Green Bratislava

About the project

The goal and purpose of the project entitled “Bratislava is preparing for climate change – pilot application of measures in rainwater retention in urban environment” is to increase the City of Bratislava’s level of preparedness for the adverse impacts of climate change.

Climate change will largely entail an increase in temperature, heatwaves in summer, and extended periods of drought followed by heavy rainfall. We also need to be prepared for other extremes – prolonged storms causing local flooding, windstorms, tornadoes, and blizzards.

Bratislava has prepared and adopted its Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and this project will aid its objectives.

The project is supported by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, as well as the Slovak Republic state budget, with the total subsidy attaining 3,337,640 EUR.

It has eight partners – apart from the recipient (the City of Bratislava), there are the city districts of Nové Mesto and Petržalka, the Mestské lesy city organisation, COWI (a Norwegian partner), the Bratislava Regional Association for Nature Conservation, Bratislavská vodárenská spoločnosť, a.s., the City Committee of the Slovak Association of Nature and Landscape Preservation, as well as the Faculty of National Sciences of Comenius University in Bratislava.

The result of the project is implementation of specific adaptation measures in the area of sustainable rainwater management, adjustment of microclimate in the form of bioretention of rainwater, establishment of new green areas, introduction of new greenery in selected Bratislava squares, planting new woody plants or revitalising old ones, installation of “green” roofs, increased water-permeability of public areas etc.

At the same time, the project supports a wide range of “non-investment” activities, such as counselling the public in terms of sustainable rainwater management on private property, establishment of a small grant scheme for citizens with the goal of supporting the elements of rainwater retention on plots of land, and informative activities on the topic in hand.

Adaptation action plan

In 2012, by Resolution No. 545/2012, the City Council of Bratislava approved joining the Covenant of Mayors. Subsequently, by Resolution No. 1658/2014 it joined the Mayors Adapt initiative, confirming its objectives in the area of adaptation to climate change. Mayors Adapt is an initiative of the European Commission (Directorate General Climate Action) and results from the European Union Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, approved in April 2013.

By joining the Mayors Adapt initiative, the City of Bratislava committed itself, in particular, to:

  • prepare and adopt the Strategy of Adaptation to Adverse Climate Changes in the City of Bratislava (hereinafter known as the “Adaptation Strategy”) and/or include the field of adaptation to climate change in the current development plans and documents; the Adaptation Strategy was adopted by Resolution No. 1136/2014 of the City Council of Bratislava dated 24 September 2014;

  • provide regular reports on the progress achieved in adaptation at two-year intervals and information using the reporting template (Mayors Adapt Mayors Adapt Monitoring & Reporting Template and “city’s profile fact sheet”).

The City of Bratislava has partially completed the first of the above tasks. In the next step, it will work on implementing the issue of adaptation to climate change within the respective legal regulations and land-use plans of the city. Accordingly, based on the Adaptation Strategy, the Adaptation Action Plan to Adverse Impacts of Climate Change in the City of Bratislava for 2017-2020 was presented. The Adaptation Action Plan is also an indicator of the project of “Bratislava Preparing for Climate Change – Pilot Application of Measures in Rainwater Retention in Urban Environment”, supported by the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms (2014 – 2017).

The Adaptation Action Plan takes into account the measures introduced in the Programme of Economic and Social Development of the City of Bratislava for 2010–2020 (the “PHSR”) and the PHSR Action Plan Update adopted by the City Council in October 2016. The Adaptation Action Plan was prepared as directly proposed in PHSR measure No. D.IX. a) Programme of adaptation measures against adverse impacts of climate change, and is included in the city’s PHSR Action Plan for 2016-2018.

The Adaptation Action Plan adheres to the objectives of the Adaptation Strategy and contains a set of specific measures, including a definition of the individual competences and deadlines for monitoring their performance, as well as potential funding sources. The document proposes quantifiable indicators for each of the measures, affording collection and evaluation of information necessary for fulfilling the second commitment of the Mayors Adapt initiative (regular reporting on the progress achieved in terms of adaptation process).

It was revised by the departments of Bratislava City Hall, the budget and contribution organisations of the city and specialised representatives of the city districts, and presented for discussion to the City Council of the City of Bratislava. It was passed by resolution No. 789/2017 in April.

Pilot projects