Climate change in the Alps poses urgent challenges, yet the development of adaptation strategies is often dominated by expert-driven risk assessments. While these assessments are crucial, they often consider the social and economic implications of climate scenarios without integrating the perspectives, knowledge, needs and aspirations of local communities. In addition to preparing and protecting societies from the impacts of climate change, adaptation planning can actively shape the futures of entire communities and territories. We believe that such efforts should be collaborative and collective, promoting a vision of climate resilience that is co-created and widely shared among all societal actors.
This contribution presents findings from a Future Lab workshop, which was conducted as part of a project for the elaboration of the climate adaptation strategy for South Tyrol. A large variety of participants – including NGOs, civil society representatives, associations as well as actors from the private sector and public administration – jointly envisioned a climate-resilient future and identified concrete steps to achieve them by applying the backcasting method. Starting with assessments of major climate risks, this participatory approach bridged the gap between expert-based risk assessments and forward-looking community-based adaptation strategies.
The Future Lab workshop not only facilitated collaborative social learning and fostered negotiation processes, but also demonstrated how a storytelling approach and positive framing can increase political and social acceptance of swift and far-reaching adaptation actions. By proactively integrating climate risks into long-term planning and decision making, this case study shows how participatory foresight methods can transform adaptation from a reactive process into an opportunity for empowerment, visioning and co-creation of desirable futures with and despite climate change.