The development of multifunctional polders near Emden in Northern Germany

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THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCAL MULTIFUNCTIONAL CLIMATE

ADAPTATION MEASURES

The development of multifunctional polders near Emden in Northern Germany

Master thesis

Kim Jane Gülzow

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Colophon

Title: The successful implementation of local multifunctional climate adaptation measures

Subtitle: The development of multifunctional polders near Emden in Northern Germany

Author: Kim Jane Gülzow

Master Program: Master of Science in Environmental and Infrastructure Planning Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands

Student Number: S3354792

Double Degree: Master of Science in Water and Coastal Management Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany Student Number: 2148707

Course: Master Thesis in Environmental and Infrastructure Planning 1^st supervisor: Prof. Dr. Dirk Strijker

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen 2^nd supervisors: Dr. Ward Rauws

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Dipl.-Ing. Jan Spiekermann

Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg Submission date: 28th July 2018

Image cover page: Moorhauser Polder in Oldenburg, Germany

Photographer Christopher Marlow from Naturfotographie Marlow

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Abstract

This master thesis evaluates the multifunctional uses of flood retention polders as a climate adaptation measure. The area of the First Drainage Association Emden in Northwest Germany is chosen as the main case. One third of the research area lies below sea level and isostatic lowering and settlement processes of the ground surface level take place. Combined with climate change induced changes of the precipitation and river regime and the rise of the storm water level in the North Sea and estuaries the drainage of the lowland is strongly aggravated, and future climate adaptation measures are highly needed. Therefore, the Dutch Overdiep polder and the German Polder Holter Hammrich are used for insights and to enable the empirical analysis of polders as a potential climate adaptation measure in the research area. Firstly, benefits and drawbacks of polders are examined. Secondly, the multifunctional use of polders regarding three aspects (nature conservation, agriculture and tourism) are analysed.

Thirdly, the importance of stakeholder involvement in the development of polders is evaluated for this purpose. In the end, recommendations regarding all three empirical research questions are developed for polders as a multifunctional climate adaptation measure and specifically for the recipient research area of the First Drainage Association Emden. The results show the high potential of polders in the research area. Moreover, the multifunctional use of a polder regarding nature conservation and tourism is strongly recommended, while agriculture does not count as a multifunctional use of a polder but is needed to reach the objectives of nature conservation. Lastly, broad stakeholder involvement is recommended throughout the planning and development process of a polder in the research area.

Keywords: Climate adaptation, landscape multifunctionality, flood retention polder, flood resilience, stakeholder involvement

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List of abbreviations

Abbreviation Explanation

EU European Union

LJV Leda- Jümme- Verband

(English: Leda- Jümme-Association)

NGO Non- Governmental Organisation

NLWKN Niedersächsische Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft, Küsten- und Naturschutz

(English: Lower Saxon Department for Water, Coastal and Nature Conservation)

SSI Semi-Structured Interview(s)

1. EVE Erster Entwässerungsverband Emden (English: First Drainage Association Emden)

List of terms and explanations

Term Explanaition

Donor research area Area of the polder Holter Hammrich and area of the Overdiep polder Lower Saxony

Flowing Waters System

German: Niedersächsische Fließgewässerschutzsystem

Lower Saxony otter program

German: Niedersächsische Fischotterprogramm Recipient research area Area of the 1. EVE

Research areas Area of the 1. EVE, the polder Holter Hammrich and the Overdiep polder

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List of figures

Figure 1: Organisation of the thesis (Author, 2018). ... 6

Figure 2: Scheme clarifying the relation between climate change, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation, being supplemented with examples (Author, 2018, modified after Locatelli, 2011). ... 7

Figure 3: Generalized adaptation process (Author, 2018, modified after Bierbaum et al., 2013). ... 9

Figure 4: Comparison of the concept of sustainability with the concept of multifunctionality (Author, 2018, modified after Lovell & Taylor, 2013). ... 14

Figure 5: Arnstein's ladder of participation (Author, 2018, modified after Arnstein, 1969). ... 16

Figure 6: Conceptual framework (Author, 2018). ... 24

Figure 7: Circular process of coding (DeCuir-Gunby et al., 2011). ... 29

Figure 8: Map of Northern Germany (Spiekermann, 2015). ... 31

Figure 9: Area of the 1. EVE, showing the elevation of the area referred to the sea level (Spiekermann, 2018). ... 32

Figure 10: Scheme about the consequences of the changing height differences between inland and outer water level on the coastal drainage (Repanis, 2016). ... 33

Figure 11: The drainage basin of the Ems, Leda and their tributaries (Killmann, no date). ... 34

Figure 12: The polder Holter Hammrich (Wendeburg, no date). ... 35

Figure 13: The Overdiep polder, being located between the Bergsche Maas and the Oude Maasje (Edelenbos et al., 2013). ... 36

Figure 14: Wooden wall of the polder Holter Hammrich (Wutschke, 2018). ... 51

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List of tables

Table 1: List of interviewees, ordered by the associated donor or recipient research case (Author, 2018). ... 28 Table 2: Advantages of polders mentioned by the interviewees, in order of the number of replies

(Author, 2018)... 37 Table 3: Quotes about advantages of polders mentioned during the interviews, assigned to the category (Author, 2018)... 39 Table 4: Disadvantages of polders mentioned by the interviewees, in order of the number of replies

(Author, 2018)... 40 Table 5: Quotes about disadvantages of polders mentioned during the interviews, assigned to the

category (Author, 2018). ... 43 Table 6: Quotes indicating, whether the experts of the two donor research cases would choose a polder as a solution again (Author, 2018). ... 43 Table 7: Advantages of broad stakeholder involvement mentioned by the interviewees, in order of the

number of replies (Author, 2018). ... 54 Table 8: Quotes about advantages of broad stakeholder involvement mentioned during the interviews,

assigned to the category (Author, 2018). ... 55 Table 9: Disadvantages of broad stakeholder involvement mentioned by the interviewees, in order of

the number of replies (Author, 2018). ... 56 Table 10: Quotes about disadvantages of broad stakeholder involvement mentioned during the

interviews, assigned to the category (Author, 2018). ... 57 Table 11: Quotes indicating, whether the experts of the recipient research case would like to be

involved in a (hypothetical) planning process of polders in the recipient research area (Author, 2018. ... 58

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1. Introduction

In this chapter, the thesis is embedded in its thematic background and introductory information about the research topic is given. Moreover, the research questions are presented, the topic’s societal and academic relevance are examined, and the set-up of this thesis is described.

1.1. Present and future challenges 1.1.1. Climate change globally

Climate change is a global phenomenon, which is accelerated anthropogenically, because of the increasing emission of greenhouse gases (Horn et al., 2010). Effects of climate change have already begun to occur, and it is very likely that they will aggravate in the future (Foster et al., 2011). Among others, changes in temperature and wind intensity, an increased frequency of droughts and a shifting extent of vegetation are expected to occur (Olmstead, 2014).

But firstly, and most importantly, “water is the predominant means through which the impacts of climate change will be felt” (OECD, 2013, p. 3) and, therefore, it is mostly considered within climate adaptation strategies and a promising starting point for adaptation measures. Several complex changes can be expected regarding the global water cycle. Worldwide the average amount of precipitation is increasing significantly, the ocean’s water temperature is rising, hydrological changes occur, such as shifts in runoff and river discharge, the quantity of heavy precipitation events is on the rise as well, and the water level of storm tides will further aggravate the drainage – globally and locally. Water related risks, such as floods, will have the most serious impacts (Foster et al., 2011; Ahlhorn et al., 2012; Fellmer, 2014;

Olmstead, 2014).

1.1.2. Climate change locally: Situation of the 1. EVE

Even though climate change is a global phenomenon, impacts of climate change will most dominantly be felt locally (Boswell et al., 2012; Nordgren et al., 2016). Therefore, to understand changing climate conditions and its effects, a focus on the local level is as important as having an encompassing, global overview.

The area of the First Drainage Association Emden (1. EVE) in Northwest Germany is one of many areas, where climate change can be felt locally. Due to several interactions between salt and fresh water, high and low tide, and different kinds of floods, water management is already necessary for centuries in the low lying coastal areas in Northwest Germany (Ahlhorn et al., 2012). Nowadays climate change strengthens this need and the area of the 1. EVE must take up the challenge to deal with the changes affecting the area’s liveability.

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The territory of the 1. EVE is 49.000 hectares big and is used residentially as well as economically (1.

EVE, 2017). Since one third of the area already lies below sea level, the territory will particularly be affected by the changing climate conditions. In the future the climate change induced changes of the precipitation and river regime and the rise of the high tide and storm water level in the North Sea and estuaries will aggravate the necessity of drainage of the lowland in the area of the 1. EVE. The rise of annual precipitation, especially during winter time, and intensification of storm rainfall will lead to an increasing amount of water that has to be led away by the 1. EVE (Bormann et al., 2013; Spiekermann, 2015).

In the light of the future changes, the drainage system will not provide for a problem-free drainage and the economic and residential uses of the area will be in danger. To ensure this, the drainage of the area must be adapted to the changing future circumstances and effective measures must be taken soon.

1.2. Approaching climate change 1.2.1 Climate mitigation and adaptation

Two main strategies are common to react to climate change: Climate change mitigation and adaptation (see chapter 2). Climate mitigation is mainly about reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and thereby limiting climate change (Füssel, 2007). As opposed to this, climate adaptation is about adjusting a system to reduce harmful effects due to changing climate conditions (IPCC, 2014). Both for climate change mitigation and adaptation, a big array of diverse measures is possible.

1.2.2 New opportunities: Introducing polders

To reduce the adverse impacts of climate change in the area of the 1. EVE, a suitable climate adaptation measure should be found. Such as the local changing conditions amplify the need for climate change research to focus on a local level, the broad variety of climate adaptation measures gives reason to focus on one possible strategy in every detail.

Many different climate adaptation measures are already developed around the globe, such as water sensitive building practices, the improvement of dikes, rainwater harvesting or the integration of climate adaptation into policies and management plans. When to decide, which climate adaptation might be suitable for the area of the 1. EVE, one should analyse the conditions of the area and hereby identify requirements the climate adaptation measure should fulfil. The main challenge in the area of the 1. EVE is (and will be) the insufficient drainage of the lowland, due to changing precipitation patterns (Spiekermann, 2015). Solutions implemented in areas with similar conditions – such as being close to the coast and land lying below the sea level – include polders, which seem to be a promising climate adaptation measure.

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When needed, flood water can easily be stored in polders, thereby taking pressure off the drainage system of the 1. EVE (Müller, 2010). Moreover, through this temporal flood and storm water storage, polders can enhance an area’s resilience (Scott and Lutz-ley, 2016). Therefore, this research will examine polders as a climate adaptation measures in the area of the 1. EVE. Specifically, the multifunctionality of polders and the importance of stakeholder involvement will be investigated.

The theoretical chapter will give a detailed overview over the concepts of climate adaptation, landscape multifunctionality and stakeholder involvement, followed by a chapter introducing polders. Based on this, three empirical research questions will be pursued.

Firstly, advantages and disadvantages of polders will be analysed. On that account, information of a literature research as well as information given by interviewees will be evaluated and a recommendation regarding the potential of polders in the recipient research area will be stated.

Secondly, possible multifunctional uses of polders of the 1. EVE will be examined, due to the generally increasing awareness that monofunctional approaches are missing out on possible synergies and co- benefits (Schindler et al., 2016). Hence, multifunctionality should be included in approaches trying to solve water related challenges and polders offer several possible multifunctional uses.

Thirdly, stakeholder involvement in the development of multifunctional polders will be analysed.

Different landscape services of multifunctional landscapes are valued differently by a wide variety of stakeholders and the creation of polders comes along with a major change of land use functions.

Therefore, the supporters of the current land use, such as agricultural usage, might be sceptical or even resistant towards the idea to develop polders. For example, the Ooijpolder near Nijmegen in the Netherlands, was characterized by very limited stakeholder participation, in the end public resistance led to the rejection of the polder (Roth and Warner, 2007; Förster, 2008). In 2002 the area was identified as a suitable polder for controlled flooding, but local protests and the establishment of a local pressure group using counter-expertise to question the effectiveness of polders forced the government to abandon their plans (Roth and Warner, 2007; Neuvel and Van der Knapp, 2010).

To sum up, lessons regarding polders as multifunctional landscapes and stakeholder involvement will be drawn and transferred to possible future polders in the area of the 1. EVE. Recommendations for the 1. EVE will be stated. Insights will be drawn from two cases, the Holter Hammrich, a polder in Lower Saxony, Germany, and the Overdiep polder, located in the Southeast of the Netherlands. Based on the terminology of comparative research, the area of the 1. EVE will from now on be referred to as the recipient research area, the area of the polder Holter Hammrich and the Overdiep polder will be called the donor research area, while all three sites will be referred to as the research areas.

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1.3. Questions arising

The following research questions will be answered:

Primary research question

Based on insights from the German polder Holter Hammrich and the Dutch Overdiep polder, (how) can polders in the area of the 1. EVE be developed as a successful climate adaptation measure with multifunctional benefits?

Secondary research questions Theoretical

• What are effective measures for climate adaptation and flood resilience?

• Why should climate adaptation be local and in how far and how could polders be a measure supporting local climate adaptation?

• What are facilitating and impeding conditions to the implementation of polders as recognized in literature?

• What is the aim of stakeholder involvement?

• What are the limitations and supporting conditions for stakeholder involvement in a decision- making process based on theory?

• What role does stakeholder involvement play in the development of multifunctional landscapes?

Empirical

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of polders as a climate adaptation measure?

• Based on insights from the polder Holter Hammrich and the Overdiep polder, what are realistic multifunctional usages of the polders for the different sectors, such as nature conservation, agriculture, and tourism and recreation in the area of the 1. EVE?

• Based on insights from the polder Holter Hammrich and the Overdiep polder, what are typical drawbacks and opportunities in stakeholder involvement in the development process of polders?

1.4. Societal and academic relevance of research

The increasing risk of flooding is not only a present challenge in the area of the 1. EVE, but is a worldwide phenomenon (Kundzewicz et al., 2014). Due to climate change, this risk will increase in the future. Therefore, new approaches are necessary to ensure the liveability of many regions, such as the recipient research area (Spiekermann, 2015). Hence, the assessment of climate adaptation measures and

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their possible benefits in other sectors (such as nature conservation) are of vital importance. Since climate adaptation is a local matter, the focus of this research is on the local level. Therefore, the case of the 1. EVE will be analysed in detail.

The concept of multifunctional landscapes will be connected to polders as a climate adaptation measure and stakeholder involvement. These research fields have rarely been linked yet. By providing such a conjunction for the area of the 1. EVE and by answering the research questions, this thesis valuably contributes to the essential discussion about future climate adaptation and flood risk reduction.

Advantages and disadvantages of polders compared to other climate adaptation measures will be discussed, indicating the potential of polders. Moreover, possible multifunctional benefits of the two donor research areas will be used to analyse the potential multifunctional design of a polder in the recipient research area.

Furthermore, the relevance of stakeholder involvement in decision-making processes gets increasing attention in planning practice and theory. Climate adaptation measures “can lead to conflict in several ways, if they are […] not participatory enough to engage affected individuals and stakeholder groups”

(Okpara et al., 2018, p. 37). Additionally, local resistance can negatively influence or even prevent the implementation of proposed climate adaptation measures (Förster, 2008). Therefore, one of the goals of this thesis is to find out, what opportunities and limitations are connected to broad stakeholder involvement in the development of polders.

At the end of this thesis, concrete recommendations for the 1. EVE will be given. These recommendations might be valuable for planning practitioners of other areas facing similar challenges.

1.5. Set-up of the thesis

Following this first chapter as the introduction, the theoretical framework and the used concepts will be presented in chapter 2. Chapter 3 is devoted to polders, moreover, the conceptual framework will be illustrated. Chapter 4 will present the methodology. The cases will be introduced in detail in chapter 5 and the findings of this thesis will be presented in chapter 6. Chapter 7 will be constituted of the discussion and the conclusion can be found in chapter 8. An outlook, the author’s reflection and further research approaches will be presented in chapter 9. The reference list and the appendix can be found at the end of this thesis.

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Figure 1: Organisation of the thesis (Author, 2018).

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2. Theoretical background

2.1. Climate adaptation and flood resilience 2.1.1. Climate adaptation

Climate change is one of today’s most difficult challenges, involving many changes that affect human life directly. For example, changes in temperature, precipitation and the rising sea level influence the food we are able to cultivate, the availability of drinking water and the climate we have to live with.

Reacting to climate change, two main strategies are needed and can be distinguished: Climate mitigation and climate adaptation (Lemos and Agrawal, 2006). In the context of climate change mitigation means

“limiting global climate change by reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases or enhancing their sinks”

(Füssel, 2007. p. 265). Climate mitigation is evaluated on a global scale. Traditionally, scientifically, as well as from a policy point of view, mitigation was more focused on than adaptation. The two strategies can be mutually reinforcing and are complementary (Füssel, 2007).

Figure 2 illustrates the relation of the concepts of climate adaptation and mitigation.

Figure 2: Scheme clarifying the relation between climate change, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation, being supplemented with examples. For example, while sustainable transportation seeks to reduce the amount of greenhouse

gas emissions (mitigation), flood protection seeks to prepare for the rising sea level (adaptation). Measures, such as education, can be part of mitigation as well as adaptation measures (Author, 2018, modified after Locatelli, 2011).

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In contrast to mitigation, climate adaptation is defined as the “adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities” (IPCC, 2014, p. 5). Hence, the adjustment to new conditions, while decreasing the negative consequences and risks associated with climate change and exploiting new opportunities, is the main goal of climate adaptation. The three main elements of climate adaptation are changing the system’s exposure to changing climatic conditions, reducing the system’s sensitivity, and enhancing the system’s resilience. The measures differ from each other in their timing, their purpose, their planning horizon, the involved actors, and their forms. This inherent diversity of climate change adaptation and context-specificity show that there is not one single climate adaptation approach (Adger et al., 2005;

Füssel, 2007; Bierbaum et al., 2013; OECD, 2013).

The broad range of environmental, technical and institutional measures and the forms of flood risk management can be divided into different groups. While building precaution and creating flood protection plans count as flood precaution measures, technical flood protection encompasses dike construction, dike relocation and dams. Several factors influence how people adapt to environmental threats and which measures they take: Risk perception, the local focus, prior experiences with harm from a specific hazard, such as flooding, and even socio-economic aspects, like education, wealth, gender and age play a role in risk perception and selected adaptation measures (Smelser and Baltes, 2001; Horn et al., 2010).

Climate change adaptation is an on-going process. Hence, adaptation requires a high degree of flexibility. Most climate predictions are rather global or national and due to the lack of reliability of downscaling methods, a high degree of uncertainty characterizes the local climate change predictions.

This challenges any successful planning and management of water. As a consequence, adaptive water governance, flexible management institutions and the flexibility to adjust water policies and incorporate new knowledge are needed in a sector, where poor governance is rather the norm (OECD, 2013; Aerts et al., 2014).

Figure 3 visualizes the adaptation process, which is not a linear process, the five stages can happen after each other or at the same time (Bierbaum et al., 2013).

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Figure 3: Generalized adaptation process. All steps are connected to each other and stakeholder involvement, visualising the interconnectedness of steps and an on-going process (Author, 2018, modified after Bierbaum et al., 2013).

2.1.1.1. Effective and successful climate adaptation

The small amount of scientific papers about successful adaptation goes back to the novelty of climate adaptation in practice (Moser and Boykoff, 2013). Most climate adaptation projects were recently implemented, hence, assessing whether the adaptation approach was successful is difficult and universal evaluation metrics do not exist yet (Bierbaum et al., 2013). Within the existing literature, there is “little consensus on the […] criteria by which adaptation actions can be deemed successful” (Doria et al., 2009, p. 810). The context is crucial: An action considered as a success by one actor might be regarded as unsuccessful by another one. Success always depends on the criteria that is used to classify it. One attempt to define adaptation success was done by Adger et al. (2005). According to him, evaluating success just based on the striven for objectives is not sufficient, because success depends on the temporal as well as the spatial scale. It can be evaluated through the four context specific and contested concepts of equity, legitimacy, effectiveness and efficiency, which are a main part of environmental decisions (Adger et al., 2005).

By effectiveness the capacity of an adaptation measure to achieve the specified objective, like preventing danger or reducing a flood risk, within the intended scale and time period, is meant (Sherman and Ford, 2014). Transferring this to this research, effectiveness would mean that the flood risk in the recipient research area of the 1. EVE would actually be reduced due to the developed polder.

Efficiency means that costs, such as implementation costs and spent time, and benefits, like the reduced risk, should be balanced well. Equity, also known as distributive justice or fairness of environmental decisions, mainly focusses on the outcome of the adaptation measure, showing who could potentially win and who could lose (Adger et al., 2005).

Legitimacy expresses whether decisions and measures are accepted or rejected by the affected people and is considered a basis for effective governance. There is no universal advice how to make legitimate

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decisions. Whether a decision is considered legitimate depends on cultural expectations, normative interests, and individual interpretations, therefore, understanding the context is crucial. Sharing information and knowledge through stakeholder dialogue increases legitimacy and thereby also increases the effectiveness and equity of the decision. Hence, stakeholder involvement is regarded a crucial aspect for enhancing the implementation and success of adaptation measures (Adger et al., 2003;

Sherman and Ford, 2014; Alexander et al., 2018).

Overall, successful adaptation that balances the four aspects and enhances learning is a utopic ideal, therefore, the question of trade-offs and prioritizing gets important. Defining cautiously what the discussed climate adaptation measure is supposed to achieve, formulating clear goals and recording how and when this will be done is crucial (Moser and Boykoff, 2013).

2.1.1.2. Climate adaptation on a local scale

Many people see climate change as something that happens globally and in the faraway future – not locally and right now. Climate change does not stick to national boundaries or local borders, effects vary across regions and continents. Therefore, adaptation is relevant at all levels and adapting to climate change effectively requires states and all governance levels to corporate (Adger et al., 2005; Trinastic, 2015).

Climate change is characterized by a unique combination: It is a highly global phenomenon, but the impacts of changing climate conditions will be felt mostly at the local level. By way of example, a flood event might have global, interlinked causes, but it happens locally and affects the impacted area, its economy and social factors locally (Trinastic, 2015; Nordgren et al., 2016).

Even though climate change’s impacts are felt locally, climate adaption efforts, policy and planning are organised by national and international organisations. National adaptation strategies dominate, while local adaptation planning has a rather short history. A vital driver of local climate adaptation is the perceived lack of improvements and progress on the higher scales. Consequently, institutions and organisations on the local level are trying to supplement the national and international climate adaptation efforts. In the end, not only the climate change consequences, but also the impacts of climate adaptation measures will most noticeably be felt locally (Biesbroek et al., 2009; Measham et al., 2011; Baker et al., 2012).

Furthermore, climate change and adaptation are highly complex phenomena and monitoring and evaluating the success of a climate adaptation measure is already challenging enough, hence, it is best observed on the local scale. When going a step further and focusing not only on the local impacts of climate change and the local impacts of climate adaptation, but on climate adaptation measures related to water challenges, the local scale is vital, as well. For instance, flood control is a local or regional challenge. Since local stakeholders will be predominantly affected by the changing climate conditions

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(such as increased flooding), as well as the effects of the adaptation measure (such as necessary relocation due to the development of polders) integrating them in the planning process of climate adaptation is crucial (Ahlhorn et al., 2012; Sörensen et al., 2016).

This need to integrate local stakeholder will be further elaborated in the following paragraph.

2.1.1.3. Stakeholder involvement in climate adaptation

Climate change and adaptation are wicked problems, which are resistant to conventional solutions and have a high interconnectivity with other complex problems. Climate change is even framed as a “super wicked problem” (Lazarus, 2010, p. 1153) and also climate adaptation is a “wicked problem par excellence” (Termeer, Dewulf and Breeman, 2013, p. 27; see also Head, 2014). Water related challenges are also persistent problems, which are even more complex, due to their roots in social structures and institutions (Rittel and Webber, 1973; Brugge et al., 2005; Fitzgibbon and Mensah, 2012).

That is why a diversity of knowledge is needed in climate adaptation to deal with these uncertain, multi-scale, complex problems that affect many stakeholders. High complexity and uncertainty call for participatory approaches with an emphasis on learning, the integration of a broad spectrum of topics and the interaction between diverse stakeholders. Research has already shown that “stakeholders are an indispensable part for the process of developing regional adaptation strategies” (Ahlhorn, Bormann and Klenke, 2012, p. 65) for the decisions to be effective, efficient and legitimate. Many different studies showed and stated that stakeholder involvement is essential throughout the planning and decision- making process in climate adaptation (Loorbach, 2010; André et al., 2012; Cloutier et al., 2015).

Stakeholder participation is essential to inform and engage the community, politicians and the needed administration and should therefore be a specific goal of the development process of adaptation measures. The people, which are affected directly from the planning project should be included in the decision-making process right from the beginning of the planning process. In the development of successful climate adaptation measures a variety of stakeholders is involved, reaching from scientists and practitioners to decision-makers, which have to collaborate closely (Füssel, 2007; Larsson et al., 2007; Cloutier et al., 2015).

2.1.2. Pluvial flooding and flood resilience

Due to climate change, there is not only a need for adaptation, but also for resilience, such as drought or flood resilience – depending on the local context. Flood risk management is a main element of climate adaptation and adaptability is one of the main characteristics of resilience. Hence, climate adaptation and flood resilience are closely interlinked concepts (IFRC, 2009; Restemeyer et al., 2015).

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A flood is an extreme event, characterized by the “overflowing of a great body of water over land not usually submerged” (Han, 2011, p. 1). A variety of floods exists, while not only the 1. EVE, but most of Germany is affected by a pluvial runoff regime (Beurton and Thieken, 2009). Pluvial flooding is flooding caused by intense precipitation events, which exceeds the capacity of the existing area’s drainage system, hence, the pipelines are overloaded and a high amount of rain water cannot enter the drainage network and flooding occurs (Falconer et al., 2009; Sörensen et al., 2016; Guerreiro et al., 2017). The biggest factor for a pluvial flood is rainfall, its spatial distribution and intensity, which cannot be influenced by humans. Other factors, like the capacity of the drainage system, land use of the area and mitigation measures are all human-induced factors, which determine the occurrence and extent of a pluvial flood. An increase in surface water runoff can cause risk to life and significant damage in the affected area with economic, ecologic and social impacts (Falconer et al., 2009; Douglas et al., 2010;

Thomas and Knüppe, 2016; Sörensen and Mobini, 2017).

Currently, a transformation takes place, from the traditional, technical, and narrowly focussed engineering-oriented flood defence and control, aiming to fight the water, towards a holistic, integrated, multi-sector flood risk management, seeking for living with water. The phrase “living with water”

emphasizes the important role of local stakeholders, who are the ones affected that will live with the water (Klijn et al., 2010; Pahl-Wostl et al., 2013; Fletcher et al., 2015; Restemeyer et al., 2017).

The term resilience is characterized by muddiness in definition, but mostly, resilience is characterized as a system’s capacity to absorb disturbances and to adapt to stress, while retaining its function or moving to a new equilibrium (Davoudi et al., 2012; Cutter et al., 2014). Resilience has three characteristics: robustness, adaptability, and transformability. Robustness means that a city has to be strong to withstand flooding, for example accomplished by a dike line. This shows that the original thought of resistance and resilience being two ends on a spectrum is not valid, since persistence and robustness, often being synonyms of resistance, are one of the three main attributes of resilience. The second characteristic of resilience is adaptation, such as making the hinterland of the dike less vulnerable through land use changes. Transformability is the third element of resilience, meaning the shift from the predict and control approach towards an integrated and adaptive approach with the aim of prevention and preparedness. Hence, a resilient area can better withstand stress and bounce back from a crisis, as well as cope with and adjust to new conditions (Foster et al., 2011; Restemeyer et al., 2015; Thomas and Knüppe, 2016).

When trying to enhance the resilience of an area, a multi-stakeholder perspective should be taken and several stakeholders and authorities from diverse levels and sectors should be included in the decision- making process. Why? “No single entity or sector has the ultimate responsibility for creating the physical foundation for resilience” (Cutter et al., 2013. p. 28), therefore sharing all vital tasks between individual actors, public and private organisations increases the resilience of an area.

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“Disaster resilience is most effective if its development starts with the local community and its residents”

(Cutter et al., 2013, p. 28), the ones who are most affected by the shift towards “living with water”.

Locals should take the possibility to pass on their local knowledge and their own experiences and get involved in the process of reducing the risk and damage to their communities (Sörensen et al., 2016;

Tortajada, 2016; Bostick et al., 2017).

2.2. Multifunctional landscapes 2.2.1. Landscape Multifunctionality

The concept of multifunctional landscapes has gained increasing attention nationally and internationally from policy makers, scientist as well as the general public during the last years and the need for multifunctional landscapes and their different functions is now fully recognized (Oostindie et al., 2006;

O’Farrell and Anderson, 2010). Multifunctional approaches underline the possibility to enhance landscapes and to achieve co-benefits of new opportunities. Multifunctional landscapes potentially provide and support a variety of different beneficial services, values, goods and functions (Otte et al., 2007; Bolliger et al., 2011; Sayer et al., 2013; Schindler et al., 2014).

The three main categories of landscape multifunctionality are namely the ecological (environmental, regulatory), cultural (social) and (economic) production functions. Ecological functions include environmental benefits such as climate regulation or the conservation of biodiversity. Cultural functions comprise educational benefits, the visual quality of a landscape and recreational activities. Agricultural products, such as food, belong to production functions (Mander et al., 2007; Lovell and Johnston, 2009;

Fratini et al., 2012).

Landscape multifunctionality is closely related to the vital concept of sustainable development (see figure 4). But in comparison to sustainability, where sustainable development is mostly regarded and visualised as the overlapping area of social, economic and environmental sector, multifunctionality is rather the “stacking of ecological, production, and cultural functions to achieve greater overall performance” (Lovell and Taylor, 2013, p. 1451).

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Figure 4: Comparison of the concept of sustainability with the concept of multifunctionality. In contrast to sustainability multifunctionality is based on piling up the three different functions (Author, 2018, modified after Lovell & Taylor, 2013).

Multifunctional landscapes can be seen as climate adaptation measures, as Lovell and Taylor (2013) state “multifunctional landscapes play a role both in adapting to new environmental conditions and in mitigating the problem” (Lovell and Taylor, 2013, p. 1452).

2.2.2. Stakeholder involvement in multifunctional landscapes

Diverse stakeholders differently value the various landscape services of multifunctional landscapes.

Many interactions and trade-offs characterize these different landscape services. Due to the mixture of different functions and values of landscapes, transdisciplinary strategies are required. Finding the balance between multiple preferences, wishes and needs is challenging (Sayer et al., 2013).

Multifunctionality is most successful where a wide variety of different stakeholders with different fields of expertise and diverging interests are involved in all planning and implementation stages. Hence, the role of stakeholders in the successful development of multifunctional landscapes is crucial (Mander et al., 2007; Schindler et al., 2014).

Still, participation in practice is more challenging than in theory. Due to different objectives, frames and values, the high number of stakeholders involved in multifunctional landscapes can easily lead to conflicts (Lovell and Taylor, 2013; Sayer et al., 2013).

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2.3. Stakeholder involvement

2.3.1. Successful stakeholder involvement – What it is and how it is done

Environmental problems are often uncertain, complex, affect multiple scales and actors. Therefore, complex and dynamic environmental challenges need to be tackled by flexible and transparent decision- making processes, wherefore stakeholder participation is needed (Reed, 2008).

The terms public or citizen involvement and stakeholder involvement should be used correctly. When talking about public involvement and stakeholder involvement, these terms can be distinguished. While public involvement means the broad public body is involved in the planning process, by stakeholders persons with specialised capacities and responsibilities are meant (Larsson et al., 2007). Therefore, who counts as a stakeholder is context-dependent. Researchers as well as practitioners can easily have conflicting views on who counts as a stakeholder. Stakeholders do not have to be an individual, but can also be an organisation, an agency, or an association. The most well-known classification of stakeholders is the one of Mitchell et al., based on the three characteristics power, legitimacy and urgency (André et al., 2012; Bonnafous-Boucher and Rendtorff, 2016).

Following the popular definition of Freeman (1984), Reed defines stakeholders as somebody who is affected by or can affect a decision (Reed, 2008). This thesis follows this definition and regards a stakeholder as “a major decision maker, actor, or sector that may benefit or suffer as a result of the change in question” (Sherman and Ford, 2014, p. 421). To illustrate, in the recipient research area, the 1. EVE and the county Leer would be important stakeholder.

Moreover, it is also important to know what kind of participation is meant, since the term does not always mean the same: the degree, the nature and objectives of participation can differ significantly.

Hence, the quality of the stakeholder participation is important. One of the most influential participation theories was published in the year 1969 in the Journal of the American Planning Association by Arnstein. Arnstein created a typology of eight levels of participation (and non-participation), called the ladder of participation (see figure 5). The ladder shows the crucial gradation of citizen participation.

Hence, when focusing on citizen participation and involvement, one has to be aware of the different types and the meaning that comes with it (Arnstein, 1969; Roovers and Buuren, 2016; Singh, 2017).

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Figure 5: Arnstein's ladder of participation, being composed of 8 different forms of participation, which are assigned to three categories (Author, 2018, modified after Arnstein, 1969).

How is stakeholder involvement successfully done? There is only limited knowledge available on how to best engage stakeholders successfully. Important questions are: Who should be involved? When should they be involved? How should the existing information be presented to them? The identification of important stakeholders and suitable actor arrangements should already start in the initial stages of the planning process, hence, as early as possible. All stakeholders should be informed right from the start about their span of influence to prevent later disappointment. In the later stages of the planning process, results of conducted surveys and studies, alternatives, the effects of the planning process are not only presented, but also critically assessed and discussed in detail. Exemplary communication tools are plans, maps, photos, models or information brochures (de Garis et al., 2003; Bourne and Walker, 2005; Larsson et al., 2007).

Even though there is much research on stakeholder participation, to the present day, there are still no universally used instruments and widely held agreed upon measurement tools available to measure stakeholder involvement, its success and failure. Still, the extent of involvement should be evaluated. A stakeholder can be part of the decision-making process from the beginning to the end and not have any impact, but only superficially participate or being restricted by power inequalities. Whether collective decision-making through deliberation does actually happen can be evaluated with the help of Arnstein’s ladder of participation. A second dimension that should be evaluated is the diversity of participants, meaning the stakeholder types, such as agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and citizens (Syme and Sadler, 1994; Weaver and Cousins, 2007; Jacob and Daigneault, 2009).

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The perceived success of the process itself and the perceived success and outcome of the project can be used as an evaluation criterion as well. The level of agreement reached, ranging from basic agreements to more advanced agreements or specific projects, can be considered, too. Moreover, not just the perceived success of the outcome, but actually the achievement of the objective, such as lowering the flood risk, can be used as an evaluation criteria of successful stakeholder involvement (Leach et al., 2002; Trimble and Làzaro, 2014).

2.3.2 The importance and advantages of stakeholder involvement

What is the main aim of stakeholder involvement and why is it so important regarding climate adaptation? The reasons to involve stakeholders, and therefore the aim of stakeholder involvement, varies with projects, processes, and situations, hence, it is context-dependent. The reasons can be manifold due to the wide variety of advantages of including stakeholders in planning processes.

Since climate adaptation can reinforce conflicts between actors, planning of adaptation measures should integrate stakeholders, such as the municipality, the community, land owners, and politicians. Though participation it is made sure that community issues are included, and more innovative project ideas can be developed. Participation can enhance the acceptance of planning proposals, through which the implementation is simplified. The legitimacy of planning can be increased, learning can be promoted, and the public trust in the decisions and the understanding and awareness about the urgency and goals of the planning project can be enhanced (see for example Larsson et al., 2007; Warner, 2011; Evers et al., 2012; Ernst and Riemsdijk, 2013; Cloutier et al., 2015; Nederhand and Klijn, 2017; Soma, Dijkshoorns-Dekker and Polman, 2018).

Stakeholder involvement in decision-making processes is characterized by “higher effectiveness, efficiency, equity, flexibility, legitimacy, sustainability, and replicability” (Sherman and Ford, 2014, p.

433). This type of planning process with a high stakeholder involvement is increasingly regarded “as not only desirable but also necessary” (Larsson et al., 2007, p. 140).

Broad stakeholder involvement is not only important regarding climate adaptation in general, but regarding polders in particular as well. Experiences from the Ooijpolder showed that missing or limited stakeholder participation can backfire. In this case, public resistance led to the rejection of the polder.

Moreover, stakeholder involvement is linked with the two concepts of stakeholder awareness and willingness. Being consulted increases the stakeholders and public awareness of risks and being involved in decision-making processes increases the willingness to accept new plans (Förster, 2008;

Warner, 2011).

The author assumes that a broad stakeholder involvement leads to higher stakeholder awareness of flood risk and higher willingness to accept polders and is thereby important for the success of the local climate adaptation in the recipient research area.

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2.3.3. Limitations and pitfalls of stakeholder involvement

Involving stakeholders is easier said than done (Sherman and Ford, 2014; Waligo et al., 2014; Grygoruk and Rannow, 2017). Stakeholder involvement implies that resources, like financial means, time commitment and energy are needed. Moreover, all (and possibly conflicting) types of knowledges, such as local or scientific knowledge, needs to be included in planning processes. Therefore, the involvement of a wide array of stakeholders slows down the decision-making process. Participating in a decision- making process is time-consuming for all the involved stakeholders. Moreover, stakeholder involvement often comes with high costs, hence, financial resources are needed (Warner et al., 2002; Irvin and Stansbury, 2004; Koontz and Johnson, 2004; Trimble and Làzaro, 2014).

A lack of clear guidance can be obstructive for the decision-making process, as well. Besides, processes with many parties are subject to power imbalances and influences that affect the planning process, such as powerful stakeholders that can reinforce the status quo even against the leading opinion. Long processes and overcomplicated administrative processes might act as a barrier for stakeholder willingness to participate. Due to reasons like these, involved parties might become unhappy or conflicts may arise (Blahna and Yonts-Shepard, 1989; Thomas, 1999; Warner et al., 2002; Few et al., 2007; Soma et al., 2018).

2.3.4. Stakeholder willingness and awareness

Climate change awareness as well as the willingness to contribute to adaptation measures are both important concepts interlinked with stakeholder involvement in planning processes of climate adaptation measures.

Climate change awareness means the degree to which people relate to changing climate conditions as a driver of change. Usually people are neither total believers nor nonbelievers of climate change, but it is somewhere in-between, where most people are. Climate change awareness is influenced by many variables, such as psychological, cultural worldviews and contextual factors and knowledge. People’s willingness to support adaptation is dependent in their risk perception, based on the climate-relevant knowledge, and the expectations of future climate changes. Hence, people, who are likely to be affected by changing climate conditions are more likely to take action (O’Connor et al., 1999; Marshall et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2015; Shi et al., 2015).

Even when climate change awareness is high, it is possible that the public does not really understand the phenomena or simply shows no interest. Even though there is no universal guideline how to increase climate change awareness and influence people’s perception of climate change, possible tools are visioning processes, efficient communication of information, school activities and environmental education, information leaflets, increasing climate-relevant knowledge and the use

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of media and press (Corbett and Durfee, 2004; Jonsson, 2005; Sampei and Aoyagi-usui, 2009; Moser and Ekstrom, 2010; Sheppard, 2012; Ketlhoilwe, 2016).

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3. Polders

3.1. Polders as a climate adaptation measure

Polders are the climate adaptation measure analysed within the scope of this thesis. The notion of polders is not clearly defined in the scientific literature and the terminology varies: Calamity polders, flood retention polders or off stream flood storage reservoir – the terms evolve locally and get more diverse (Zhou, 2014; Fletcher et al., 2015).

The polders analysed in this thesis are diked upstream areas with little economic value, which are designated “for ‘controlled flooding’ during extreme discharges” (Roth & Warner, 2007, p. 519).

Depending on the location of polders, it might be necessary to change land-use of the area and to move residents. In case of an occurring flood, primarily the polder areas would be flooded and accommodate a huge amount of water, hindering it from damaging vulnerable areas, such as residential or economic land. The water can be kept inside the polder for hours, days or weeks (Zielaskowski and Lüderitz, 2002). As soon as a safe discharge of the water is possible, the stored water would be released downstream.

Two types of polders can be distinguished. The influx and discharge of the water has to be regulated depending on the height of the polder. In high laying polders, in case of an extreme weather event, the water has to be pumped into the polder; later it can be released out of the polder without any further effort. In case of a low-lying polder, the influx of water happens automatically, while the water has to be pumped back into a river after the extreme weather event. The main aim of polders is flood peak reduction, whose success depends on multiple factors, like the storage capacity of the polder, good timing, adjustable control structures and the quality of the flood forecast (Ahlhorn et al., no date; Förster et al., 2005; Förster, 2008).

Based on the conformities of the concepts and the aim of polders in the three research areas, a definition for polders in this thesis is developed:

A polder is a diked, low lying area, which foremost serves as a protection measure against pluvial flooding after high precipitation events. Multifunctional uses, for example with nature conservation, agriculture, or tourism and recreation, are thinkable and worth striving for.

As every climate adaptation measures, the adjustment and refurbishment of poldersis characterized by advantages and benefits as well as barriers and limits, which will be presented in the following two paragraphs.

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3.2. Benefits and recognized supporting conditions for the implementation of polders The main advantage and striven-for benefit of polders is their additional storage capacity. During a high precipitation event, water can temporarily be stored in a polder, thereby taking pressure off the drainage system and enhancing the region’s resilience (Müller, 2010; Schuetze and Chelleri, 2013; Spiekermann, 2015). Since polders can be considered large engineering measures, they cannot only be seen as an adaptation measure focussing on the ‘adaptability’ characteristic of resilience, but can also be attributed to the ‘robustness’ aspect of resilience (Restemeyer et al., 2015).

Moreover, flood defences are often combined with other functions, such as wind turbines on dams and dikes and parking garages in quays (Voorendt, 2017). Moreover, due to the increasing number of flood events, public awareness is rising that monofunctional approaches are lagging behind.

Today’s challenges are getting more complex and several sectors are linked together. A shift from single-use landscapes and a focus on isolated, sectoral, narrow-focused actions should change to multi- disciplinary ideas and multi-functional landscapes (Hatcho, 2006; Schindler et al., 2016; Neil et al., 2017). Since “multifunctional urban landscapes for water management can create synergies and added value” (Schuetze & Chelleri, 2013, p. 613), combinations of different functions of climate adaptation measures should be explored.

Three possible multifunctional usages of polders are nature conservation, agriculture and tourism and recreation. Polders can offer valuable habitats for plants and animals. Migrating birds, amphibians and mammals, such as the otter, can benefit from polder landscapes (Wendeburg and Reichert, 2012).

Multifunctional approaches encompassing water and agriculture should be considered as well (Bossio et al., 2010). Flood detention areas are often used agriculturally, since some agricultural land uses can be compatible with periodic flooding (Förster et al., 2008; Liao, 2014). Since large areas of the recipient research area are agricultural land, getting the support of the corresponding land owners (most probably mainly farmers) would most likely enhance the public support of the climate adaptation measure and reduce the likelihood of conflicts. Another possible multifunctional use of water bodies is tourism and recreation. The recreational use of floodplains can be regarded as a “a chance for a better public appreciation of the value of floodplains and rivers” (Schindler et al., 2016, p. 1358). Touristic use of polders, just like riverbeds and floodplains, can increase the awareness of climate change (Zhou, 2014;

Kupczyk and Osthorst, 2015). Through stakeholder involvement local knowledge, such as knowledge on the prevalent nature, precious landscape types and endemic habitats, comes into the decision-making process and as Francis Bacon already stated “knowledge is power” (Flyvbjerg, 1998, p. 27).

As explained above, the three multifunctional uses of polders suggest that, first of all, polders can be used multifunctionally and serve another purpose, and secondly, stakeholder involvement in all three aspects is beneficial either for the acceptance of polders and less resistance or due to the inclusion of local knowledge.

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3.3. Barriers and recognized impeding conditions for the implementation of polders 3.3.1. Barriers to climate adaptation

It is important to identify barriers and possible constraints regarding the implementation of climate adaptation measures in general, and the development of polders, in particular.

As a result of inadequate or missing participation and involvement, the public might not understand the urgency and plans regarding the climate adaptation measure and they will most likely be unsupportive (Pahl-Wostl et al., 2013; Okpara et al., 2018). Moreover, the inclusion of – sometimes competing – local as well as scientific knowledge in the planning process turns out to be challenging in practice (Rauschmayer et al., 2009; Measham et al., 2011). Furthermore, the “overly simplistic notions of community” (Measham et al., 2011, p. 895) may not recognizethe possibly high inhomogeneity of local communities. Path dependency – meaning that institutions tend to become more difficult to change with time – might be another barrier in the successful implementation of climate adaption, as well (Hassink, 2005; Sorensen, 2015).

Further barriers to climate adaptation efforts can be found in relation to governance, limited funding, climate adaptation’s reactive nature, and the lack of context-dependent reliable knowledge and information regarding future climate changes (see for example Amundsen, 2010; Acquah and Onumah, 2011; Measham et al., 2011; Baker et al., 2012; Bierbaum et al., 2013; Pahl-Wostl et al., 2013; Hardelin and Lankoski, 2015; Thissen, 2017).

3.3.2. Barriers to polders

In addition to the just mentioned barriers of the planning and implementation of climate adaptation measures in general, there are limits and barriers regarding interventions in nature through the development of polders in particular.

Polders are often relatively empty, but sometimes they are not completely uninhabited. This implies that sometimes people have to be relocated or that the surrounding landscape, such as an occupied building, has to be adapted in a way that allows people to keep living in the polder. Possible solutions might be the construction of mounds, as it was done in the Overdiep polder (Roth and Winnubst, 2014). As a consequence of relocation to adaptation measures, inhabitants lose their land and a disintegration of community networks might occur (Tilt, 2014; Greenpeace, 2017). Additional drawbacks and disadvantages of polders are the major risks in case of technical failures the death of mobile organisms, when water flows into the polder (Damm, 2015), and possibly occurring adverse living conditions (Zielaskowski and Lüderitz, 2002). Moreover, “implementing retention areas requires space has to be available” (Schasfoort et al., 2013, p. 3). As a consequence of the changed land use, the NIMBY effect can occur, meaning that the general aim does obtain approval (such as guaranteeing flood safety), while the local negative effects are unwanted (such as giving up one’s land; Warner et al., 2012; Carson, 2017).

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The resulting area reduction due to a polder might lead to a shortage of land and competition for land (Hochschule Bremen, 2014). Therefore, necessary for the success of polders – and the most important barrier – is effective stakeholder involvement in the decision-making process of polders as a climate adaptation measure, which will be discussed in the following paragraph.

3.4. Stakeholder involvement in the development of polders

Public participation and stakeholders are not just essential in developing local climate adaptation measures in general, but also in polder management, in particular. In the case of the Ooijpolder, a polder that was designated to be near Nijmegen at the Waal, a branch of the river Rhine, public involvement was limited, and the commission did not talk to any civilians or experts about their knowledge, advises or local insights. The Ooijpolder was never build because of public resistance, emphasizing the importance of public involvement and acceptance. In consequence, the plans for calamity polders were shelved and the public trust in flood policy decreased significantly (Roth and Warner, 2007; Förster, 2008).

The Dutch waterboards as well as German polder communities in Hamburg visualize how stakeholders can organise themselves trying to reduce the flood risk by cooperating. In the Netherlands waterboards were established from year 1150 onwards; a form of community based common pool resource management (Mostert, 1998; Toonen et al., 2006). Hence, they are traditional institutions, which are responsible for drainage and flood control (Lintsen, 2002; Mostert, 2017). In Hamburg, flood protection and polder communities, consisting of residents of flood prone areas, are responsible for the protection against storm tides. But just a formal assignment of responsibilities does not mean that the tasks are undertaken responsibly and successfully. Therefore, the risk awareness and especially being aware of the personal risk is important (Fellmer, 2014). Better awareness and preparedness can be reached by involving and consulting the public. Stakeholders are willing to accept new proposals more easily, when they are already actively involved in the early planning stages (Förster, 2008; Warner, 2011).

3.5. Conceptual framework

Figure 6 visualises the interrelationships between the discussed theoretical aspects and concepts of this research.

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Figure 6: Conceptual framework (Author, 2018).

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4. Methodology

4.1. Qualitative Research

Since the effects of climate change will predominantly be felt locally (Boswell et al., 2012), the choice of a local case study is appropriate. Already today the area of the 1. EVE is significantly affected by climate change, and therefore, a high urgency to act is present to ensure the further usage of the recipient research area. Due to the complexity and the associated uncertainties of changing climate conditions, the focus on in-depth knowledge and the real-life context is important.

In this thesis, based on comparative research and case studies, two donor case studies, the polder Holter Hammrich and the Dutch Overdiep polder, are adduced to develop knowledgeable recommendations for the development of polders in the recipient research area of the 1. EVE. Since case studies generate in- depth knowledge close to the real live (Flyvbjerg, 2006), this research is based on these three case studies. This choice can be ascribed to the main research question: Based on insights from the German polder Holter Hammrich and the Dutch Overdiep polder, how can polders in the area of the 1. EVE be developed as a successful climate adaptation measure with multifunctional benefits?

This chapter presents the deliberate research strategy and gives an overview of the used methods, namely case study research, comparative research, literature research and semi-structured interviews as well as an overview of the data analysis. Combining these different methods validates the research findings and evaluation (Trimble and Làzaro, 2014).

4.2. Case study

The main aim of a case study is to understand a phenomenon in its context, thereby, finding answers to specific why and how research questions. Thereby, a case is an activity, an event, a social contemporary phenomenon, or a problem, which can only be carefully studied with multiple sources of evidence, while being embedded in its real-life context and natural surroundings. The advantage of a case study in comparison to quantitative methods is its depth, the closeness of case studies to the real life and its richness of details. Instead of controlling variables and their relations, the researchers observe the phenomena (Dooley, 2002; Flyvbjerg, 2006; Gillham, 2010; Swanborn, 2010; Woodside, 2010).

The design of the case study has to be well-conceived. When going through the case study steps, one has to keep in mind that “case study research is complex and interactive, and cannot be characterized by a simple linear process” (Scapens, 2004, p. 263). First of all, the problem, the intent of the project and the exact research question were defined, which was done together with a detailed literature review. In the next step, two further cases were selected, and the analysis techniques were chosen. Following, data were collected and evaluated carefully. At the end, the main research question was answered, which will be presented in chapter 8 (Dooley, 2002; Scapens, 2004; Swanborn, 2010).

The development of multifunctional polders near Emden in Northern Germany

THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCAL MULTIFUNCTIONAL CLIMATE

ADAPTATION MEASURES