Vipava River Basin Adaptation Plan 2016 Part I Vipava River Basin Adaptation Plan Authors: Manca Magjar, Peter Suhadolnik, Sašo Šantl, Špela Vrhovec, Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič, Nataša Smolar-Žvanut – IzVRS Contributors: Evelyn Lukat, Ulf Stein – Ecologic Institute Hans Verkerk, Nicolas Robert – European Forest Institute Steven Libbrecht, Roxana Dude, Valérie Boiten – PROSPEX Georgia Angelopoulou – GWP-MED Disclaimer: This river basin adaptation plan was developed within the BeWater project, based on funding received from the European Union’s Seventh Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No. 612385. Views expressed are those of the authors only. FP7 BeWater D4.3: Four River Basin Adaptation Plans 168 Preface Climate change projections for the Mediterranean region estimate an increase in water scarcity and drought episodes, as well as more frequent floods and other extreme weather events . There is a high likelihood that these events will evoke substantial socio-economic losses and negative environmental impacts if no action is taken to support territories’ adaptation efforts. Furthermore, changes in population and land use, such as urban expansion or the abandonment or intensification of agriculture, also affect the response of territories to these events. In this context, sustainable water management strategies are urgently needed as they will enhance the resilience of socio-ecological systems, referring both to society and the environment. Current water management practices focus on the river basin level as the natural geographical and hydrological unit. Resilient water management strategies focusing on the river basin can respond to pressures within this unit in an appropriate way, while trying to minimize disruptions to the socio- ecological systems. ‘Making Society an Active Participant in Water Adaptation to Global Change’ (BeWater) is an EU- funded project which responds to the above challenges by promoting dialogue and collaboration between science and society for sustainable water management and adaptation to the impacts of global change. The BeWater project, taking place from 2013 to 2017, focuses on the design of adaptive water management approaches at a river basin scale in the Mediterranean region. More specifically, the project aimed to develop a river basin adaptation plan for each of four pilot case studies, namely for the Tordera (Spain), Pedieos (Cyprus), Rmel (Tunisia) and Vipava (Slovenia) River Basins. These basins are representative of various Mediterranean conditions with regards to climate, topography, environment, socio-economic and political conditions, land use and water demands. The adaptation plans were developed in a collaborative process according to a common methodology developed within BeWater, and utilising existing information on the local dynamics of global change. Over the course of the three and a half-year project, the subsequent plan and the plans of the other three pilot cases were co-produced by experts and stakeholders in the respective river basins as well as with scientists and experts from within the BeWater consortium, with guidance from the project’s advisory board. The four river basin adaptation plans (RBAPs) aim at fostering adaptation to global change within the four basins, and serve as a reference for other basins within the Mediterranean region and beyond, that wish to increase their resilience and undertake such a participatory development process. To facilitate the transferability potential, the BeWater project is also producing a handbook presenting lessons learned from throughout the development process. The present plan is a document designed by the Slovene partners and stakeholders. It outlines the adaptation action for the Vipava river basin. FP7 BeWater D4.3: Four River Basin Adaptation Plans 169 Table of contents Preface ....................................................................................................................................... 168 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 171 Povzetek .................................................................................................................................... 173 Glossary of key terms............................................................................................................... 175 List of acronyms ....................................................................................................................... 179 PART 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 181 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 181 2.1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 181 2.1.2 Objectives and vision ................................................................................................ 182 2.1.3 Overview of content ................................................................................................... 183 2.2 Vipava River Basin ....................................................................................................... 184 2.2.1 Current status and dynamics ..................................................................................... 184 2.2.2 Policy Context ........................................................................................................... 192 2.2.3 Main Challenges ....................................................................................................... 195 2.3 Participatory development of the River Basin Adaptation Plan ................................ 198 2.3.1 Development process ................................................................................................ 198 2.3.2 Methodological steps followed ................................................................................... 201 2.3.3 Further considerations ............................................................................................... 208 2.4 Adaptation actions ....................................................................................................... 209 2.4.1 Adaptation actions ..................................................................................................... 209 2.4.2 Political context ......................................................................................................... 213 2.4.3 Presentation of bundle factsheets .............................................................................. 216 2.4.4 Monitoring ................................................................................................................. 237 2.5 From planning to action: recommendations for implementation ............................. 239 References ................................................................................................................................ 288 Annex I: List of engagement activities held in Vipava River Basin ....................................... 296 Annex II: List of dissemination activities held in Vipava River Basin ................................... 297 FP7 BeWater D4.3: Four River Basin Adaptation Plans 171 Executive Summary Within the BeWater project (funded by the European Union through the 7th Framework Programme), a River Basin Adaptation Plan was developed for the Vipava river basin to integrate global changes in river basin management. The plan is a guiding document for stakeholders in water use sectors and affiliated policy areas acting in the river basin. The specific aim of this river basin adaptation plan is to increase the resilience of the social and ecological system of the Vipava river basin and to facilitate a proactive response to emerging global changes and related challenges. Therefore, the objective of the adaptation plan is the delineation of water management options that aim to implement sustainable water management in the Vipava river basin for the period until 2030. In the Vipava river basin, citizens have little awareness of the challenges that they and the environment are facing due to global changes. To start the awareness raising process, stakeholders from the Vipava river basin determined appropriate strategies for management of the Vipava river basin guided by local and international experts. The plan is thus the result of a bottom- up approach in which researchers interacted with stakeholders to identify how pressures from climate change, land use, and elsewhere could be tackled best. During the development process 114 stakeholders provided concrete input regarding the process of formulating and evaluating water management options, as well as identification of adaptation strategies in several stages of a participatory process that included (a) three professionally facilitated workshops, (b) follow-up interviews, (c) individual and group sessions, and (d) an additional open consultation. Based on stakeholder knowledge and scientific information, three water-related challenges and 20 water management options that would tackle these challenges and support the adaptation process were identified. The majority of options (16) were identified to cope with the challenge of water availability during droughts in the growing season (challenge A), followed by 13 options coping with the appropriate