CIRCE - Project Research

Climate impact research : The Mediterranean environment

• Presentation of the Projet

Examining the climate change not only in regard to scientific data but also in connection with economic and social impacts. This is the aim of CIRCE (Climate Change and Impact Research: the Mediterranean Environment), the European project that, for the first time, will study the Mediterranean climate thanks to a multidisciplinary scientific staff. CIRCE involves 64 partners from Europe, Middle East and North Africa, (61 of which are research institutions), working together for 4 years to evaluate the best strategies of adaptation to the climate change in the Mediterranean. Beyond research. In CIRCE, the role of public engagement will be fundamental, especially at the local level. Case studies and specific participative methods will be designed to achieve this result. Exploiting several research skills in different disciplines, CIRCE will deal with climatic simulations in the Mediterranean area in relation with the global climatic change to properly understand the evolution of radiative fluxes, water cycle, cloudiness, aerosol and extreme events (like intense precipitations or floods). Impacts on agriculture, ecosystems, forest, air quality and human health will be estimated. A special emphasis will be placed on economics and social consequences, especially regarding tourism, energy markets and local migration.
The European project, granted under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), is coordinated by INGV – National Institute of Volcanology and Geophysics (Italy) and led by Antonio Navarra from INGV and Laurence Tubiana from IDDRI- Institut du Développement Durable et des Relations Internationales (France).

See more : download the presentation of the project

• Research Line 13 - Induced responses and policies

The objective of RL13 are:

• to identify how the threats and opportunities related to climate change might affect planning for existing or future development policies in the Mediterranean region
• to provide actor oriented and practical methods, synthesis and policy recommendations of the results developed in the CIRCE project.
  

RL13 research will provide the conceptual underpinning for a consistent approach to adaptation and the core toolkit and training for application in the Circe case studies, linking closely with stakeholders and expert in RL11 (WP13.2).

RL13 will explore integrated approaches that emphasise the use of information on climate risks and opportunities in stakeholder decision making. The integrated, decision-orientation acknowledges that future socio-economic dynamics and development may act in synergy or challenge climate change-driven policies. Accordingly, part of the research of this RL will integrate from the outset socio-economic dynamics with the scenario of climate change for vulnerability assessment and management.

Recommendations for action will be based on the “adaptive capacity” of public and private actors--taken as a process of social learning and risk management--encompassing the simultaneous assessment of:
- the resilience to climate changes of fundamental trends shaping development,
- the impact of development dynamics for reducing or increasing the vulnerability to climate changes, and,
- the implementation of necessary ad hoc adaptation measures (where climate change impacts can not be smoothed and vulnerability can not be reduced).

Induced recommendations will in particular be drawn for policies related to the management of coastal areas with existing tourism industry or foreseen high touristic potential (WP13.4). Further recommendations will be developed for policies related the agriculture sector, urban development, water resources and natural ecosystems management (WP13.5). This approach will build on the relevant socio-economic strategies developed in RL12.

This research will be conducted in parallel with stakeholder dialogues involving researchers and relevant stakeholders and decision-makers from the whole Mediterranean area to improve the relevance of outcomes for decision making processes.

The research line 13 (Induced responses and policies) include :

• WP 13.1 : Coordination (responsible: Raphaël Billé for IDDRI)
• WP 13.2 : Identification and screening of adaptation options (responsible: Tom Downing for SEI-YO)
• WP 13.3 : Integrated management of vulnerability in agriculture and health (responsible: Stéphane de la Rocque for CIRAD)
• WP 13.4 : Integrated management of the vulnerability to climate change in touristic coastal zones (responsible: Alexandre Magnan for IDDRI)
• WP 13.5: Sustainable strategies for the Mediterranean Region (responsible: Raphaël Billé for IDDRI)