bePrepARed - Preparing, Adapting, Reconstructing: actions to promote climate change adaptation and risk disaster resilience in Italian and Croatian sensitive ecosystems

The bePrePAred project addresses the impacts of climate change in EU countries, focusing on extreme events like droughts and floods. Effective water management is vital for mitigating these challenges, which affect local production, well-being, and land management, increasing risks such as soil erosion and forest fires.

The project aims to enhance resilience in vulnerable ecosystems on both sides of the Adriatic Sea by integrating risk management tools and policies. It seeks to develop skills for ecosystem-based governance of water resources, promote sustainable use in rural-urban areas, and raise awareness about water scarcity among institutions and the public.

Involving public institutions, universities, and development agencies from Italy and Croatia, the project will produce climate-resilient water management solutions, a cross-border governance strategy, and tailored action plans. It will also implement Nature-Based Solutions to restore ecological networks and provide capacity-building for policymakers. The outputs aim to strengthen institutional capabilities in managing water and forest landscapes, ultimately benefiting citizens and the economy by enhancing protection against extreme climate events.

Project specific objectives

• Sharing methodologies and practices for landscape governance in targeted areas, addressing climate change challenges, particularly relating water stress conditions. Identifying various scenarios of climate change effects to inform governmental institutions, local communities and CSOs about reviewing policies and practices for water landscapes governance. 
• To improve institutional and social awareness on the effects of climate change on natural and cultural landscapes and on local economic activities, by exchanging good practices in their management and mitigation. 
• To develop and test integrated climate adaptation and mitigation solutions, including material and non - material nature-based interventions, to improve ecological and social resilience in different ecosystems, actively involving local communities and institutional actors.

Project main outputs

• Output 1.1 - Climate-resilient water ecosystems management scenarios
• Output 2.1 - Territorial regeneration cross-border general Strategy and action plans on water landscapes for climate change adaptation
• Output 3.1 - Testing of material and non-material NBS for manmade ecosystems & communities and improve site ecological management
• Output 3.2 - Material and non-material NBS for man-made ecosystems & communities and improve site ecological management
• Output 3.3 - Capacity Building paths for the institutional local stakeholders