Activities to reduce the negative impacts of climate change on the coastal area of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (PGC) were started in 2020 with the implementation of the Analysis of Vulnerability of the Coastal Area of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County due to rising sea level project by the Institute for Physical Planning of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Rijeka. As part of the first phase of the project, a primary assessment of the vulnerability of the entire coastal area of PGC was carried out. Based on the results of the primary vulnerability assessment, four particularly vulnerable settlements were singled out: Cres, Rab, Punat and Volosko, which were analysed in more detail in the second phase of the project entitled Analysis of the threat of coastal flooding of vulnerable settlements in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.
The aforementioned project developed a methodology that enabled the implementation of high-quality analyses of coastal flooding, based on detailed high-precision documents (three-dimensional point clouds). Flooding analyses were carried out for the current state and several scenarios of the raising of the sea level: the areas and depths of flooding were defined, and the simulated propagation of flood waves, defined as the resultant effect of increased sea levels and waves. Coastal flooding maps were created for each analysed sea level rise scenario. The positive and negative examples of the past use of the area of the coastal settlements of PGC with regard to coastal flooding are presented. Finally, potential measures to reduce the negative consequences of sea level rise were also proposed, all with the aim of implementing them into spatial planning documentation. The results and the proposed spatial planning guidelines are a quality basis that will enable and facilitate timely action and interventions in the space necessary for reducing the expected negative consequences of climate change for stakeholders (e.g. local self-government units and port authorities).
The introduction to the presentation of the study was given by the director of the Institute for Physical Planning of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Mr Adam Butigan and the dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the University of Rijeka, Associate Professor Mladen Bulic PhD.
The study was presented by a working team composed of:
- Associate Professor Igor Ružić PhD, Andrea Tadić (GF RI)
- Vedrana Petrović, Gorana Ljubičić, Dado Jakupović (Institute PGC)