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Copyright of Thünen Report is the property of Thuenen Institut and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, a collaboration between three major industry groups, has released its 2023 impact report highlighting efforts to promote environmental consciousness in the Australian wine sector. The organization offers a voluntary standard that allows winemakers to display a trust mark on their bottles, creating new market opportunities for some members. The report emphasizes the importance of water use and mentions investments in drought protection measures. Australia's advantage in adapting to climate change lies in its lack of restrictions on grapevine varieties, but packaging accounts for a significant portion of the industry's emissions. While packaging changes are mentioned, they are not yet required for certification. [Extracted from the article]

A study published in Nature Reviews warns that climate change could lead to the disappearance of 90% of coastal and lowland wine regions in Spain, Italy, and southern California by the end of the century. The study highlights the impact of climate change on grape composition, yields, and wine quality. It suggests marketing wine by region rather than variety to encourage sales of lesser-known, climate-resistant varieties. The research also notes that some projections may be overly pessimistic and that growers can adapt to conditions through modern technology and practices. The paper argues that grapevine varietal diversity is a promising adaptation lever for climate change. While some regions may benefit from the impact of climate change, others may face economic challenges in wine production. The study emphasizes the need for flexibility and adaptation in the face of climate change. [Extracted from the article]

This working paper synthesizes knowledge within CGIAR on adaptation measures in agricultural systems, for the benefit of parties and observers preparing submissions to the UNFCCC SBSTA. Experience from CGIAR and partners indicate that adaptation measures covering policy, technological, financial, institutional, and research interventions are being tested and applied in agricultural systems in low-income and middle-income countries. Lessons include the need to ensure context-specificity when designing adaptation measures, engaging farmers in decision-making, and combining indigenous and scientific knowledge. Adaptation measures in agricultural systems are able to generate various added benefits in addition to adaptation benefits. These include enhanced food security, environmental benefits including mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, and positive outcomes for gender and social inclusion. However, good design and implementation of these measures is important, for which capacity enhancement and technology transfer are essential functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of OECD Environment Working Papers is the property of Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of OECD Environment Working Papers is the property of Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Insight into genetic variation in trees may provide opportunities to select for genotypes that are better adapted to new locations and future climate conditions. We established a field test at two sites in Humboldt County, California to study the performance of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.) under assisted migration. Both test sites were near the eastern (inland) limit of coast redwood's range and had no naturally occurring redwood. Seed were collected from redwood trees on dry, hot ridges and upper slopes from the southernmost populations, and combined with redwood seed from Mendocino County and seed and tissue culture clones from Humboldt County. A total of 34 different clones, open-pollinated families, and commercial seedlots were planted in 27 replicates at each test site using an interlocking hexagonal design. Health, instances of damage, and total height of every seedling was recorded annually since planting in 2010. Caliper (basal diameter) was also measured annually three times beginning in spring 2014, giving basal diameter increment for each tree. Water stress was assessed for each young tree (n ≈ 2000 trees) in the summer of 2015 using a pressure bomb. Performance of progeny planted at each test site varied among regions-of-origin, forest-oforigin, and among families of seedlings from individual open-pollinated parent trees. Results were counter to our expectation that seedlings originating from parents located at the warmer and drier southern extremes of redwood's range would perform best on the more extreme test site (higher elevation, no fog) in Humboldt County. However, high variances within families and clones suggested that genetic effects may have been obscured by other sources of variability at this early age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of climate change are increasingly considered in conjunction with changes in water demand and reservoir sedimentation in forecasts of water supply vulnerability. Here, the relative effects of these factors are evaluated for the Washington, DC metropolitan area water supply for the near (2010 to 2039), intermediate (2040-2069), and distant future (2070 to 2099) by repeated water resources model simulations. This system poses water management challenges due to long water delivery travel times that increase uncertainty, multiple water jurisdictions that constrain potential decisions, and future scenarios that simultaneously increase demand and decrease water supply during the critical summer period. Adaptation strategies were developed for the system using a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. Optimized reservoir management policies were compared using six distinct objectives, ranging from reservoir storage to environmental and recreational benefits. Simulations of future conditions show water stress increasing with time. Reservoir sedimentation is projected to more than double (114% increase) the severity of reservoir storage failures by 2040. Increases in water demand and climate change are projected to further stress the system, causing longer periods of low flow and a loss of recreational reservoir storage. The adoption of optimized rules mitigates some of these effects, most notably returning simulations of 2070-2099 climate to near historical levels. Modifying the balance between upstream and downstream reservoirs improved storage penalties by 20.7% and flowby penalties by 50%. Changing triggers for shifting load to off-line reservoirs improved flowby (8.3%) and environmental (4.1%) penalties slightly, while changing demand restriction triggers provided only moderate improvements, but with little adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of OECD Environment Working Papers is the property of Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper identifies over 50 000 patents filed worldwide in various water-related adaptation technologies between 1990 and 2010, distinguishing between those related to water availability (supply) and water conservation (demand) technologies. The paper then analyses the innovation activity -- including inventive activity by country and technology, international collaboration in technology development, and international diffusion of such water-related technologies. The results suggest that although innovation activity in water-related technologies has been increasing over the last two decades, this growth has been disproportionately concentrated on supply-side technologies. Moreover, most innovation worldwide occurs in countries with low or moderate vulnerability towards water scarcity. While this is a reflection of the fact that most developed economies do not face severe water stress, this result highlights the importance of international technology transfer and policies that facilitate broad diffusion of these technologies in water-stressed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores methodological approaches that can be used to monitor and evaluate climate change adaptation initiatives at the projects and programme levels. It examines approaches that have been used in other areas of development practice to see what lessons have been learned that can inform the development of monitoring and evaluation frameworks targeted at adaptation. The paper focuses on three methodological challenges related to monitoring and evaluation that are particularly relevant for adaptation: i) assessing attribution, ii) establishing baselines and targets, and iii) dealing with long time horizons. The paper also considers the importance of on-going learning in evaluation and the benefit of applying a comprehensive approach to monitoring and evaluation, building on tested practices from participatory methods and social sciences techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]