Whitaker Ideas Forum – RiskAquaSoil – Comprehensive management plan for risks in soil and in water to improve the resilience of the Atlantic rural areas to climate change

The Atlantic Area presents high exposure to climate change. Increased intensity and frequency of storms, drought and flooding, altered hydrological cycles and precipitation variability have implications for the agriculture sector. There are huge uncertainties in the way climate change will affect agricultural and food systems. The purpose of this presentation is to present an overview of the RISKAQUASOIL project. RiskAquaSoil aims to develop a comprehensive management plan for risks in soil and in water to improve the resilience of the Atlantic rural areas. Through transnational cooperation, the project partners will combat the adverse effects of the climate change, especially on agricultural lands. This integral plan will entail three stages linked to the three specific objectives: (i) early warning and diagnosis: testing new low-cost remote techniques to measure and forecast the local impact of different meteorological phenomena. These techniques will provide accurate data that will result in a better early detection system in rural areas. Diagnosis activity will be enlarged with climate scenarios and forecasts and the improvement of climate information services to farmers; (ii) implementation and adaptation: developing several pilot actions in agricultural lands that will permit a better soil and water management taking in to account the risks associated to climate change; (iii) capacity building and dissemination: training and commitment of local communities and farmers for an increasing capacity building, information and cooperation in risk management and damage compensation systems. The project will contribute to a better coordination for the detection, risk management and rehabilitation for rural territories (maritime and terrestrial areas), especially for agricultural purposes, mainly associated to climate change and natural hazards but also to human pressure.

This is one of a series of seminars in the Whitaker Ideas Forum. Sinead will be representing the Innovation and Structural Change research cluster.

The Whitaker Ideas Forum is a weekly seminar, running Wednesday’s throughout the semester from 1:00pm-2:00pm in CA110. It provides the opportunity for members of the Institute to showcase their research. The result are presentations that highlight the diversity of the research being undertaken, while allowing for an opportunity to engage in discussions and, sometimes, collaboration with attendees. Below, you will find a list of this semester’s seminars, please click the title for more information on that seminar.