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 implementing innovative solutions to manage manure which is byproduct of livestock

Waste management
The ways we manage waste products in society have significant environmental impacts, including on
greenhouse gas emissions. Waste management techniques that mitigate climate change indirectly
include recycling and material reuse (see Module 2 Waste Management and Circular Economy).

6.2. Adaptation

Even if we could stop creating greenhouse gases tomorrow, the climate would still change some
because of our past emissions. So we need to make sure our buildings, roads, businesses, and
communities are ready for the climate changes that we can’t avoid. Climate change is happening now
and will get more serious in the future, even if global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
prove effective. Climate change leads to adverse impacts on ecosystems, economic sectors, and
human health and well-being. Therefore, minimising the risks from global climate change requires
targeted actions to adapt to the impacts of climate change, in addition to actions to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptation must be tailored to the specific circumstances in different
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regions .
Sea level rise

Strategies to protect coasts and communities from sea-level rise include building structures that
break or attenuate waves, maintaining and enhancing natural protective coastline features, setting
restrictions and rules on whether and how coastal land can be developed, and relocating
infrastructure and communities to higher ground. The effective solutions include the implementation
of nature-based solutions such as:

 building dunes
 nourishing (i.e., adding sand to) beaches
 maintaining and enhancing wetlands, coastal forests, barrier islands, and oyster reefs which
help to prevent erosion, break waves offshore, and reduce the energy of incoming waves

Communities can set restrictions on where buildings can be built, limiting development extremely
close to the coast where beaches and buildings are at the greatest risk.

Communities need to create effective flood and storm warning and preparedness programs, to keep
residents safe in place or to evacuate them when necessary.

Some communities will need to consider relocation which can involve moving critical infrastructures
such as hospitals, wastewater treatment plants, and bridges, but it can also involve moving entire
communities or neighbourhoods farther inland to higher ground.
Heavy rains

One way that cities are addressing the increased risk of heavy rainfall is through the use of green
infrastructure. Conventional or “gray” ways of managing heavy rainfall in cities involve capturing the
rain with gutters and storm sewers and moving it away through pipes to nearby streams, rivers, or

6 https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/5f6596de6c4445a58aec956532b9813d

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the
views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the

information contained therein.