Nature-based Solutions on existing infrastructures for resilient Water Management in the Mediterranean

Deliverables & Publications

All public deliverables will be available for download below.

WP1- FWC-NbS framework
WP3 – Monitoring and evaluation

The objective of this document is to identify the needs and characteristics of each region to co-design the most suitable FWC-NbS. To this end, an analysis of the water framework at different scales is carried out.

At Mediterranean scale, the area, climate, ecosystems and main water-related challenges are contextualized in a general way. The water management is developed in more detail for the five countries of NATMed project – Spain, Greece, Italy, Türkiye, and Algeria). The water management structure, main water sources and demand is defined.

At Case Study scale, water management aspects such as land and environment, demography and population, economics and investment, politics and legislative, social and governance, water infrastructure and local perception are described. In addition, a revision of the Ecosystem Services state is made based on the KPIs baseline made in WP3. The current and future Climate Change Scenarios are evaluated at Mediterranean, national and regional scale, when possible.

Based on the previous analysis, the main strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of each Case Study are defined to support the FWC-NbS design and implementation. In this way, this deliverable is related to D1.2 NbS: technical, policy, legal and socio-economic definition and set the basis for T1.2 Case study implementation and T2.2 FWC-NbS co-design.

This document defines the main technical, political, social and economic characteristics of the solutions to be implemented in the five case studies of NATMed project. The objective is to support the co-design of the solutions, considering the context, challenges and opportunities of each area.

The document is divided into two sections. The first section includes the definition of main concepts within the context of sustainable water management: Ecosystem Services, Nature-based Solutions, Full Water-Cycle – NbS and societal challenges. The second section is the central part of the document, and describes the solutions that will be implemented in each Case Study, defining their main characteristics. To conclude, we present the main conclusions and next steps for the co-design and implementation of NbS.

This deliverable is the first report and output from T1.2 FWC-NbS co-design, submitted in M8 of the NATMed project. The main objective of this report is to define a Roadmap to guide the implementation of NbS in each project Case Study by defining the necessary steps and actions.

The tool used to create the Roadmap for each Case Study and its various sections and tables is Notion, and is described in section 2 of this document. The same structure has been created for all case studies. Section 3 includes an analysis of the completed roadmap of each region, defining the main implementation actions, partners involved, progress state, risks identified and the measures to minimize them. To facilitate the comprehension of the information provided by the Case Studies, the analysis incorporates informative tables that are interrelated, providing a global vision of the Case Study Roadmap. Finally, the conclusions of this document have been summarized in section 4. The final version of the roadmap will review the status of the actions, the problems that have arisen and how they have been solved.

This deliverable is part of Task 3.1. Monitoring Programme and KPI selection of the WP3, Monitoring and evaluation. This report provides information about the selection of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by all case studies and the development of common assessment framework for all cases according to the global and European standards in evaluating and monitoring Nature-based Solution implementations.

This deliverable is part of Task 3.2. Baseline of the WP3, Monitoring and evaluation. This report present baseline data from each case study concerning their selected KPIs and parameters to be monitored. This data will be used to compare post-intervention state of each case study. In this first version of the report, some case studies could provide only limited data since the baseline data collection has not finished yet. Therefore, this report will be updated in the 14th month of the project, namely May 2024.
WP5 - Replicability and clustering
WP6 - Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation

The Replication Plan’s first deliverable is the roadmap of the replication strategies to successfully exploit innovative technologies and solutions in the framework of NATMed and for the five FWC-NbS. These strategies will be thoroughly addressed within WP5 “Replicability and Clustering”. This report corresponds to D5.1 Replication Strategy, which is the deliverable from WP5 and the first outcome from the work carried out so far within Task 5.1 (T5.1). Besides, it sets the framework for the replicability plan to boost social innovation and ensure continuous knowledge transfer of the main outputs and experiences of NATMed, mainly from WP4.

The planned replication activities for NATMed are presented, though modifications or adaptations might be undertaken during the project. This Replication Strategy for NATMed is designed to focus on developing replicable and up-scalable participative models for the solutions implemented by taking into account the analyses of the NbS diagnosis through co-design processes which will be the recipients of feedback mechanisms, contributed by the other tasks, analyses and tests in each case study.

This report is divided in four (4) main chapters:

  1. NbS diagnosis represents a comprehensive examination and assessment of various critical components within the NATMed project.
  2. Barrier / facilitator analysis is important to introduce the context related to the design and implementation of FWC-NbS.
  3. NbS catalogue will constitute the framework for improving the design and assessing the performance of the FWC-NbS.
  4. Recommendations for successful replication will be a pivotal component of the final report, offering a roadmap for prospective replicators to navigate the complexities of adopting and adapting the NATMed project’s successful practices.

As Nature-based Solutions (NbS) become a valid alternative to grey infrastructures (hard, human-engineered structures) for coping with climate-related risks in urban and rural areas, the increasing success of NBS is explained as due to their capacity to foster the functioning of ecosystems and to generate additional environmental, economic and social benefits that are considered as essential backbones of actions for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The depth and forms of citizen engagement in nature-based solutions (NbS), and how such participation shapes their trajectories is also gaining increasing attention due to the fact that most literature demonstrates that physical barriers are less important than those related to governance, socio-institutional and economic dimensions. The low level of social acceptance and the collaboration barriers come out as the critical influences in NbS implementations. Thus, the effectiveness of participatory modelling exercises in facilitating stakeholder engagement in NbS design and implementation has been shown to be a critical and viable approach for overcoming these barriers. The Report, after an introduction to the relevant best practices in the field, suggests Steps to the establishing of a Participatory Governance Plan or rather a Guide to the construction of a Plan that should take shape upon the realization of the participatory process at each case site where NbS will be implemented.

Within NATMed, the process of knowledge creation is not intended to be unidirectional, but a mutual learning process in which actors of the local Case Studies exchange learning points and experience, to further upskill and reskill knowledge and capacity. Thus, project partners have initiated the establishment of a Mediterranean Community of Practice (MedCoP), to promote peer-to-peer learning, developing new relationships, innovative problem-solving, and collaboration or partnership on future projects. This deliverable presents the methodology used by NATMed partners to connect relevant local stakeholders in the 5 case study areas in order to take under consideration the traditional conservation practices of the area in the design, share and transfer of project activities and outputs. It also gives an overview of the activities carried out during the first 6 months of the project.

The Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation (CDE) Plan covers the Strategy for the NATMed project by creating and implementing branding material to effectively communicate content to the established target audiences. It is an operational plan, describing all actions to promote the project’s results and activities. This report includes the methodology and tools to be used throughout the project’s lifetime according to its needs. This version is delivered by M3 and will be further reviewed, fine-tuned and adjusted according to the project’s needs by M16 through its final version.

The Promotional Material includes communication material for internal and external use during and after the lifetime of the project. This contains branding material to effectively communicate content to the identified target audiences, graphic illustrations to accompany scientific outputs to better promote the project’s results and activities. The current deliverable includes all the tools to be used throughout the project’s lifetime according to its needs. This version is delivered in M8 but some material will be further developed and enhanced throughout the duration of the project.

This document is produced within the NATMed project. D6.7 IPR management is a plan that covers the theoretical framework and is used as a basis for the consortium, to proceed to an agreement on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) during the project aligned with each partner’s organisation strategy. This allows the project’s consortium to be agile in further exploitation of its results. While specific IPR issues are mentioned in the Consortium Agreement (CA), from the proposal stage partners have agreed on basic rules. These are further described and analysed herein. Thus, this deliverable is delivered by M6 and shows the main bases of IPR knowledge and management as a strategy to be implemented during the lifetime of the NATMed project. This document should be regarded only as a guide to help beneficiaries (the signatories of GA) with IPR management and protection activities. Only the rules for H2020, GA, and CA signed by the consortium are binding for the partners. This strategy will allow the consortium to produce D6.8 ‘’Project’s results and assets catalogue’’ where specific IPR issues will be defined and bound to the project’s outputs.

WP7 – Project Coordination

This deliverable is part of Task 7.3. Organization and participation at Kick-off and periodic meetings of the WP7. Project Coordination. This report provides information about the Kick-off Meeting of NATMed project, held on the 3rd and 4th of May 2023 in CARTIF headquarters, Valladolid (Spain).

The report covers the objectives of the launch meeting, the agenda and an overview of the sessions including technical, financial and administrative aspects and the conclusions and agreements reached. During the meeting, various presentations were given, including an overview of the project, the main aspects of PRIMA by the project officer and financial management, as well as detailed information about each Work Package. Additionally, three workshops were conducted to address topics such as operational management, the IUCN Global Standard, and the Mediterranean Community of Practice. Finally, the meeting concluded with a summary of the key findings and conclusions.

Coordination of large projects requires proper foundations and mechanisms to carry out the activities as planned and on time. In summary, the present document details the most relevant aspects for the day-to-day Project Management activities.

An overview of the management structure of the project, as defined already in the Grant Agreement and in more detail in the Consortium Agreement (CA), is presented as well as the different tools and mechanisms that are or will be available for all beneficiaries to ensure the success of the execution of the project. These guidelines will ensure that the consortium tasks run smoothly and with no major problems.

In any case, the CA and the Description of Action (DoA) will take prevalence in case of doubts, discrepancies or omissions.

This document represents the Deliverable D7.3 Project Management Plan and Work Breakdown Structure, developed within WP7. This deliverable describes the tools that will be used to manage the project and provide a more detailed description of the tasks and activities defined in the Grant Agreement (GA) of the NATMed project. The person months (PM) allocated for each partner for the execution of the different tasks and the activities for reaching the project challenges defined in the Annex 1 of the GA are aligned and unified in this deliverable.

The management guidelines proposed in the deliverable D1.2 are grounded in the project management plan that is

reported in this deliverable D1.3. On the other hand, the work structure of the project will be broken down for each Work Package (WP) and the corresponding tables that split each participation in tasks, subtasks, deliverables and actions will be shown for helping the identification of the roles and responsibilities among the execution of the project.

During the implementation of the different activities, this distribution could be readjusted (if necessary) to ensure the full achievement of the expected results of the NATMed project.

This document represents the initial draft of Deliverable 7.4 (D7.4) Ethics, developed within Work Package (WP) 7. This deliverable describes the compliance of the consortium with all relevant national/EU regulations and other ethical issues identified by the partners at proposal stage.

During the implementation of the different activities, this D7.4 will be updated at least one time (just before the end of the First Reporting Period) and if necessary could be updated again in the Official Reports to ensure the full compliance with the highest ethical standards.

This document belongs to the framework of WP7 of the NATMed project and provides the initial draft of the Data Management Plan (DMP).

A DMP is required for projects that joined the (open research data) pilot covering the use of research data. The aim of the DMP is to outline how research data will be handled during the development of the research project and after its completion. In short, the DMP specifies what datasets the project is expected to generate, whether and how these datasets will be exploited or made accessible for verification and re-use, and how they will be curated and preserved. This document also describes how the research data within the project will comply with FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and re-usable) principles.

This deliverable gives an overview of how data are generated and collected, which standards and methodology for data generation and collection will be followed, what parts of the datasets will be shared for verification or reuse and how data will be archived and preserved. The purpose of the DMP is to analyse the main elements of the data management policy, focusing in the data security.

The document follows the structure section of the H2020 DMP template.

This deliverable is part of Task 7.3. Organization and participation at Kick-off and periodic meetings of the WP7. Project Coordination. This report provides information about the 2nd Periodic Meeting of the NATMed project, held on the 26th and 27th September 2023 at the University of Sassari, in Sassari (Italy).

The report covers the objectives of the meeting, the agenda and an overview of the sessions including technical, financial and administrative aspects and the conclusions and agreements reached. During the meeting, the progress of each Work Package was detailed and discussed. Additionally, three workshops were conducted to address topics such as the interim report, the NbS implementation process and IPR management. Finally, the meeting concluded with a summary of the key points and conclusions and a visit to the Case Study in Arborea to see the implemented NbS and the actions to be developed during the project.