Climate Changes and Protected Areas. Towards an Integrated Management

In the current phase of growing uncertainty and vulnerability of contemporary territories, in the presence of serious degradation and depletion of environmental resources, the impacts of climate change represent one of the main issues that planning and territorial governance must address with absolute urgency. In this framework, the World Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recognizes Protected Natural Areas as significant “reservoirs” of ecosystem services, which are defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as “the benefits people derive from ecosystems”, essential for the health and well-being of local settled communities, to cope with biodiversity loss, and reduces the risks and impacts related to climate change. The essay proposes, therefore, starting from the illustration of a French case study, to contribute to the identification of theoretical-methodological and operational references that reach an integration of environmental issues, with specific reference to climate adaptation actions, in ecological-environmental regeneration strategies and in planning tools of protected areas, and, more generally, in urban planning tools for territorial governance. This is, in particular, the Climate Adaptation Plan of the Hautes Vosges in the Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges within the “Life Natur'Adapt Project”, developed from 2018 to 2023 by the Nature Reserves of France with a series of European partners, including Europarc.