Head: Prof Dr Ingo Mose

Staff member: Nathalie Tent

Summary: The challenges in rural areas with regard to ensuring services of general interest are becoming increasingly acute. Many rural regions in Germany are severely affected by demographic change and are suffering from the exodus of young people and the ageing of the remaining population. Basic structures for medical care, education or even hazard prevention (fire brigade, disaster control) are often difficult to guarantee. New ideas and solutions must therefore be found. The aim of the InDaLe project is to look for existing solutions in neighbouring European countries, some of which have been affected by these problems for much longer and to a greater extent. On the one hand, the aim is to identify the prerequisites and framework conditions for success and, on the other, to test the potential transferability to Germany. The aim is also to be able to better support and advise funding projects in rural areas on the way to stabilisation.

A special feature of the project is above all the cooperation with the other project partners in the research network. While the focus at the University of Oldenburg is on projects in Scotland in the field of post-school education, the focus at TU Dresden is on projects from Sweden(in the field of health and care) and at the Thünen Institute in Braunschweig on Austria(in the field of non-police hazard prevention). The Academy for Spatial Development in the Leibniz Association in Hanover is researching model projects in Germany to which the findings from neighbouring European countries are to be transferred. Finally, Leibniz Universität Hannover is primarily working on the background to project continuity and the strategic approach to projects.

Duration: 2.5 years (2020-2022)

Project partners: Leibniz University Hannover; Dresden University of Technology; Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Braunschweig; Academy for Spatial Development in the Leibniz Association, Hannover.

Financing: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

Head: Prof. Dr Ingo Mose, Dr Peter Schaal

Collaborators: Dipl.-Ing. Jan Spiekermann, Nadine Kramer

Summary: The aim of KLEVER-Risk is to develop strategies for reducing inland flood risks, taking into account future climatic changes in the north-west German coastal lowlands, and to strengthen the necessary networks of stakeholders. Using the example of the neighbouring drainage associations of Emden, Norden, Aurich and Oldersum, the potentials of the entire spectrum of different areas of action in flood risk management are to be examined, deficits identified and concepts for possible improvements developed.

The drainage systems in the area under consideration are already reaching their capacity limits in certain extreme situations - with the result that critical water levels and flooding situations occur locally. As climate change will intensify not only storm surges but also precipitation runoff from the dyke hinterland, it can be assumed that inland drainage will face increasing challenges in the future. The probability of extreme events occurring is likely to increase considerably. If the flood risk is not to increase to the same extent, suitable risk management measures must be implemented to help increase the resilience of coastal areas.

The risk of damage caused by flood events can be reduced through a variety of prevention, protection and precautionary measures, which in turn affect a large number of stakeholders and must be implemented by them. Current practice generally favours the implementation of technical protection measures, whereas the other risk management areas are predominantly underrepresented or, in individual cases, not taken into account at all. However, in order to effectively minimise flood risk, the entire spectrum of flood risk management should be taken into account - especially in view of the climate change-induced increase in extreme weather events and the associated range of uncertainty. As part of KLEVER-Risk, specific proposals for improving risk management are to be developed to remedy the deficits identified in the project area through targeted pilot activities. In addition, suitable concepts are to be developed to expand the hazard and risk maps in accordance with the EU Flood Risk Management Directive to include the aspect of inland flooding in coastal areas.

Duration: three years (2019-2022)

Collaborative partner: Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth

Financing: Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) as part of the programme "Promotion of measures to adapt to climate change" (DAS programme)