Climate change affects us all and especially low water circumstances are of growing impact in the Dutch Delta, of 4 river systems in Western Europe. The effects of climate change are more or less the same, the circumstances are different for each river basin. Stars4Water will help us to strengthen our knowledge base and the network of water managers who are dealing with the same challenges.

The STARS4Water project includes two distinctive elements: first, the need for an international stakeholder community to address the stakeholders’ needs and requirements. Second, the development and application of innovative data and model concepts. We acknowledge that these elements are of a different nature, being a stakeholder-driven approach and a rather science-data-driven in the application of novel data and models, respectively. It is the consortium’s firm conviction that for substantial progress in climate change adaptation, both these approaches are required, and that meaningful innovations happen where both meet.

Within STARS4Water we will develop an Online Impact Reporter. This application will support the reporting of biophysical and socio-economic impacts, changes in vulnerability and risk, and ex-post evaluations of applied adaptation measures by different categories of stakeholders related to water management and climate change. This information is crucial and currently lacking within the EU, thus the transparent exchange of this knowledge will support river basin managers in impact assessment, policy making and future planning of adaptation measures.