Impactproject Land van Cuijk

Since 2014, five municipalities, the Aa en Maas water board and the Province of North Brabant have been working together to make the Land van Cuijk more climate resilient. The region uses a three-track approach that connects climate adaptation to different policy areas, organisations and scales. This approach fits the character of the area and is practical for the people involved. Climate change does not only affect large cities. Rural municipalities such as those in the Land van Cuijk are also increasingly dealing with drought, heavy rainfall and heat stress in town centres. What started as a climate workshop for a small group of motivated civil servants has grown into a broader movement. Today, governments, residents and businesses work together on projects to make the Land van Cuijk more climate resilient.

Declaration of intent

In March 2015, the responsible administrators of the municipalities and the district water board signed the declaration of intent entitled Klimaatbestendig Land van Cuijk. As the Land van Cuijk climate coalition, the five municipalities of Boxmeer, Cuijk, Grave, Mill & St. Hubert, and Sint Anthonis, along with the Aa & Maas district water board, will thus start working on this issue. However, they are also looking for new partners to join this coalition.

Approach: Analysis - Ambition - Action

The approach adopted in the Land van Cuijk is based on the spatial adaptation guidelines that assist in making an area climate-proof and water-resilient. The Analysis – Ambition – Action steps have been substantiated in a random order.

Action

The first track of the Roadmap is the “Green Façades / Green Roofs Street”. This subproject focuses on raising awareness among residents. In March and April 2015, a regional campaign encouraged people to make their gardens more climate resilient. During the campaign, the five mayors called on residents to adapt their gardens to climate change. Local businesses, including garden centres and DIY stores, took part in the campaign together with primary schools. The project received a great deal of attention in both traditional and social media. Climate-resilient model gardens were created at participating businesses.

The second track of the Roadmap is the “Climate Action!” street. This subproject helps civil servants from different departments to take climate change into account in their work. It also looks at how climate-resilient working can become a standard part of municipal projects. Many municipalities had already organised this well for water management. However, drought and heat stress still needed more attention in policy and projects.

To put this into practice, a workshop was organised for project teams from municipalities and the water board. During the workshop, the teams worked on projects they had submitted themselves. The teams were supported by external experts. After the workshop, several municipalities continued working on these projects with support from the climate project. In Boxmeer, this led to the municipal executive choosing a climate-resilient urban design instead of the standard urban development approach.

At the end of 2014, some twenty staff members of the municipalities, district water board, and the province visited various model projects in Rotterdam. Explanations were provided by various parties, including some employees of the city of Rotterdam.

Analysis

The Land van Cuijk is also facing the effects of climate change. To better understand these effects, research was carried out into flooding, heat stress and drought. The study used existing data and interviews with municipal staff to map local knowledge and experience. The information was then combined to identify areas at risk of too much water, drought or heat. The research also looked at the opportunities that climate change may bring. The Klimaatkansenkaart [Map of climate opportunities] explores what climate change could mean for the Land van Cuijk from different perspectives.

Here are the top five climate opportunities:

1. improving and expanding green and blue climate corridors;
2. stimulating innovation in agriculture;
3. developing new country estates;
4. strengthening green and healthy towns and villages;
5. creating new opportunities for recreation.

Ambition

The region has shown that it is committed to becoming more climate resilient. On 27 March 2015, local administrators confirmed this by signing the Climate-proof Land van Cuijk declaration of intent. During the closing symposium, they agreed to work together as a Climate Coalition, together with new partners, to put climate adaptation into practice. They also committed to raising awareness of its importance among residents and businesses.

Contact persons

Arthur Hofstad
ODBN 
+31(0)6 21 59 42 28

Ingrid Langenhoff
Voorelkaarkrijgen
+31(0)6 20 37 97 26