ABSTRACT
This manual has been developed around the ten principles that Prutsch et al. (2010) proposed to the European Environment Agency to support the development of adaptation policies and processes. In the preceding chapters, these principles were illustrated by providing examples of how they have been implemented in practice in a number of case studies contributed by experts from across Europe. The collection of these examples was facilitated by the emerging network of experts, policy makers and practitioners that has emerged since the turn of the millennium. Not only do these actors work on adaptation in their own countries, they also meet in various research programmes and policy fora at the European level. At the time of writing, a majority of European nations had adopted National Adaptation Strategies that provide the context and incentive for stakeholders at regional and local levels to assess their vulnerabilities and develop and implement adaptation policies and measures. At the European level, in April 2013 a European strategy was published that addresses important issues such as the integration of climate change adaptation in European policies, the development of a sound knowledge base to support decision-making and a set of institutional arrangements to further the development of adaptation policies at the transnational and European levels involving various stakeholders. Europe is a very diverse continent that features a variety of climatic regions, landscapes, cultural values, governance structures and economic circumstances. Therefore, we believe that the principles and lessons from the cases in this manual are applicable to a broad set of circumstances in industrialised countries and perhaps also in the developing world. However, it is interesting to explore the situation with respect to climate change adaptation in other regions of the world to identify similarities and (in particular) differences that may provide additional insights and ideas for the effective development and implementation of adaptation policies that will reduce vulnerability to climate change. Chapter 15 discusses the current state of affairs with regard to adaptation in the United States, Australia and Japan, and assesses the applicability of the principles laid out in this manual to developing regions.
