Guide to Regional Climate Adaptation Monitor

Monitoring and evaluation are essential components in the efforts to climate-proof the Netherlands. Monitoring provides insight into the progress made, any remaining bottlenecks and the effectiveness of measures. Thus, monitoring is not only a measuring instrument, but also serves to learn, to adjust and to collaborate. This Guide supports working regions, municipalities, district water boards and provinces in monitoring the progress made on their climate adaptation goals. The results enable them to determine whether they are on the right track to achieve their goals.

For whom?

The Guide to Regional Climate Adaptation Monitor (pdf, 3.6 MB) is intended for working region coordinators and for policy advisors and climate adaptation project leaders of municipalities, district water boards and provinces.

How can the Guide be used?

This Guide is intended to render regional monitoring practicable and feasible. It gives insight into the progress made regarding your goals, enabling you to set priorities, show administrators and partners the progress made, and adjust your efforts where necessary.

For the time being, the Guide is mainly focused on the themes of waterlogging and heat. Limited attention is paid to drought and flood impact reduction; by the end of 2026, these themes will be dealt with in more detail. At this time, the Guide will probably also address the impact on water quality, biodiversity, nature inclusivity and soil subsidence, and the perspectives of the social and crisis domains.

The Guide distinguishes three monitoring variants:

The basic variant, with eleven indicators;
The plus variant, which provides a more in-depth analysis and suggestions for indicators that may be of relevance at the regional level, such as in the event of salinisation;
Regional or local intensification: a step-by-step plan to derive appropriate monitoring indicators from actual goals. Working regions or municipalities elaborate their own policy goals into measurable indicators geared to their specific contexts.

The approach adopted in the Guide is based on the goals system and builds on existing instruments and data sources, such as the Climate Impact Atlas and insights of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and Climate Adaptation Services. The Guide ties in with the Delta Programme for Spatial Adaptation (DPRA) and will also be in keeping with the National Climate Adaptation Monitor being developed under the auspices of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). Furthermore, the Neighbourhood Dashboard in the Climate Impact Atlas sets out several indicators that can be used for monitoring purposes, as they enable comparison of different periods. These indicators tie in with this Guide.

Who has developed the Guide?

The Guide has been developed in conjunction with a working group of municipalities, district water boards, provinces and the RIONED interest group for urban drainage concerns, under the supervision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). The working group has assisted in the selection, implementation and interpretation of indicators geared to the goals, ambitions and policy contexts of the working regions. Ambient and TAUW consultancies have provided process support.