Hochtaunus Adaptation Forum

A the gates of Germany's Rhine-Main area, only 30 km northwest of Frankfurt, lies the Taunus region. There, in the forested Taunus Main ridge or "Hochtaunus", the effects of climate crisis are already very visible. The large-scale dieback of the Spruce trees for which the area has become too warm and dry is one sign of this.  Soil erosion and the overall water balance are becoming increasingly problematic. Local climate adaptation measures are needed to ensure the continued provision of ecosystem services throughout the region.

To this end, Climate Alliance is developing regional forums on climate crisis adaptation with its members, the Hochtaunuskreis and the cities of Bad Homburg and Frankfurt. The aim is to further develop and test exemplary regional governance structures and municipal cooperation for climate crisis adaptation and to enable transferability to other fields of action relevant to adaptation. The implementation of the project focuses on innovative and participatory exchange formats along three thematic forums (agriculture, forestry and eco-tourism). Based on the vulnerability assessment and the evaluation of already existing governance structures, municipal, private and civil society actors within the district are addressed. In the regular forum meetings, thematically relevant actors (agriculture, forestry and eco-tourism) network and discuss the impacts of and possible adaptation strategies to the climate crisis in the Hochtaunuskreis. The thematic forums in turn form the basis for the implementation of two concrete pilot projects in which local climate crisis adaptation is tested in an exemplary manner.

The imitation of these pilot projects elsewhere as well as the development of possible further, future project ideas in the course of the forum meetings are explicitly desired: Within the framework of the project, the results with nationwide relevance will be elaborated and made accessible throughout Germany by Climate Alliance.

Project funding period: December 2021 – November 2024
via the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Funding code: 67DAS243A), Funding measure: Promotion of measures for adaptation to climate change, funding area: Promotion of local and regional cooperation for adaptation to climate change

Want to learn more? Contact Julian Thoss at j.thoss(at)climatealliance.org.

Further information

• Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
• Project lead: "Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft"