Twenty-eighth Report Adapting Institutions to Climate Change Cm ...

Chapter 5
5.42
5.43
Directive (Box 3C), in which flexibility derives not only from the broadly expressed nature of the
policy goals and from the presence of context-specific exceptions, but also from the institutional
arrangements which have been put in place at both EU and national level to examine regularly the
operation and implementation of the Directive and the appropriateness of its underlying concepts
and goals. The inbuilt flexibility of the Water Framework Directive is a useful model for how
policies can be framed to allow for environmental change.
Adopting a similar approach with respect to the EU Birds and Habitats Directives would enhance
their value as tools for integrating adaptation into conservation policy. A rigid application of these
Directives can result in protected areas being viewed as static entities designed to preserve the
status quo rather than as a tool for providing space for nature that can accommodate change. The
main aim of the Habitats Directive (Box 4D), namely to promote the maintenance of biodiversity,
cannot be met unless the primary tool for achieving this aim – the Natura 2000 network – is
applied in the light of a changing environment. The Commission recommends that in
implementing EU directives, including those on conservation, governments utilise the
flexibility inherent in the directives in order to facilitate adaptation.
Ensuring appropriate flexibility may require hard questions to be asked about long-established
and taken-for-granted concepts. For example, water quality models for inland waters have been
based on historical time series of river flows. Changes in rainfall will affect river flow profiles
(2.35). Water quality models will have to be recalibrated to reflect these changes, which may
well be manifested in additional requirements for treatment, particularly of sewage. The
Commission recommends that environmental regulators ensure that the assumptions
underpinning water management models are updated so that they remain appropriate
for the maintenance of water resources and quality in a changing climate.
5.44 Ensure a cross-sectoral approach to policy making and implementation:
The Commission has
concluded that governments have made significant progress in providing a policy framework for
a cross-sectoral approach to adaptation. However, delivery of these policies in relation to future
management of natural resources and conservation of biodiversity will require much greater collaboration
between government agencies. The Commission considers that a cross-sectoral approach
to the delivery of ecosystem services is also an essential element in building resilience into land
management. The launch of a UK-wide National Ecosystem Assessmentii is an important step
towards developing a national framework.
5.45
The Natural England studies which we highlight in Chapter 3 (3.108) emphasise that vulnerability
assessments need to be cross-sectoral if all aspects of environmental change are to be
assessed. In addition, action plans designed to build resilience will require the commitment of
resources across several government agencies. Delivery agencies need to work in partnership to
ensure that projects aimed at assessing vulnerability and improving resilience at the local level
will be fully integrated.
ii See http://uknea.unep-wcmc.org/ for more information about the National Ecosystem Assessment.
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