The Ministry of the Environment launched this Tuesday the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change for the Coastal Zone (NAP Costas) with the main objective of increasing resilience to rising sea levels. The plan not only covers the portfolio, but also the municipalities of Montevideo, Canelones, Maldonado, Colonia, Rocha and San José. Bidding will be called in June for projects in each of these departments.
The launch was headed by Minister Adrián Peña, while the four heads and the two heads of the respective communes made an appearance in a video that was shown at the eventwhich he attended The Observer.
Peña pointed out that 70% of the Uruguayan population lives in coastal areas and stressed that “climate change affects everyone, but particularly the most vulnerable.” “This plan will allow us to implement adaptation measures that minimize future damage and incorporate the social dimension that meets the needs of those most affected,” said Peña.
Likewise, the director of Climate Change, Natalie Couple; the coordinator of NAP Costas, Monica Gomez; the executive director of the Uruguayan Cooperation Agency, Mariano Berro; the ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Uruguay, Paolo Berizzi and the Spanish ambassador in Uruguay, Jose Javier Gomez-Llera and Garcia-Nava.
The participation of international representatives responds to the fact that the implementation of measures against climate change in the Uruguayan coastal areas It is financed by Euroclima+ of the EU and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development. (which also provided its training center in the Old City as the venue for the event).
On the screen were images of the coasts of La Paloma, Piriápolis, Atlántida and Colonia del Sacramento, and how the progress of their flooding is projected from the present to 100 years.
The flood in the current scenario is delimited in blue and the projection for 2100 in red.
Dove:
Ministry of Environment
Dove
Piriapolis:
Ministry of Environment
Piriapolis
Atlantis:
Ministry of Environment
Atlantis (in this case the projection is not so serious)
Sacramento Colony:
Ministry of Environment
Colonia del Sacramento
Chambers and tenders
The measures to be implemented with this plan are divided into three: social, physical and institutional structures.. Among the former, the generation of information and communication with society stands out. In the second group are the engineering and impact management works. And among the institutional measures are the policies and programs, and the joint work with the different administrations.
Justly, the coordinator Mónica Gómez meets with groups inside the communes. In each department, the difficulties and needs will be raised in the face of the impact of climate change on their coasts. Six projects will result, which will be called for bids in June.
On the other hand, a monitoring of the advance of the sea is in its first steps. It has three methods: satellite images, video cameras arranged on the coasts and citizen monitoring (people will take their photos and share them with a mechanism that proposes the plan).
