SWAP – Planeamento Participativo Da Adaptação Costeira Às Alterações Climáticas

A new methodology of climate change adaptation planning, integrating a strong dynamic and participatory component, was developed and tested in one of the most vulnerable coastal zones in Portugal (coastal stretch BarraAreão, in the municipalities of Ílhavo and Vagos). The method, designated SWAP Scenario Workshop & Adaptation Pathways, consists of bringing together key stakeholders (tested with 30 to 40 people), into two workshops, building a consensus vision for climate change adaptation (1st workshop) and defining the strategy for implementing this vision through the Adaptation Pathways (2nd workshop). The Adaptation Pathways allows different strategies or adaptation measures to be triggered, depending on the evolution over time of sea level rise, coastal erosion and other pressure factors on coastal zones. The method creates and articulates a long-term vision with a dynamic and coherent long, medium and short-term plan. The results obtained were agreed by all participants and consist of a collective coastal protection vision, for the studied stretch until the year 2100 and a preferred Adaptation Pathway. This pathway included, at different points in time, sand nourishment, reinforcement of the sandy dunes, walkways and palisades, in combination with a longitudinal adherent work and a submerged breakwater. These adaptation measures, with subtle variances and details, were located on the map in a participatory way, having reached consensus. This adaptation plan was later subjected to a Cost-Benefit Analysis, with different technical variants, which showed which technical variant has a better cost-benefit ratio and that the overall adaptation pathway is positive. This study was done within the framework of the European research project BASE Bottom Up Adaptation Strategies towards a sustainable Europe, and was developed by a broad research partnership, together with the relevant local, regional and national authorities, involving various stakeholders and key actors at the local level. The methodology and the project results (outputs and outcomes) were evaluated by the participants and scored very high in the satisfaction scale. We suggest that this methodology is tested in other stretches of coast in Portugal, potentially being able to be later adapted to a larger scale and other regions of the world.