Adaptation in Practice

We work at grass roots level to understand how the challenges of extreme weather and climate change are seen by groups such as farmers, foresters, architects, planners and communities prone to flooding.  This will help in the design of programmes to encourage and help such groups adapt to climate change. We also communicate the pressures and concerns felt by these groups back up to policy makers.

In this way we promote and encourage future-proofing in key areas of Scottish life and livelihood, including land management (agriculture, forestry), and community well-being (flooding, built environment and services).  Our work with Land Management and Natural Environment sector partners complements the work of Adaptation Scotland, which has a prime focus on business and Local Authorities.  Future proofing will help keep Scottish communities and livelihoods resilient in the face of new challenges from climate change and other impacts such as rising energy prices.

We are doing this by:

  • Using evidence about the future risks and opportunities from climate change in Scotland and how these will impact on different groups and sectors
  • Working with organisations and individuals to explore how these risks are perceived and what responses are currently being considered (e.g. farmers, foresters, rural communities)
  • Documenting existing outreach capacity in the land-use sector, and the potential to harness this for adaptation outreach
  • Understanding appropriate channels for and methods of outreach
  • Developing and delivering outreach in partnership with existing bodies using information, events and demonstration sites
  • Feeding messages from the grass roots back to Scottish Government

Demonstration of Adaptation

We are working with a range of organisations in Scotland to showcase adaptation to climate change, initially in the land-use sector. 

Our demonstration work includes:

  • Case Studies:  short reports that illustrate a particular issue and the adaptive actions taken at real sites to address each issue so as to increase resilience to climate change (e.g. for the farming sector – dealing with the increased risks of both drought and flooding). For an example see this case study from Greenspace Scotland on the potential for retrofitting green infrastructure in central Glasgow
  • Demonstration Site Examples:  data about specific demonstration sites (such as farms, forests, urban space and flood management initiatives and habitat management), again that illustrate particular issues and the adaptive actions taken at these sites to address issues so as to increase resilience.   You can learn more about Scottish demonstration sites via the international adaptation portal  of  weADAPT. You can also read our brief on the importance of demonstration sites here
  • Demonstration Networks:  we work with existing organisations to promote awareness and learning about adaptation, and to integrate this work with the advice and information that stakeholders receive through existing ‘trusted sources’.

The case studies listed with the ClimateXChange entry on weADAPT show where we have collaborators and demonstration sites across Scotland.

We have also funded a suite of short film clips showing how climate change might affect Scotland’s forests