On 8 December, a delegation from Kazakhstan visited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Potsdam to discuss how scientific evidence can support national climate adaptation planning. The exchange in the Big Cupola of PIKs A31 building was part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) study tour Climate Change Adaptation in Germany and Lessons for Kazakhstan and was closely connected to the work of the CLIMPACT project at the Potsdam Institute on Climate Impact research (PIK) on climate risks and adaptation in Central Asia. The visit focused on how research institutions and public authorities can work together to develop and implement National Adaptation Plans.
After welcome remarks by Stefanie Wesch, project coordinator for the CLIMPACT project, Saulet Sakenov (UNDP), Friedrich Busch (PIK) introduced PIKs research and capacity building activities. He outlined how the institute combines climate modelling, impact assessment and policy analysis and how it cooperates with partners worldwide to strengthen institutional capacities for climate risk assessment. In this context he also pointed to ongoing collaborations with Central Asian partners and the role of CLIMPACT and PIK in general in supporting knowledge exchange in the region.
The scientific programme then highlighted concrete tools and examples that are relevant for adaptation planning in Kazakhstan. Diegopablo Pineda Schwarz (PIK/CLIMPACT) presented climate country profiles for Kazakhstan, which compile key climate indicators and projections to support adaptation planning.
Building on this, Dr Iulii Didovets, project lead of the CLIMPACT project, introduced the Climate Impacts Online platform. He showed how users can access climate projections and impact information for different regions and sectors and how such open tools can support evidence-based planning beyond the scientific community. Using the mining affected Spree River basin in Germany as an example, Hagen Koch (PIK) then illustrated how regional studies can inform water management and adaptation decisions in river basins that are strongly shaped by human activities.
