Situation:
Zemgale region covers almost 17% of Latvia, located in the country’s centre. Ground water provides drinking water resources for cities that occupy around 6% of the area. A dense river network provides ecological corridors for biodiversity and recreational opportunities for people, but intensive agriculture across 40% of the region has impacted biodiversity, water quality and water management.
High flooding risks mean there is a need to assess Zemgale Plain and update civil protections, which calls for coordination between municipalities and for a system to evaluate risks and allow public institutions and citizens to select effective protection and adaptation measures.
PROGNOSIS
By the middle of this century, increasing agricultural development will intensify pollution and biodiversity loss, while climate change will further increase flooding risks.
Contact this team | Sazinieties ar šo komandu :
- Agnese Meija-Toropova – agnese.meija-toropova[@]bef.lv
Issues:
Flooding
- High precipitation, snow melts and the region’s hydrotechnical infrastructure all contribute to high flooding risks.
- Flood waters here typically rise fast and high, threatening society, settlements and infrastructure.
Biodiversity loss
- Croplands have increased at the expense of meadows and pastures.
- Large fields (>30 hectares) of arable crops exacerbate the issue.
Pollution
- Increasingly intensive use of agricultural fertilisers.
Ambitions within IMPETUS:
Develop a regional system for real-time information exchange and analysis
Use the new system to support early flood warnings, decision making and civil protection.
Create a framework for systemic implementation by involving stakeholders
at local and regional level in innovative and multidisciplinary co-creation activities.
Incorporate knowledge relating to tourism and forestry
as well as agriculture, water and biodiversity
Realise an innovative framework for enhancing ecosystem services and integrating nature-based solutions
to increase the sustainability of agricultural practices, improve water quality and foster restoration of habitats.
Scale up from Jelgava city to demonstrate the value of good practices at regional level.
to pave the way for:
Demonstration site and solutions showcases
to contribute to increasing climate adaptation capacity.
Adoption of climate resilient innovation packages and adaptation pathways
for policy and decision making, awareness raising, behavioural change, and development of further adaptation measures.
Test solutions:
Early warning system for precise flooding prediction
Technology Readiness Level 6-8
An early warning system is currently operating in Jelgava City, but requires a high degree of human operational intervention.
In IMPETUS
- Expand the early warning system to include Artificial Intelligence driven algorithms connected with the national monitoring system and other databases.;
- Make the upgraded data sets accessible as open data to experts and society.
This work is linked with:
- Zemgale Regional Development Program 2021-2027
- National Development Plan of Latvia 2021-2027
Economic impact assessment of physical climate risk
Technology Readiness Level 4-5
Socio-Economic tools and risk projections enable the assessment of climate risks and the establishment of projections and metrics regarding future investments.
In IMPETUS
- Identify highly vulnerable hot-spots using open datasets for Copernicus services and satellite-derived variables;
- Transform this knowledge into a specific regional model and include this in the Resilience Knowledge Booster;
- Use the RKB and regional model to elaborate economic assessment metrics to aid decision making about investments and future mitigation plans.
This work is linked with:
- European Investment Bank
- European Central Bank
