The approach developed through the BeWater project to make society an active participant in adapting river basin management to climate change is now available online. The paper, published in the journal Water, describes the participatory approach used to identify and evaluate river basin management options and details the application and evaluation of the approach in four case-study river basins across the Mediterranean.

BeWater developed a replicable, participatory approach on how society can play a meaningful role alongside science in the development of adaptive solutions to global change.  In the framework of the V Mediterranean Forest Week, Inazio Martínez de Arano (EFIMED), Sihem Jebari (INRGREF) and Eduard Pla (CREAF) presented the EU funded project to the Mediterranean forest research community, policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders.

Engaging stakeholders in adaptation planning is widely considered to enhance the degree of acceptance and political relevance of environmental policy measures. Yet significant room exists for improvement in the design and implementation of stakeholder participation in environmental and climate change-related decision-making processes.

A European Policy Event entitled ‘Implementing COP22 agreements: River basin adaptation planning through stakeholder engagement’ was organised by Ecologic Institute within the EU-funded BeWater project. 

Adaptation strategies initiated at local level are those best suited for rolling out into implementation. This was one of the key messages among the conclusions derived from an intense day of presentations, lightning talks, individual reflection and a final panel discussion at the River Basin Adaptation Conference, held in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, on 7 March 2017.

Under the theme ‘The role of water in Adaptation to Climate Change’, the MEP Water Group organised a well attended public session on the 6th of December at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The session was chaired by Esther de Lange, President of the MEP Water Group and featured four high-level panellists who stressed the importance of water, while addressing the topic of adaptation to climate change.

6-9 June 2017, SECC, Glasgow

The theme of ECCA 2017 is ‘Our Climate Ready Future’. Our vision is to inspire and enable people to work together to discover and deliver positive climate adaptation solutions that can strengthen society, revitalise local economies and enhance the environment. We will bring together the people who will deliver action on the ground –from business, industry, NGOs, local government and communities – to share knowledge, ideas and experience with researchers and policymakers.

Set in the cultural city of Glasgow, at the heart of a city-region that is putting climate adaptation and climate justice at the core of decision-making, ECCA 2017 offers a unique opportunity to visit innovative local adaptation projects and share experience of how climate adaptation can work in practice.

ECCA 2017 is aiming to encourage broad participation and interaction across the science, policy, business and practice communities. There will be three types of session: Practice, Science and Science-Practice, as well as a business-focused day.

The BeWater project developed an approach to formulate and evaluate water management options, as a basis for adaptation planning. EFI researcher Hans Verkerk will present this approach at the EcoSummit 2016 conference, which will take place from 29 August to 1 September 2016 in Montpellier, France.

EcoSummit 2016 - Ecological Sustainability: Engineering Change is the 5th International EcoSummit Congress. This conference series was founded in 1996 in Copenhagen as a forum to meet the demands of scientists working in several new ecological disciplines, and who required a better understanding of the concepts and methods for a holistic use of ecology in environmental management.

Project coordinator Anabel Sanchez presented the BeWater approach at the Adaptation Futures conference in Rotterdam on 11 May 2016. The conference attracted over 1600 participants from more than 100 countries, representing the business community, governments and non-governmental organisations, scientists and practitioners.

The Adaptation Futures conference aimed to move climate change adaptation forward by promoting solutions across sectors, borders and communities. The state of art of adaptation strategies and methods presented throughout the conference revealed a strong diversity of approaches, combining innovative technologies and nature-based solutions with more governance related processes. The need for better natural resource management strategies was stressed, focusing on the central role of citizen participation and innovative governance practices.

Europe for Business Ltd representative Leonardo Piccinetti, Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre (CREAF) representative Olga Roig-Herrera and University of Palermo representative Giovanni Galasso disseminated information about the BeWater project at Joint Programme Initiative in Water (Water JPI) conference in Rome, Italy on 19 May 2016.

Representatives presented project objectives and results achieved so far. The main purpose of the attendance was to engage Water Research Funding Organisations (RFO) and create a strong synergies and links with the other European Union research initiatives and projects that go in line with the BeWater project.

Adaptation Futures is the biennial conference of the Global Programme of Research on Climate Change Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation (PROVIA). In 2016 the European Commission and the Government of the Netherlands co-host the fourth edition in Rotterdam, 10-13 May.

Anabel Sánchez and Annelies Broekman from CREAF are presenting BeWater in the session SC3.2 Fresh water availability and access: guidelines and methodologies.

Karst Waters Management and Protection, 2nd Scientific and Expert Conference with international participation

15 to 16 October 2015

Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

EcoHydrology' 2015. Measuring, Modeling and Managing of the natural processes related to water flows, Social values of the linked ecosystem services

21 to 23 September 2015

Lyon, France

Evaluation of Water Management Options through key Stakeholder participation

Wednesday 1 July 2015
Pedieos, Cyprus

The second major round of BeWater Stakeholder Workshops will take place in each of the Case Study River Basins between May and July 2015. Key River Basin Stakeholders will take part in the day-long Workshops in order to contribute to the evaluation of the Water Management Options developed over the last months through the participative process launched last year.

Evaluation of Water Management Options through key Stakeholder participation

Thursday 4 June 2015
Rmel, Tunisia

The second major round of BeWater Stakeholder Workshops will take place in each of the Case Study River Basins between May and July 2015. Key River Basin Stakeholders will take part in the day-long Workshops in order to contribute to the evaluation of the Water Management Options developed over the last months through the participative process launched last year.

Evaluation of Water Management Options through key Stakeholder participation

Wednesday 27 May 2015
Vipava, Slovenia

The second major round of BeWater Stakeholder Workshops will take place in each of the Case Study River Basins between May and July 2015. Key River Basin Stakeholders will take part in the day-long Workshops in order to contribute to the evaluation of the Water Management Options developed over the last months through the participative process launched last year.