Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into ...

the Member States if they use the EU Structural and Cohesion Funds. Many European countries, aswell as some regions and cities, have adopted adaptation strategies. The European EnvironmentAgency (EEA) keeps an overview of adaptation strategies in its 32 member countries. 14 It also hoststhe European Climate Adaptation Platform: CLIMATE-ADAPT.Table 4 below summarises the key international and EU policies on climate change adaptation.Table 4: Key aspects of climate change adaptation policyPolicy responseObjectives and targetsEU Strategy on Adaptationto Climate ChangeEuropean ClimateAdaptation Platform:CLIMATE-ADAPT• The European Commission adopted a White Paper on Adapting to Climate Change in2009, leading to an EU Adaptation Strategy in 2013.• The Adaptation Strategy will:o recognise how important impact assessment is for climate proofing (thisguidance supports the Strategy’s key objectives and actions)o identify the key priorities for action and how EU policies can encourage effectiveadaptation actiono highlight the issue of adapting infrastructure to climate change and include aseparate document on this topico encourage creating green infrastructure and applying ecosystem-basedapproaches.• <strong>Guidance</strong> on how to mainstream adaptation into the Common Agricultural Policy andCohesion Policy will be developed after the Adaptation Strategy is adopted.• A publicly accessible, web-based platform designed to support policy-makers at EU,national, regional and local levels in the development of climate change adaptationmeasures and policies.• It has been developed to help users to access, disseminate and integrate informationon:o expected climate change in Europeo the vulnerability of regions, countries and sectors now and in the futureo information on national, regional and transnational adaptation activities andstrategieso case studies of adaptation and potential future adaptation optionsoo3.2 Introduction to biodiversityonline tools that support adaptation planningadaptation-related research projects, guideline documents, reports informationsources, links, news and events.Biodiversity — or biological diversity — is one of the key terms in conservation,encompassing the richness of life and the diverse patterns it forms. The Conventionon Biological Diversity (CBD) defines biological diversity as ‘the variability among livingorganisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquaticecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includesdiversity within species, between species and of ecosystems’ (Article 2).The Natura 2000 network of protected areas, created on the basis of the Habitats and the BirdsDirectives, is the backbone of the EU’s biodiversity policy. At present, the network covers almost18 % of the EU’s land surface and more than 145 000 km² of its seas. However, it is important toremember that the concept of biodiversity is not limited to the Natura 2000 network, it is muchbroader:• The Birds and Habitats Directives also cover species and habitats outside Natura 2000 sites.14 Available from: http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate/national- adaptation-strategies.24 <strong>Guidance</strong> on integrating climate change and biodiversity into SEA