Web application for supporting assessment of climate change adaptation strategies in Aa of Weerijs catchment, the Netherlands

The escalating urgency and severity of climate change (CC) consequences are intensifying the importance of science-informed decision making. Despite the rapid advancements in climate research, directed towards finding solutions for society, there persists a notable gap between the knowledge generated by scientists and its application by resource managers, policymakers, and other decision-makers. The observed gap is partly attributed to communication and mismatch between how researchers formulate scientific information and how stakeholders perceive its usability and legitimacy.

Within the European Union H2020 project 'EIFFEL’ (www.eiffel4climate.eu), the impact of CC on the surface-subsurface hydrology of the Aa of Weerijs catchment, situated between Belgium and the Netherlands, has been modelled and analysed, and nature-based (Nb) adaptive strategies have been developed, specifically targeting drought conditions and water shortages during summer. Recognizing the above-mentioned gap, a web application has been designed to support participatory planning and dissemination of results. The application enables stakeholders to visualize the potential impact of CC on drought conditions in near future (2050) and assess the potential of adaptive strategies to cope with such CC threat. This assessment is carried out by making use of drought-related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), developed in consultation with the main stakeholders in the area. The underlying principle is that the adaptive strategies are co-created in a transparent, multi-stakeholder and participatory context, streamlining their implementation in landscape planning.

The web app has a 3-tier architecture and ingests the pre-processed output of physically based, fully distributed hydrological model developed using the MIKE-SHE modelling system of DHI, Denmark. In the first (presentation) tier, each tab on the top-level navigation bar leads to interactive user interfaces with embedded maps, designed with careful consideration of human-computer interactions (HCI) and user experience (UX) principles using standard web technologies, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The second (logic) tier contains the web server and dedicated map server for providing spatial data to the map interface. Python has been used to handle dynamic request by the user for display of data on presentation tier. The third (data) tier contains pre-processed model outputs that are displayed on the front tier through the logic tier.

For testing and validation of technical performance of the web app, a first demonstration and testing workshop was held in November 2023 with water expertise stakeholders. The web app successfully guided users through the storyline towards the research findings. Overall the work was appreciated and encouraged by positive feedbacks. Future workshops are planned with broader group of stakeholders, which will hopefully further validate its value as a support tool for assessing climate adaptation strategies, jointly used by domain scientists, modellers and stakeholders.