Sustain-COAST results will be presented at the 12th World Congress of the European Water Resources Association (EWRA) on Water Resources and Environment

The 12th World Congress of the European Water Resources Association (EWRA) on Water Resources and Environment, under the theme "Managing Water-Energy-Land-Food under Climatic, Environmental and Social Instability", will be held in Thessaloniki, Greece, 27 June - 1 July 2023 (EWRA2023).

 

Sustain-COAST Project will be presented at the 14th International Conference on Hydroinformatics − HIC 2022

Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest (UTCB) and University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest (UPB) are organizing  the 14th International Conference on Hydroinformatics − HIC 2022, in Bucharest, Romania, on 4-8 July 2022. The project coordinator has submitted an abstract and will participate at the event to present Sustain-COAST.

3 PRIMA FUNDED PROJECTS To celebrate The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, Sassari, 17 June 2022

 

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (DD-day 2022), established by the United Nations in 1994, promotes public awareness of international efforts to fight desertification, which is the loss of soil fertility and the resulting degradation of natural resources caused by human activities (pollution, excessive soil exploitation, overgrazing, deforestation, fire, irrigation with saline water). The Day is a unique moment to remind us that involvement and cooperation among communities at every level are essential to combat soil degradation.

This year’s theme is focused on drought: “Rising up from drought together”. Since 1970, 50% of all disasters and 45% of the associated 650,000 deaths have been caused by extreme climate events and water crises. Tragically, 9 out of 10 deaths happened in developing countries, where drought is the leading cause of the loss of human lives (WMO, 2021). However, also developed countries witnessed a 29% increase in drought-related events from 2000 to today compared with previous decades. More than 2.3 billion people suffer from water-related issues on a global scale. The impact is severe for the weakest categories: women and children are the most exposed. Nevertheless, the consequences of drought on society, ecosystems and the economy are underestimated.

Italy is not exempted from drought damages. Over the last five years, at least three extreme drought events happened, even in the Pianura Padana, where the capacity of the Po is altered by long periods of drought, as well as by the reduction of high-altitude glaciers due to the increase in temperatures, which exceeded climate averages of some decades ago by 2-3°C. The consequences are severe: salinisation of aquifers for tens of kilometres close to rivers’ mouths, with terrible risks in particular for agriculture.

In Sassari, the Department of Agronomic Sciences and the Desertification Research Centre at the University (Viale Italia 39A) will celebrate DD-day 2022 with an international event which will involve Anna Luise, member of the Science Policy Interface of the UN Convention on Desertification and Drought (UNCCD); Marco Orlando, Programme Manager of the PRIMA Programme; the three coordinators of the Projects on Desertification in the Mediterranean recently financed by PRIMA Foundation (MARA-MEDITERRAREACT4MED e SALAM-MED) and a young representation of the EWA BELT European Project and of the Italian PhD on Sustainable Development and Climate Change.

The event has been organized in the context of “Sanai sa Terra” (“Heal the Earth” in Sardinian language), a Summer School on the interactions between soil, plants and microorganisms in areas contaminated by potentially toxic elements. The first part of the event will be in Italian. It will be dedicated to students, PhD students, researchers, and agronomists. It will cover topics related to the PRIN RIZOBIOREM National Project on recovering degraded and polluted soils. RIZOBIOREM developed low-cost, nature-based soil reconditioning techniques and solutions (Sanai sa Terra) combined with organic soil conditioners, plants and microorganisms.

It is possible to register for the event on the School website: https://sdiquattro.wixsite.com/sanai-sa-terra/registrazione-17giugnoThe event will take place in a hybrid format with the possibility to take part remotely via Microsoft Teams at https://bit.ly/DD-day2022.

 

PROGRAMME 17 June 2022

Location: “Aula Barbieri”, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari – Viale Italia 39A, 07100 Sassari

Session 1 (in Italian) – The RIZOBIOREM Project

9:15     Institutional greetings

9:30     Massimo Fagnano and the RIZOBIOREM team: “Phytostabilization of Polluted Soils.”

10:45   Coffee break

Session 2 (in English) - International Webinar: “Rising Up from Drought Together”

11:15   A. Luise, ISPRA, ISPRA, UNCCD Scientific-technical Correspondent, Science & Policy to combat desertification

11:30   M. L. Tefera – EWA-BELT and the international PhD “Desertification and Land Degradation.”

11:40   C. Ceseracciu – SUSTAIN COAST and the national PhD “Sustainable Development and Climate Change.”

11:50   M. Orlando, PRIMA Foundation: “PRIMA Projects on Land Degradation and Desertification”

12:00   V. Takavakoglou, MARA MEDITERRA

12:15   M. Thrassyvoulos, REACT4MED

12:30   P.P. Roggero, University of Sassari, SALAM MED 

Session 3 (in English) – In memory of Prof. Giorgio Ghiglieri

12:45   M. Iannetta (ENEA), A. Carletti (UNISS), M. Ouessar (IRA): “Rising Up from Drought Together: the Contribution of Prof. Giorgio Ghiglieri”

13:15   Conclusions

Organizing Committee

Stefania Diquattro, UNISS

Pier Paolo Roggero, UNISS

Massimo Fagnano, UNINA

Paola Castaldi, UNISS

Giovanni Garau, UNISS

Nunzio Fiorentino, UNINA

Maria Vittoria Pinna, UNISS

Matteo Garau, UNISS

Mario Deroma, UNISS

Gian Paolo Lauro, UNISS

Caterina Senette, UNISS

Info: Stefania Diquattro: sdiquattro@uniss.it

 

Sustain-COAST and MEDSAL projects final conference!

If you want to know more about our two innovative Prima projects, their achievements, and outputs, join us in Chania, Greece from 27 to 30 September 2022.

For more information visit here the conference website: https://www.scoast-medsal.tuc.gr/en/home 

Tentative agenda: 

  • Tuesday 27:   opening of the conference and dinner
  • Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29: Presentation of projects acheivement and  roadmap  for better groundwater governance
  • Friday 30:  Technical visit to Malia case study 

Sustain-COAST Summer School on Environmental Conflict Mediation - 27-30 June 2022

WHAT

The Desertification Research Center of the University of Sassari (NRD-UNISS) is organizing a Summer  School on Environmental Conflict Mediation, within the framework of WP4 “Innovative Governance” of the Sustain-COAST project. Acqúa School aims to:

  • explore and promote environmental mediation conflict technique
  • inform participants about the effectiveness and validity of mediation in environmental disputes
  • train participants on the specificity of the environmental conflict and on the particular modalities that distinguish this type of conciliation path from those usually used in the civil and commercial field.

Acqúa School will be focused on water-related conflicts, with case studies from the Mediterranean Region.

 

WHY

Environmental conflicts present particular characteristics that distinguish them from other types of social conflicts, such as their high level of complexity and the plurality of actors involved (citizens, economic actors, institutions). These aspects require adequate modes of resolution that differ from those generally adopted for other conflicts. However, the use of environmental conflict mediation in Europe and in the Mediterranean Region is still limited.

Within Sustain-COAST the use of environmental conflict mediation will be promoted, with a view to promoting innovative governance processes based on transparency, dialogue and participation. Indeed, environmental mediation procedures require widespread and constant information on the technical and legal aspects of the conflict; this is ensured through seminars, social meetings and debates that promote transparency and foster social awareness paths. In particular, the application of environmental mediation can have the following benefits:

  • reducing time compared to judicial and administrative procedures
  • reducing costs compared to judicial and administrative procedures
  • improving the effectiveness and duration of the agreements
  • increasing the flexibility and adaptability of the agreements, as they can be reviewed and adapted to new environmental conditions, needs and changed social conditions
  • promoting social cohesion and learning experiences, as well as enhancing community values by implementing new forms of sharing and discussions among actors in relation to the management of common resources like water.
 

 

>> REGISTRATION PROCEDURE: If you are interested in participating, send a mail to carlo.aymerich<at>consorziouno.it or sustaincoast<at>uniss.it  by Sunday 19th of June 2022. Participants will receive further information upon acceptance. The registration fee is € 250,00. 

 

HOW

The school is designed as a facilitated multicultural social learning space, with a high level of interaction between teachers, facilitators and participants. Participants will make concrete experiences of interaction with stakeholders and learn about the nature of the complex issues related to the governance of coastal aquifers under Med conditions. The learning sessions are aimed to appreciate complexity, interdependencies, uncertainties and controversies of water governance across a wide range of situations in the Med. Participants include experts in environmental conflict mediation, scientists in the domains of hydrology, agronomy, social sciences. Teachers will be professional lawyers with specific experience in environmental conflict mediation and scientists in the domain of agronomy and social sciences. Most of the school programme is based on simulations  and team activities. Field visits and tours are also planned.

 

WHEN

 The 4-day Summer school will take place on 27-30 June 2022.

 

WHERE

Acqúa School will be organized in Oristano, Sardinia, 20km from Arborea, one of the four case studies of the Sustain-COAST project. The seat of the course is Consorzio Uno, the university headquarters in Oristanese region of the Universities of Cagliari and Sassari. This is the first time that a school on conflict mediation, with a specific focus on environmental conflicts, is organized in the region. 

 

Sustain-COAST will be presented at the XIth Scientific Assembly of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS 2022) Montpellier (France) from 29 May to 3 June 2022

The objective of this important event will be to provide an opportunity to communicate, exchange and project on all major topics in the hydrological sciences within the framework of sessions organized by all IAHS Commissions and Working Groups. In the context of the multiple instabilities that prevail today, the task is immense and yet scientists have a duty to provide elements of answers and solutions to the challenges facing us in the coming years. In this respect, the diversity and quality of the expected participants is the guarantee of a productive and high-level Assembly.

“IAHS 2022” in Montpellier will also be an opportunity to make a first assessment of the Panta Rhei initiative (2013-2022) which deals with changes in hydrology and society. The progress of the UPH initiative, "Unsolved Problems in Hydrology", established in 2017-2019, will be another highlight of this Assembly.

Sustain-COAST will be presented  as an oral abstract in session S21 - Hydrology of Mediterranean and semi-arid regions, room Barthez 1 on Tuesday, 31 May 2022, 10:30.

"Inclusive and resilient groundwater assessment towards sustainable development in the Mediterranean region by Seifeddine Jomaa et al"

The Mediterranean region is experiencing rapid population growth, increasing water demand, and faster climate warming. Groundwater plays a central role in the development of the Mediterranean by ensuring food security, buffering climate changes impacts and maintaining socio-economic stability and ecosystems integrity. However, despite groundwater being recognised as a powerful catalyser against climate- and human-induced effects, its status remains unknown, and its budget is uncertain. Moreover, the lack of appropriate groundwater monitoring programs at a regional scale, data sharing policy, and fragmented water policy and governance have complicated this vital resource's sustainable utilisation and protection.

To this end, an international and multidisciplinary team of scientists with complementary skills have joined efforts through two PRIMA-funded projects (Sustain-COAST and InTheMED) towards better groundwater management and governance in the Mediterranean. In this respect, the Sustain-COAST Living Labs provide the setting to explore innovative governance approaches that could be scaled to increase resilience and adaptation capacity across the Mediterranean. At a regional scale, efforts target detailed water policy examination, pathways exploration towards the reinforcement of in-situ data collection, and groundwater modelling. Examination of water policy of the Mediterranean revealed an unbalanced situation between South Europe, characterised by complete, harmonised and straightforward water policy. Conversely, in North Africa and Middle East, water policy was found complex, not regionalised and fragmented in various initiatives. Results also showed the Mediterranean has become increasingly dependent on cereal importation over local food production, which poses a severe threat to its best diet overall and food security. Results suggested that combining in-situ data and regional groundwater modelling can offer further insights into this data-scarce region. Believing “that no one size fits all”, lessons learned from success stories, and tailored solutions to typical demonstration sites from both shores of the Mediterranean region are of extreme importance.

Acknowledgement: This work was supported by Sustain-COAST and InTheMED projects. Sustain-COAST was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, Germany, Grant 01DH19015) under the EU PRIMA 2018 programme. InTheMED is part of the PRIMA 2019 programme supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 1923.

How to cite: Jomaa, S., Ben-Salem, N., Chávez, R., Reinecke, R., Varouchakis, E., Vasco Silva, J., Ceseracciu, C., Phuoc Lai Nguyen, T., Daloglu Cetinkaya, I., K. Saysel, A., K. Copty, N., Rouhani, A., Oueslati, M., Mino, E., P. Karatzas, G., Roggero, P. P., Rode, M., and Gómez-Hernández, J. J.: Inclusive and resilient groundwater assessment towards sustainable development in the Mediterranean region, IAHS-AISH Scientific Assembly 2022, Montpellier, France, 29 May–3 Jun 2022, IAHS2022-419, 2022.

The 3rd annual meeting of Sustain-COAST project will be held virtually on 7th February 2022

The decision was not easy to take, but once again in view of the situation related to Covid-19, it was decided to organize the 3rd annual meeting of the project in virtual.

It will take place on 7th February 2022 from 10:00 to 17:00 (CET). These slots will allow the presentation of the results of the project, by work packages and the discussion of the roadmap for the coming year, which will take into account the recommendations of the Advisory board members.

We will keep you informed about the meeting conclusions.

Training on "Sustainable Water Resources Management" in Malia case study- 31 January 2022

A training session  on "Sustainable Water Resources Management" will be organised in Malia case study. It aims to design and test innovative governance approaches for coastal water resources in the Mediterranean and to enhance the capacity of local stakeholders in managing sustainably local water resources.

Date : January 31th 2022

Time : From 11.00 am to 14.30 pm

Training Session | Theme : Sustainable Water Resources Management 25 November 2021, Tunis, TUNISA

The training session on "Sustainable Water Resources Management" is part of the research project "PRIMA | Sustain-COAST" which aims, among others, to design and test innovative governance approaches for coastal water resources in the Mediterranean and to enhance the capacity of selected local stakeholdersin managing sustainably the local water resources.

Program

Moderator :Prof. Ahmed GHRABI, general director CERTE

08:30 – 09:00 Reception

09:00 – 09:30 Presentation of the participants

09:30- 09:50 Presentation of the framework and objectives of the training session (Hanene AKROUT&Sirine Ben Hamed , CERTE)

9:50 – 10:20 Geochemical approach and modeling for a reasoned management of water resources (Fadwa HAMZAOUI, FST, Projet MEDSAL)

10:20 – 10:50 Local wastewater management - Case of industrial activities (Hanene AKROUT, CERTE)

10:50 – 11:20 Context of water reuse (Thouraya MELLAH, CERTE)

11:20 – 12:20 Discussion and future actions

12:20 – 13:20 Lunch

Speakers

  • Hanene AKROUT | Associate professor at the Water Research and Technology Center & National Coordinator of the PRIMA project | Sustain-COAST
  • Thouraya MELLAH | Assistant professor in quantitative methods at the Superior School of Digital Economy - Researcher at Wastewater and Environment Laboratory, CERTE| Sustain-COAST
  • Fadwa HAMZAOUI | Assistant professor, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis FST El Manar University & National Coordinator of the PRIMA project |MEDSAL Project

 

Sustain-COAST will be presented at the First OZCAR TERENO International Conference Strasbourg, France 5-7 October 2021

The French OZCAR and German TERENO research networks have decided to co-organise an international meeting every two years that will be held alternatively in Germany and in France.

The first OZCAR TERENO International Conference - Advancing Critical Zone science that will take place in Strasbourg from Tuesday Oct. 5, 2021 to Thursday Oct. 7, 2021.

To account for the pandemics, the conference is scheduled in the HYBRID format (both on site and virtual). It will be moved to fully virtual if the sanitary conditions are not satisfactory this autumn.

The conference will be physically held in Strasbourg, at Palais des Congrès Pierre-Pflimlin, Strasbourg Événements, Place de Bordeaux.

The event will offer keynote lectures, oral presentations and poster sessions on scientific research on the Critical Zone, which is the most superficial layer of the planet where all human activities concentrate. The meeting will cover the cutting edge scientific progresses in a variety of  disciplines: hydrology, geophysics, soil sciences, geochemistry, ecology, socio-ecology

The meeting will also help a better integrated process understanding using multidisciplinary Critical Zone observatories highly instrumented field sites where these disciplines interact and produce data and models.

 

Sustain-COAST project will be presented at the 2nd International Conference on Transboundary Aquifers (ISARM 2021) 6-8 Dec 2021

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in partnership with the International Association of Hydrologists (IAH) and GEF-IW:LEARN, in coordination with UNECE for SDG 6 indicator 6.5.2 conference component and in contribution to the UN Global Acceleration Framework,  will hold the 2nd International Conference on Transboundary Aquifers (ISARM 2021) in Paris, France on 6-8 December, 2021.

  • Sustain-COAST poster  : "Data-driven analysis and regional modelling for the assessment of Transboundary Aquifers in the Mediterranean region"  Ben-Salem, N., Garcia Silva, R.C., Reinecke, R. and Jomaa, S
  • Sustain-COAST in a talk "Multidisciplinary joint-force efforts towards science-based management in the Mediterranean region: A particular focus on transboundary aquifers" Seifeddine Jomaa, Robert Reinecke, Nahed Ben-Salem, Rafael Chávez García Silva, Emmanouil Varouchakis, João Vasco Silva, Chiara Ceseracciu, Thi Phuoc Lai Nguyen, Irem Daloglu Cetinkaya, Ali K. Saysel, Nadim K. Copty, George Karatzas, Yiannis Trichakis, Massimiliano Pasqui, Essam Heggy, Sante Maurizi, Pier Paolo Roggero, Michael Rode and J. Jaime Gómez-Hernández

SUSTAIN-COAST will be presented at EGU general assembly on 26 April 2021

The annual EGU General Assembly is Europe’s largest and most prominent geosciences event. It attracts more than 16,000 scientists, more than half of which are early career, from all over the world.

The meeting’s sessions cover all disciplines in the Earth, planetary and space sciences. Each annual General Assembly typically features more than 16,000 oral, poster and PICOs (interactive presentations that combine the advantages of orals and posters).

Aside from the disciplinary sessions, which cover topics selected by each scientific division (or programme group), the meeting also features many Union-wide sessions. These include Great Debates and Union Symposia, inter- and transdisciplinary sessions, medal lectures, short courses, and Education and Outreach Sessions (such as the Geosciences Information For Teachers workshop, GIFT).

Sustain-COAST will be presented on 26 APRIL 2021 : 

Living Labs towards sustainable groundwater management: case study in Malia, Crete, Greece  

George Karatzas, Anthi-Eirini Vozinaki, Ioannis Trichakis, Ioanna Anyfanti, Christina Stylianoydaki, Emmanouil Varouchakis, Christos Goumas, Pier Paolo Roggero, Thuraya Mellah, Hanene Akrout, and Seifeddine Jomaa

For further information please visit EGU2021 website 

Sustain-coast & MEDSAL common event, 28 Spetember 2020

On 28 of September a common event between Sustain-COAST project and MEDSAL Project  will be held online. The event aims at increasing synergies between Prima projects. 

The Sustain-COAST and MEDSAL Projects invite you to attend freely our on-line workshops !

Click on the link to register :  On-line workshops for groundwater resources management

More details about the event : https://www.facebook.com/events/244747786859754

 

 

Sustain-COAST Living Lab in Malia, 9th of July 2020

Sustain-COAST project is organizing the first Living- Lab  in Malia demo site in Greece, on 9th July 2020. Different stakeholders from the region will take part at this event. 

 

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2nd coordination meeting of Sustain-COAST in Mersin, Turkey

On 4 February 2020, the project consortium will organize the 2nd coordination meeting of Sustain-COAST to discuss the project activities and  the progress of the first semester in  Mersin University premises in Turkey. The next day, 5 February 2020, Sustain-COAST partners will have a field Trip in Erdemli region and will meet stakeholders from Turkish study site in Erdemli Municipality.   On Thursday, 6 February 2020, Sustain-COAST partners will continue with the meetings concerning the project’s future planning at Mersin University.