Future Biodiversity Changes in Sweden

Water-management issue

Jönköping county administration works as a policy maker of environmental protection. With the responsibility to detect changes in ecosystems, to describe them as well to decide for new regulations to protect environment in a changing climate there is a need for information on different climate indicators to be easily accessible and comparable with other data sources.

Decision support to client

The results will lead to better supported decisions on environmental protection in a changing climate with focus on supporting different habitats and environments to conserve and maintain biodiversity.
The results will also be used in the environmental monitoring program at the County and is saved in databases together with other local data. The environmental monitoring program is shared within the county as well as with municipalities within the County.

Temporal and spatial scale

The time needed to change an environmental regulation is around 5 years but there is a need to be able to see changes in the longer future up to mid century and late century.

The spatial scale is limited to Jönköping County (10 000 km2) and to catchment areas in Jönköping county. Jönköping county has been divided into catchment areas to help with management of different rgeions.

Climate Indicators

Pan-European and local indicators

The most important indicators for this case study can be summarised into the following groups (32 indicators desired in total):

  • Air temperature
  • Water temperature
  • Precipitation
  • Water discharge
  • Snow cover
  • Ground water level
  • Growing degree days

Case study workflow

Importance and Relevance of Adaptation

Jönköping county have responsibility to include climate change in future planning, state supervision, permission and environmental monitoring. The results will help the client prioritize questions regarding biodiversity and its decline in different municipal areas. All policy makers at regional level have the responsibility to plan for a sustainable future in a changing climate. The method used in this study can hopefully be used by other counties or surveyors of the environment. Since 8th March, 2018, there is a climate change strategy implemented based on the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030 goals:

  • Nationally – ’Develop a long-term sustainable and robust society that actively meets climate change by reducing vulnerabilities and taking advantage of opportunities.’
  • Regionally – ’A guide for the county's actors to actively respond to climate change and create a long-term, robust society and sustainable development.’

https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/jonkoping/stat-och-kommun/samhallsbyggnad/plan-och-bygg---pbl/klimatanpassning.html

Read latest progress here!

Consultancy or Knowledge Purveyors

Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI); Sweden

Clients

Länsstyrelsen i Jönköpings Län; Sweden

Contact

Dr. Lorna Little, Research and Development in Hydrology, SMHI; Sweden