The State Office for Environmental Protection Saxony-Anhalt intends to award a multi-year research and consulting project to professionally support the update of the climate adaptation strategy of the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The basis for this is the requirements of the Federal Climate Adaptation Act (KAnG) as well as the need for current state-specific findings on the consequences of climate change and the necessary adaptation measures.
The contract is divided into two technically interconnected lots. The work will be carried out in stages over the years 2027 to 2029. The results of the first lot form an essential data basis for the processing of the second lot. Contractors of both lots must ensure professional coordination as well as the necessary data exchange.
The services include scientific analyses, modeling, data evaluations, the preparation of reports, maps, presentations, and geodata sets, as well as the professional support of a project-accompanying working group with representatives from administration, science, and other specialist institutions. All services are to be provided in German.
The results must be documented in a comprehensible manner and handed over to the client including the underlying data, models, evaluations, and geodata in processable formats. The client must be granted comprehensive usage rights to the results produced in the project.
The project duration is expected to begin on 01.01.2027 and end on 30.09.2029. A cost-neutral extension of up to three months remains reserved.
The maximum financial framework for the overall project is 450,000 EUR gross. The funds are distributed over the fiscal years 2027 (200,000 EUR), 2028 (200,000 EUR), and 2029 (50,000 EUR). Service delivery and invoicing are to be aligned with this fund distribution.
In addition to the basic services, several optional services are planned, the commissioning of which is reserved by the client. Details are provided in the respective lot descriptions.
LOT-0001
33.1/01/2026 Lot 1
Water Balance Analysis Saxony-Anhalt.
Subject of the lot is the implementation of a statewide water balance analysis for Saxony-Anhalt as a basis for the subsequent climate risk analysis of the state. The aim is the investigation and representation of climate change-related changes in the water balance based on current climate projection data, hydrological modeling, and regional data bases.
The water balance analysis serves to determine reliable data bases for assessing the impacts of climate change on the water balance as well as on water-related action fields of climate adaptation. The results form an essential basis for the processing of lot 2 and are therefore to be made available in a suitable form for further use.
The service includes in particular the development or application of a suitable water balance model for Saxony-Anhalt as well as the implementation of continuous water balance modeling for the period from 1961 to 2100. The analyses are based on regional climate projection data, observation data, and other professionally suitable data bases. The modeling and evaluations are to be carried out for specified reference, current, and future periods.
In particular, climate change-related changes of the following water balance variables are to be investigated:
- Precipitation,
- Actual evapotranspiration,
- Climatic water balance,
- Total surface runoff,
- Groundwater recharge, and
- Mean discharges in the water system.
The analyses are to be conducted for whole years as well as for hydrological summer and winter halves of the year. The results are to be spatially differentiated evaluated and presented. The effects of different climate projections and the associated uncertainties are to be appropriately considered and professionally assessed.
Part of the service also includes the processing, quality assurance, analysis, and interpretation of the results, including error, plausibility, and uncertainty considerations. The investigation results must be documented transparently and made available in the form of reports, maps, graphics, presentations, as well as suitable data and geodata formats.
Optionally, more extensive investigations into the future development of low water and flood discharges of relevant flowing waters in Saxony-Anhalt can be commissioned. These may include analyses of low water characteristics, flood characteristics, probabilities of occurrence, and flow extremes.
The contractor must work out the results in close coordination with the client and present these professionally to a project-accompanying working group. This includes the preparation and conducting of meetings, presentations, and result discussions as well as the incorporation of professional comments.
The generated data, models, evaluations, and geodata are to be handed over to the client with comprehensive usage rights. Data provision must be done in such a way that an immediate further use within the framework of lot 2 is possible. If different contractors are commissioned for lots 1 and 2, the necessary professional coordination and data transfer between contractors must be ensured.
The service delivery is planned for the year 2027. The results must be submitted in coordinated form by the end of 2027 at the latest and form the professional basis for the subsequent climate risk analysis Saxony-Anhalt.
LOT-0002
33.1/01/2026 Lot 2
Climate Risk Analysis Saxony-Anhalt.
Subject of the lot is the implementation of a statewide climate risk analysis for Saxony-Anhalt based on current scientific findings, regional data bases, and the results from lot 1. The aim is the identification, analysis, and assessment of climate change-related risks for relevant action and thematic fields as well as the derivation and prioritization of recommendations for climate adaptation. The service serves as the professional basis for the update of the climate adaptation strategy of Saxony-Anhalt according to the requirements of the Federal Climate Adaptation Act (KAnG).
The service builds on the results of the water balance analysis from lot 1. The data bases generated there are to be included especially for the action field of water balance and water management. In addition, further suitable professional, natural spatial, demographic, and socio-economic data bases are to be considered.
The service includes in particular:
- The identification and definition of relevant action and thematic fields in coordination with the client,
- The creation, further development, and operationalization of climate impact chains,
- The analysis and assessment of climate impacts,
- The consideration of exposure, sensitivity, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity,
- The spatial differentiation and regionalization of the results,
- The identification, assessment, and prioritization of relevant climate risks,
- The derivation, evaluation, and prioritization of adaptation measures and recommendations for action,
- The representation of uncertainties and limitations of the results.
For the individual action and thematic fields, suitable qualitative, quantitative, or semi-quantitative assessment approaches are to be proposed and applied. The methodology of risk analysis, risk assessment, and prioritization must be presented transparently. The analyses are to be carried out for the given observation periods and climate scenarios, and the results are to be prepared accordingly.
The work should be aligned with the requirements of the Federal Climate Adaptation Act as well as recognized scientific and professional standards. These include in particular DIN EN ISO 14091, the methodology of the Federal Climate Impact and Risk Analysis (KWRA), as well as relevant guidelines and recommendations of the Federal Environment Agency.
The results are to be evaluated and prepared both professionally and spatially. The aim is to identify spatial and thematic focal points as well as particularly affected regions and fields of action. Furthermore, the results should form a professional basis for future regional and municipal climate adaptation concepts.
The service includes the independent procurement of all data required for the processing and not provided by the client, the professional support and involvement of a project-accompanying working group, the preparation and execution of coordination, presentation, and results events, as well as the documentation of the work results.
The results are to be provided in the form of reports, maps, graphics, tables, presentations, geodata, and other digital data sets. All work steps, data bases, assessment methods, and results are to be documented transparently and prepared so that they can be reused by the client.