National conference on NBS for climate adaptation – Norway
The first national conference on NBS was held on the 23rd of November and hosted by the Norwegian Environment Agency – Oslo office.
On November 23rd, about 200 people participated in the hybrid event (both digital and physical) organized by Amy Oen (NGI) – coordinator of H2020 project PHUSICOS – and financed by the Research Council of Norway.
The conference
The conference on nature-based solutions for climate adaptation promoted good examples of nature-based solutions for climate adaptation that are relevant to Norwegian conditions.
Emphasis was placed on disseminating the practical elements around the implementation of nature-based solutions, such as how to handle barriers to implementation, assess the effectiveness of solutions, and involve stakeholders in the process.
Welcome to all the participants online and physically.
Program and sessions
The conference lasted all day, with two intense sessions. The morning session started with a welcome from the conference organizer Amy Oen, followed by an introduction by Roar Skuterud (Norwegian Environment Agency) about state planning guidelines for climate and energy planning and climate adaptation. The next presentations were focused on practical applications of NBS in Norway, with successful examples of urban NBS planned in Stavanger (within the project Unalab), presented by Anne Merethe Skogland (Stavanger Municipality); followed by examples of barriers encountered from Turid Knutsen and her colleagues at Oppland county in implementing NBS for flood mitigation in Jorekstad. Examples of NBS implemented in the Nordic Countries were also presented by Leonard Sandin and Nikolai Friberg (NIVA).
Program of the conference (in Norwegian)
The afternoon session focused more on technical aspects of NBS for climate adaptation, with examples of how NBS for flood mitigation work in Norway (Ulrich Pulg – NORCE), examples of construction phases for realizing rain beds in Oslo city (Taran Aandreaa – Asplan viak), followed by applications of soil-bioengineering techniques and use of plants for protecting slopes and riverbanks from erosion (Vittoria Capobianco – NGI). Finally, a research project on monitoring the efficiency of green roofs for stormwater management in the city of Oslo was presented by Kim Paus (NMBU).
A panel discussion, moderated by Bjørn Kalsnes (NGI), followed both sessions, with a focus on how to handle barriers to implementation, assess the effectiveness of solutions, and involve stakeholders in the process.
More info can be found here: https://www.ngi.no/Markedsomraader/Naturfare/Arrangement/Naturbaserte-loesninger-for-klimatilpasning-Nasjonal-konferanse-23.-november-2021
Contact person from PlaNet: Vittoria Capobianco – vittoria.capobianco@ngi.no