was held at the University of Bologna from 3rd to 5th July. Besides the two GERICS staff members Juliane Otto and Swantje Preuschmann, approximate 80 participants from Europe and China met to agree on the working activities within the first year of the project.

OPERANDUM kick-off meeting in Bologna. From left to right: Lorenzo Manella
(Project Manager, UniBo), Swantje Preuschmann (GERICS), Juliane Otto (GERICS),
Silvana Di Sabatino (Project Coordinator, UniBo), Federico Purco (Risk Manager, UniBo). © J. Otto

In OPERANDUM, we will lead the modelling activities for the assessment and replication of nature-based solutions in the frame of climate change. This includes, among other things, the user-oriented processing of regional climate information.

We also lead the German openair laboratory in OPERANDUM. Together with SWECO GmbH, the administration of the biosphere reserve "Niedersächsische Elbtalaue", as well as local stakeholders, we will investigate nature-based solutions for the local Elbe region with regards to its local transferability and efficiency under changed climatic conditions.

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