Nature-based Solutions for flood protection of low-lying CAPEs to strengthen physical safety, biodiversity and social and economic benefits

Introduction

Vellinge, a coastal municipality with 21,500 residents partly located on a low-lying cape characterised by dense urban areas with high natural values, faces an acute need to increase resilience to increased sea levels. The objective is to enhance the biodiversity on flood protection systems by demonstrating Nature-based Solutions (NBS) vegetation strategies without compromising physical safety.

Project Alignment

In line with LIFE-2022-SAP-CLIMA-CCA, the project supports the implementation of the EU strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change by developing a concrete, replicable NBS approach which evaluates impacts and benefits related to climate vulnerabilities, biodiversity, and social and economic issues. Addressing priority 3, it implements a large-scale NBS that contributes to Green Deal objectives, including:

• Cost-effectiveness
• Enhancement of biodiversity

CAPEable Approach

The municipality of Vellinge, along with the technical universities of Delft and Lund and environmental consultant Ecogain, launches the CAPEable approach which demonstrates and evaluates the impact of seven vegetation cover strategies on the cape’s flood protection system.

Project Outcomes

The result is a demonstration of NBS along:

• 5,835 meters of newly constructed dike
• New habitats of 53,000 m²
• Reinforcement of sand dune areas protecting low-lying areas at 15 locations or approximately 1,800 m², home to 37 species

The impact of the vegetation cover strategies will be evaluated with regards to climate vulnerability, biodiversity, and social and economic benefits.

Dissemination and Replication

The replicable approach describes the establishment and management of vegetation strategies on flood protection systems and will be disseminated to 31,700 representatives of relevant public authorities.

Conditions for Uptake

A condition for uptake is that the output data on hydraulic load resistance is adopted in international design manuals. The result exploitation focuses on adoption by the manuals’ steering groups.

Target Audience

The replication will target:

1. 150 potential users of the CAPEable approach
2. 2 first-movers subject to practical replication