Increasing climate change resilience in agriculture: who is responsible? R. Cvejic ´ , M. C ̌ ernic ̌ Istenic ̌ , M. Glavan, L. Honzak, K. Klanc ̌ nik, K. Kompare and M. Pintar ABSTRACT Achieving climate change (CC) resilience in a timely and efficient fashion is becoming a major priority across multiple sectors. Agricultural CC adaptation has become an integrated part of agricultural development policy throughout the EU and further. Without the timely implementation of appropriate measures, the vulnerability of highly exposed and sensitive agricultural landscapes with low adaptive capacity will increase. This paper focuses on the Vipava Valley, a sub-Mediterranean agricultural area highly vulnerable to CC, describing the stakeholder landscape approach undertaken to define stakeholder responsibility level in terms of implementing adaptation measures; and it identifies the key challenges facing stakeholder networks at individual measure levels. The strategy for agricultural CC adaptation follows the structure proposed by the European Commission and clearly defines the necessary stakeholder landscape for implementing agricultural CC adaptation measures and indicators for adaptation strategy monitoring and evaluation. The challenges identified in relation to stakeholder interaction cannot be solved by strategy alone; a facilitated approach to policy implementation is necessary, its success being dependent on the ability of the social landscape to develop a firm implementation of a monitoring programme for adaptation to CC at the local municipality level. R. Cvejic ´ M. C ̌ ernic ̌ Istenic ̌ M. Glavan M. Pintar (corresponding author) Department of Agronomy, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 101 Jamnikarjeva, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia E-mail: marina.pintar@bf.uni-lj.si L. Honzak BO-MO Ltd, 4 Bratovševa plošč ad, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia K. Klanc ̌ nik K. Kompare Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia, 156 Dunajska cesta, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia Key words | agriculture, climate change adaptation, stakeholder responsibility INTRODUCTION Achieving climate change (CC) resilience in a timely and efficient manner is becoming a major priority across mul- tiple sectors (Douxchamps et al. ). In this context, the limited resilience of agricultural and food systems, and of rural communities (Ashkenazy et al. ) has been the main driver for agricultural climate change adaptation (ACCA) becoming an integrated part of agricultural develop- ment policy throughout the EU and further. In 2009, the European Commission (EC) adopted the White Paper Adapting to Climate Change: Towards a European Frame- work for Action (EC ). In 2013, the EC adopted a Green Paper on Insurance in the Context of Natural and Man-Made Disasters (EC a), this being followed by adoption of the EU’s Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change (EC b) that sets out a framework and mechan- isms for taking EU preparedness for current and future CC impact to a new, higher level. The three aforementioned documents are the baseline framework for EU member states to prepare their own national strategies and action plans for adapting to CC. To support them, the Guidelines for Developing Adaptation Strategies (EC c) and the plat- form CLIMATE-ADAPT () were established, whereby member states are able to exchange data and information regarding the expected impact of and possible measures 1405 © IWA Publishing 2019 Water Supply | 19.5 | 2019 doi: 10.2166/ws.2019.009 Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ws/article-pdf/19/5/1405/570666/ws019051405.pdf by guest on 01 December 2023