REPORT
North: an umbrella of adaptation measures
Published on September 17th, 2015
There are many stories in newspapers and magazines that inform us of floods, overflows and damage caused by intense rainfall. Several months without rain and, suddenly, all the rain of that season is poured within hours.
“Very intense rainfall, frosts, hail and thunderstorms are expected to be more frequent in the future”. The statement is made by the specialist João Andrade Santos, from the Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, who is studying extreme weather events. “It may seem a bit paradoxical, but the truth is that with global warming, what we will have is more energy in the climate system and by having more energy, the atmosphere will be able to become more violent”, he adds.
It will rain less, but when it rains, it will be intense. In the North, there are several municipalities preparing and thinking of measures that act as an umbrella for the entire city, thus trying to avoid the damages that so often appear in the front pages of several newspapers nationwide.
Oporto and Amarante are two of such municipalities. They are now focused, along with several others, on listing climate change adaptation measures, after noting, through the collection of published news and reports, the region’s vulnerabilities. “Planning permeable spaces is one of our concerns, but we want to do it not just based on a landscape logic, but also trying to tackle the issue of climate change”, says Pedro Pombeiro, head of the Municipal Division for Environmental Management of the City Hall of Oporto, in an interview with Clima@EduMedia, reinforcing the intention of creating more spaces and green corridors in the city.
How can a green space be a form of adaptation? Cities, according to the conclusions reached by experts, will have to use more green than grey. This increases the permeability and reduces the risk of flooding.
“We can have, in a park, a retention basin. It is a green space, with a slight depression, used for water retention when there is a more intense rainfall”, explains Susana Marreiros, a specialist from the ClimaAdaPT.Local project, which provides the necessary adaptation- support to several municipalities. This is one of the most commonly specified measures by municipalities. You cannot interfere with the climate. To adapt is therefore a solution to work around climate change.
Still, within green spaces, there are urban gardens and the so-called green roofs, which are literally structures covered with vegetation. These are strategies to prevent flood situations, to absorb excess water and also to reduce the heat effect, to improve thermal comfort.
When the keyword is “cleaning” to let the water flow away
Following the A4 highway, we go through Amarante, a city overlooking the Tâmega river. In a situation of intense rain “one should see in perspective the type of measures necessary to minimise damage”, said Jorge Mendes, Environment councillor of the City of Amarante. He adds that it is important to facilitate the draining of rainwater, so that the flow can be quickly drained into rivers. For example, when removing sediment and waste from water lines, one can clean and regulate these sites. The measure is already under way in this municipality. This way, the streams are able to get more water and to drain it more easily. “It is a measure that prevents erosion since one of the factors that cause flooding are the sediments, which are dragged more than they should, causing siltation, that is, flow obstruction”, noted Susana Marreiros.
On the other hand, the planting of native vegetation on the banks will help stabilise fluvial ecosystems and also prevent pests caused by invasive species.
The spaces where the water passes in cities also have to be clean: “in this case the sewage system, that is, the infrastructures that will receive water, such as gutters, drainage boxes and gutters”.
Spatial planning is one of the priorities of the Municipality of Oporto, avoiding building in flood bed areas, through the creation of specific legislation, for example. “We realise that we will have to review the Municipal Master Plan and incorporate climate change in our environment strategy by 2020”, remarks Pedro Pombeiro. “We are now making choices, the impact of which we will feel in 50 or 60 years. To compel policy makers to speak and decide on something that will happen 60 years from now is not easy”, he adds.
Heat waves and fires on the agenda of municipalities
In addition to excess rainfall, there are other concerns on the agenda of Oporto and Amarante. Oporto is concerned about the effects of heat waves, which can be mitigated by creating more green spaces and shadows; in the case of floods and other phenomena, it is on the agenda to create civil protection alerts. On the other hand, Amarante is also affected by an increase in the number of fires. For this area, according to Councilman Jorge Mendes, two measures are being studied: “land cleaning and more fire-resistant vegetation planting”.
In the long run, claims Pedro Pombeiro, “the investment must always be on planning issues and less on curative and reactive responses”. For Susana Marreiros “all measures that enable short and medium-term results must be a priority and implemented as soon as possible”.
In terms of adaptation there are three major groups of measures that have been used as the basis for support and training in municipalities: green infrastructures, with regard to the construction of green spaces, for example, the grey infrastructures, such as cleaning the sanitation system, and the non-structural. The promotion of awareness campaigns and the creation of adequate legislation, belong to the latter group and are frequently mentioned by the municipalities of the NUTS II North (Territorial Units for Statistics).
By: Renata Silva
It will rain less, but when it rains, it will be intense. In the North, there are several municipalities preparing and thinking of measures that act as an umbrella for the entire city, thus trying to avoid the damages that so often appear in the front pages of several newspapers nationwide.
Oporto and Amarante are two of such municipalities. They are now focused, along with several others, on listing climate change adaptation measures, after noting, through the collection of published news and reports, the region’s vulnerabilities. “Planning permeable spaces is one of our concerns, but we want to do it not just based on a landscape logic, but also trying to tackle the issue of climate change”, says Pedro Pombeiro, head of the Municipal Division for Environmental Management of the City Hall of Oporto, in an interview with Clima@EduMedia, reinforcing the intention of creating more spaces and green corridors in the city.
How can a green space be a form of adaptation? Cities, according to the conclusions reached by experts, will have to use more green than grey. This increases the permeability and reduces the risk of flooding.
“We can have, in a park, a retention basin. It is a green space, with a slight depression, used for water retention when there is a more intense rainfall”, explains Susana Marreiros, a specialist from the ClimaAdaPT.Local project, which provides the necessary adaptation- support to several municipalities. This is one of the most commonly specified measures by municipalities. You cannot interfere with the climate. To adapt is therefore a solution to work around climate change.
Still, within green spaces, there are urban gardens and the so-called green roofs, which are literally structures covered with vegetation. These are strategies to prevent flood situations, to absorb excess water and also to reduce the heat effect, to improve thermal comfort.
When the keyword is “cleaning” to let the water flow away
Following the A4 highway, we go through Amarante, a city overlooking the Tâmega river. In a situation of intense rain “one should see in perspective the type of measures necessary to minimise damage”, said Jorge Mendes, Environment councillor of the City of Amarante. He adds that it is important to facilitate the draining of rainwater, so that the flow can be quickly drained into rivers. For example, when removing sediment and waste from water lines, one can clean and regulate these sites. The measure is already under way in this municipality. This way, the streams are able to get more water and to drain it more easily. “It is a measure that prevents erosion since one of the factors that cause flooding are the sediments, which are dragged more than they should, causing siltation, that is, flow obstruction”, noted Susana Marreiros.
On the other hand, the planting of native vegetation on the banks will help stabilise fluvial ecosystems and also prevent pests caused by invasive species.
The spaces where the water passes in cities also have to be clean: “in this case the sewage system, that is, the infrastructures that will receive water, such as gutters, drainage boxes and gutters”.
Spatial planning is one of the priorities of the Municipality of Oporto, avoiding building in flood bed areas, through the creation of specific legislation, for example. “We realise that we will have to review the Municipal Master Plan and incorporate climate change in our environment strategy by 2020”, remarks Pedro Pombeiro. “We are now making choices, the impact of which we will feel in 50 or 60 years. To compel policy makers to speak and decide on something that will happen 60 years from now is not easy”, he adds.
Heat waves and fires on the agenda of municipalities
In addition to excess rainfall, there are other concerns on the agenda of Oporto and Amarante. Oporto is concerned about the effects of heat waves, which can be mitigated by creating more green spaces and shadows; in the case of floods and other phenomena, it is on the agenda to create civil protection alerts. On the other hand, Amarante is also affected by an increase in the number of fires. For this area, according to Councilman Jorge Mendes, two measures are being studied: “land cleaning and more fire-resistant vegetation planting”.
In the long run, claims Pedro Pombeiro, “the investment must always be on planning issues and less on curative and reactive responses”. For Susana Marreiros “all measures that enable short and medium-term results must be a priority and implemented as soon as possible”.
In terms of adaptation there are three major groups of measures that have been used as the basis for support and training in municipalities: green infrastructures, with regard to the construction of green spaces, for example, the grey infrastructures, such as cleaning the sanitation system, and the non-structural. The promotion of awareness campaigns and the creation of adequate legislation, belong to the latter group and are frequently mentioned by the municipalities of the NUTS II North (Territorial Units for Statistics).
By: Renata Silva