Climate changes will have an impact on our society and the functionality of ecosystems in various ways. New research has shown that climate change may increase the leakage of pollutants from contaminated sites and enhance their toxic effects. This new knowledge has so far had little impact upon local and regional environmental management and on climate adaptation work in the municipalities. The pilot project TOKSKLIM will take this issue under more thorough investigation. The overall aim of the pilot project is to increase knowledge about local sources of pollutants and how climate changes may influence upon the leakage and toxicity of pollutants from these sources. Furthermore to find out what strategies and tools the local and regional environmental management need to be able to prevent this risk of pollution in an altered climate.

The preliminary project has the following objectives:

• Summarize the current knowledge about the mechanisms behind the leakage and changes in toxicity of priority hazardous substances as a result of climate change
• Make a survey of municipalities in Sogn og Fjordane and Hordaland to find out what knowledge, expertise and management that are used to prevent new outflow of pollutants in today's climate and in altered climate
• Conduct an analysis of chosen pilot municipalities and create a map of all possible pollutant sources with an appurtenant risk assessment of increased contamination from these sites due to climate changes
• Conduct a "lesson learned" seminar/course with the municipalities in both countries
• Create one or more applications for the main project to the Regional Research Fund of Western Norway or the Norwegian research fund and the Environment Research Program or the Climate Research Program

The pilot project is conducted in close cooperation between Western Norway Research Institute, Sogn og Fjordane County Council, County Governor of Sogn og Fjordane and County Governor of Hordaland and is partially funded by the Regional Research Fund of Western Norway.