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acqua alta, Exhibition and International Conference on Climate Impact, Flood Protection and Hydraulic Engineering, will be opened by Dr. Helge Wendenburg, Ministerial Director at the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, at the CCH at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday 11 October. Following the official welcome by Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress (HMC), a greeting to participants will be given by Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) via video message. Other speakers at the Opening will be Prof. Dr. h.c. Walter Leal, Head of the Research and Transfer Centre “Applications of Life Sciences” at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. Some 70 speakers from 13 nations will present the latest research results and discuss adaptation strategies and specific measures in Germany and other countries at CCH - Congress Center Hamburg during the three days of the conference up to 13 October.

The main subjects at acqua alta are global climate change and its consequences for flood protection and coastal defences. It is an international forum for lively and far-reaching exchange between scientists, business experts, politicians and representatives of local authorities. Patronage of acqua alta 2011 has been taken on by the Federal Environment Ministry. Hamburg is a very special setting for this year’s acqua alta, as the European Green Capital 2011. The exhibition at the CCH exhibition hall features more than 70 specialist companies from nine nations, presenting innovative products, technologies and services for flood protection and coastal defence, risk and disaster management, hydraulic engineering, and research and development related to climate change and its impact.

The complete list of exhibitors and the conference programme are shown at the website www.acqua-alta.net. The exhibition in Hall H of CCH is open from 9:00 to 18:00 on 11 and 12 October, and from 9:00 to 16:00 on 13 October. The admission charge is EUR 17. Detailed information on the Open Space – Exhibitor Forum, the site visits, the BWK Seminar (“Temporary Flood Abatement Systems”) and the SKINT Seminar (International Water Law) are likewise shown at the website. acqua alta, Exhibition and International Conference on Climate Impact, Flood Protection and Hydraulic Engineering gives all the participating organisations, institutes, local authority organisations and industries a platform for expert exchanges and development of joint strategies.