València

València is a city located on the east coast of Spain. The metropolitan region has more than one and a half million inhabitants, which includes both the city of València (with almost 800,000 inhabitants), and the adjoining municipalities that formerly were part of the historic region of the Huerta de València.

The architectural, archaeological, monumental, socio-ecological and natural heritage of València is very rich and diverse, but it is at risk due to the impacts of climate change, especially the increase in temperatures and torrential rainfall accompanied by a fall in average annual rainfall, heat waves and sea level rise, among other climatic events.

The City of València will focus its involvement with ARCH on its socio-ecological heritage, mainly in the Huerta and Albufera. These are two agrarian cultural landscapes linked by a historical hydrological infrastructure, recognized on the register of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) managed by the FAO. The Huerta and the Albufera are key elements in the city’s green and blue infrastructure.

Assessing Climate Change Impacts

According to climate models, the Huerta and Albufera will become warmer, while at the same time, water availability will decrease. Sea level rise is an additional, critical threat from a longer-term perspective.  

ARCH is working to better understand the impacts of different possible climate change scenarios on agricultural and natural ecosystems by means of “translating” changes in the climate into changes in the environment, e.g. through the calculation of agroclimatic and bioclimatic indicators.

Project Work

València’s involvement with ARCH is organised around two complementary lines of action. Firstly, local actions aim to contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of climate change in the Huerta and the Albufera, in efforts of supporting the development of resilience strategies for both historic areas. Secondly, the project aims to acknowledge and explore how the Huerta and the Albufera help the city to cope with a changing climate.

Valencia Flyer (download)