Abstract
Climate change is producing evident consequences on Alpine environments: reduction of endemic habitats and species, reduced water availability, melting glaciers, and increased risk of natural hazards. Transboundary cooperation in the field of biodiversity protection is an important governance scheme for the protection and management of healthy habitats and species, which in turn are fundamental for climate adaptation to these new conditions.
Nature does not know borders, and species naturally cross national borders to be able to meet their reproductive and nutritional needs – more so due to the loss of habitats and climate change. Similarly, natural habitats do not stop at national borders and usually need transboundary strategies to both aim for effective protection and ensure their resilience to changing climate conditions. In this context, transboundary biodiversity protection allows for the full consideration of these protection needs and – this presentation argues – the preservation of resilient habitats that allow for successful climate adaptation.
One significant example of this type of cooperation in Europe is the newly established Julian Alps Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (JATBR). The JATBR is a UNESCO MAB reserve that aims to pursue sustainable development at the border between Italy and Slovenia. The reserve builds upon the cooperation consolidated since the late 1990s between two parks, the Prealpi Giulie Natural Park, a regional park in Italy, and the Triglav National Park in Slovenia, and their corresponding national biosphere reserves. In the framework of this semi-formalized cooperation, joint planning has evidenced an increased attention to coordinated actions aimed to tackle climate change, including in the field of climate adaptation.
By focusing on this case study, this presentation will explore how the transboundary cooperation scheme implemented in the JATBR addresses climate change including climate adaptation. Relevant examples include: the sharing of monitoring data about the status of species and habitats, transboundary wildlife management strategies, adaptive management of landscape and species, as well as carbon neutrality objectives. This presentation will conclude that transboundary biodiversity protection has important implications for climate adaptation and will identify areas and mechanisms where this cooperation could be intensified to mutually reinforce the biodiversity-climate nexus.
The questions explored in this presentation to be discussed with the audience are the following:
1) Is transboundary biodiversity protection in the Julian Alps contributing to climate adaptation and in which ways?
2) Which are the institutional characteristics that allow for climate adaptation to be addressed in transboundary contexts?