28. 04. 2026
Author: Nela Kadlečíková
Inspiration from Europe for Our Region: Insights from the EURADAPT Meeting in Sweden
In March, as part of the EURADAPT project, we participated in an international Policy Twinning meeting in Karlskrona, Sweden, together with our partners from the Regional Authority of the South Moravian Region and the Research Institute for Urban Planning and Development, who serve as stakeholders in the project. Policy Twinning is a form of international cooperation in which regions and specialized institutions share experiences, approaches, and best practices with the aim of inspiring one another and improving public policies.
The main goal of the meeting was to share best practices and deepen understanding of how European regions can effectively respond to the impacts of climate change, particularly in land management and food systems.
What key insights did we take away?
1) Water in the landscape is a critical issue and must be addressed systematically
It became clear from both field visits and discussions that wetlands, natural water retention, and sustainable land management are not mere add-ons but key pillars of climate change adaptation. The wetlands in Järnavik serve as an example, demonstrating that functional natural systems often represent the restoration of previously removed landscape elements. These wetlands were removed from the landscape in the past, a decision that, with hindsight, proved to be a fundamental mistake. Today, they are therefore being restored at considerable financial cost because they play an irreplaceable role in the landscape:
- they slow the water runoff and thus reduce the risk of flooding
- they improve the landscape’s ability to retain water during periods of drought
- they significantly support biodiversity and the return of natural ecosystems
2) Agriculture and adaptation must go hand in hand
At a local organic farm, we saw that sustainable farming is not just about an ecological approach, but about the practical necessity to respond to:
- more frequent droughts and weather extremes
- pressure on food production
- limited natural resources
3) The most effective approach is to combine policy with on-the-ground reality
Linking discussions at the table with real locations in the landscape proved highly beneficial. This revealed that:
- policies without knowledge of the field often miss the mark
- field practice without systemic anchoring loses its impact
- linking the two is the key to functional adaptation
4) The greatest value: sharing among regions
The “Policy Clinic” working method, which is based on mutual cooperation among regions to improve specific solutions in practice, demonstrated that the greatest benefits come from:
- open discussion of problems (not just successes)
- feedback between regions
- jointly seeking solutions that can be adapted and applied in different conditions
What does this mean for us?
The following points are key to our work:
- adapting to climate change is not a single measure, but an entire system
- managing water in the landscape strengthens a region’s ability to cope with the impacts of a changing climate
- sharing experiences between regions significantly accelerates the search for solutions
And that is precisely why the South Moravian Region Climate Action Plan makes sense: We draw inspiration from how climate challenges are addressed abroad, gather proven approaches from practice, and adapt them into solutions that make sense specifically here, in the conditions of the South Moravian Region.
The EurAdapt project (ID 03C0723) is co-financed by the Interreg Europe program.