Introduction

As part of the regional project ‘Urban Adaptation to Climate Change in the Maghreb’, commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, EViMACC aims to capitalise on and disseminate practical solutions for adapting to climate change in the Maghreb, including nature-based solutions, and to promote the exchange of knowledge between cities.

Description and background

Nowadays, the Mediterranean area is one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet due to the serious impacts of climate change, which are affecting the richness, and sustainability of its environmental balance. The Mediterranean territories must prepare themselves to be more efficient, or even self-sufficient, in the production and use of basic energy resources and to face the consequences of climate change such as flooding and erosion, especially in coastal areas, as well as the increase in frequency of extreme climatic phenomena.

Mediterranean municipalities and local governments are on the front line in managing both the short- and long-term consequences of climate change. This is why the EViMACC aims to equip and train them in the elaboration of climate change adaptation strategies, as well as in the design and implementation of concrete measures that will make the transition and adaptation operational.

Concretely, EViMACC will deploy a three-fold approach to reach its objective:

1. Analysis and dissemination of good practice: 23 good practices from previous regional experiences will be analysed and systematised in the form of summary sheets that will be classified by thematic areas, disseminated and made available online to local authorities via platforms (e.g. MedUrbanTools)
2. Knowledge-sharing and capitalisation of expertise: hybrid thematic working groups and national platforms will be created for participating cities to explore synergies, participate in peer-evaluation and exchange knowledge and best practices regarding the design and implementation of measures and the main obstacles in drawing up adaptation plans.
3. Collection of public policy recommendations: through the working groups, the project will identify public policy messages that reflect the main obstacles to implementing adaptation measures and plans at city level and collect them to disseminate.

Main challenges

Encourage the horizontal and vertical dissemination of practical solutions to promote climate change resilience in Maghrebian cities

Beneficiary

The project targets a very wide array of local public administrations from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, 60 of which will be invited to participate in the project’s activities. Whenever possible, regional, Mediterranean or European peers (such as MedCities members or German cities) will also participate by sharing their best practices and interact with the city representatives. All the best practices identified by EViMACC will be uploaded and available through MedUrbanTools.

SDGs aligned

EViMACC will contribute to the following SDGs:

• SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation
• SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy
• SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 13 – Climate Action