Climate Adaptation Strategy - Munich

The 2016 Climate Adaptation Strategy (CAS) for Munich, Germany addresses a variety of urban challenges such as temperature rise, heat waves, heavy rainfalls, and flooding across the city region. The CAS is regarded as a crucial instrument for incorporating green and blue measures in urban planning. Part of the CAS entails the employment of nature-based solutions (NBS), which is presented here with an emphasis on the incorporation of the Urban Climate Map into urban planning with a focus on preserving existing air channels and corridors through open green spaces. Other NBS for adaptation are incorporated into urban planning tools through open green areas, community rooftop gardens, trees, and water elements. The overarching goals include developing open spaces that have a climate adaptation benefits, reducing health burdens and promoting well-being, as well as better preparing Munich for climatic conditions (extreme events) in spatial planning. Awareness raising is also part of the strategy.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Sectoral strategy, plan, or law

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Water management (e.g. reuse)
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Air quality
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The strategy includes a total of 26 mostly green or blue multipurpose measures, aiming to counteract expected temperature rise, heat waves and more frequent heavy rainfalls, while increasing health and well-being. All of these interventions, especially improvement of urban vegetation, bring high benefits for climate change adaptation by lowering outdoor temperatures and helping people escape urban heat. In addition, governance-focused interventions aim to build capacity in the above-mentioned areas and to manage biological resources for conservation and sustainable use. The creation of an "Urban Climate Map" enables the city to help the preservation of existing air corridors/channels, and eventually expand them and/or create new ones through the assessment of open and green areas.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Blue areas

Green areas for water management

External building greens

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Support multifunctional NBS

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

City of Munich, Planning Department

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

In 2013, the City Council of Munich put adaptation on the agenda and employed a climate adaptation manager in the environmental department. In 2014, an organizational structure was established to support the development of the strategy. It comprised a steering and a working group, both including various units and levels of decision-makers. The design and development of the strategy took place as cross-sectional task, in close consultation of various affected departments of the city administration. The Munich City Department for Health and Environment coordinated this process, and also involved the Department for Urban Planning and Building Regulations, the Building Department, the Municipal Department, the Department for District Administration, the Department for Social Affairs and the Department for Labour and Economic Affairs. The concept development was also supported by two independent research institutes from Augsburg, the Bifa Umweltinstitut GmbH (bifa) and the Institute for Ecological Economic Research (IÖW) who also wrote the final project report. Technical working groups were formed in accordance with the main fields of action, which included experts also from other ministerial departments.

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Private sector, corporate, business

Researchers, university

Type of actor involvement:

Expert task force consultation

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The City of Munich has kept the Adaptation Strategy as an interdepartmental process, with thematic working groups, including various units and levels of decision makers. A public relations concept is foreseen to raise awareness of the measures attached to the strategy and inform the citizens about the expected climatic changes for the City of Munich and the need for adaptation. The following offers are planned: Adaptation workshop dialogues, events to present the Urban Climate Map, publication of updated information material to sensitive building owners to the problem of heavy rainfall, dissemination of the state of knowledge on adaptation to climate change in the general building sector, information on appropriate behaviour on hot days, press releases, flyers and internet presence for citizens, special information for vulnerable groups of people.

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public national budget

Public local authority’s budget

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

The Munich city council has provided funds for implementation of the measures via direct funding. The process is further financed through national funds for climate change adaptation, established in 2014 by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Did an evaluation take place?:

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The public records show no evidence of monitoring or progress reports to enable an evaluation of the project, despite the use of indicators in the strategy. However, the following impacts can be expected from the NBS measures included in the strategy: strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters and enhanced carbon sequestration, improved air and water quality, increased protection against flooding, as well as a range of biodiversity benefits, including an increased area of suitable habitats to support ecosystem functions and reduced biodiversity loss.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The Climate Adaptation Strategy demonstrates the challenges and importance of creating organizational structures and knowledge for integrating nature-based solutions in comprehensive and detailed planning. This integrated institutional process enabled the strategy to be well-grounded in the municipal departments’ ongoing work, therewith supporting its implementation and sustained support. Micro-climatic reports supported the science-based adaptation concept and the development of pilot green spaces help to scale up further effective measures. With regard to long-term implementation, climate adaptation is taken into account in formal and informal planning (e.g. stipulations in the development plan, anchoring in urban development contracts, etc.) on the basis of this strategy.

Sources and further information

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://stadt.muenchen.de/dam/jcr:8eb68d50-5c21-4948-92ae-62fa129ab566/bericht_k…

https://www.ioew.de/en/publication/concept_for_the_adaptation_to_the_consequence…

https://una.city/nbs/munich/climate-adaptation-strategy

https://naturvation.eu/sites/default/files/result/files/international_comparison…

Photos

@inspirock