The international community has turned its attention to the urgent need to addressing environmental and climate challenges of our planet. This determination has resulted in the formulation of the global agenda of sustainabilitya commitment The EU has a unified approach to promote economic, social and environmental practices that ensure the well-being of current and future generations.
The digital and ecological transition emerges as a central concept, particularly relevant in the European context. Spearheaded by the EU Green Pact which seeks to provide a comprehensive and ambitious response to the climate crisis, while promoting economic development that is compatible with environmental conservation.
However, by turning our attention to the Mediterranean biogeographical region (MED)We are faced with a complex and multifaceted reality. This region, known for its ecological and cultural uniquenesspresents additional challenges in implementation. The diversity of development and vulnerability levels, together with inherent barriers to social engagement and digital literacy, pose a complex context for building climate resilience.
While nature-based solutions are recognised as key assets in climate change management, lack of social receptivity and low uptake of green and digital innovations by governments and communities hinder their effective implementation. In addition, underinvestment in climate resilience highlights the urgent need for increased private sector engagement.
While a number of strategies and plans on climate change at different levels, significant barriers remain, such as reliance on past models and lack of confidence in innovative solutions. To overcome these barriers, coordinated action is required that engages local communities and stakeholders, promoting the adoption of nature as a pathway to climate resilience.
In this regard, widespread testing of the efficacy of the nature-based solutions. It also highlights the importance of integrating circular economy principles to maximise the benefits of these solutions and comprehensively address water, energy, food and ecosystem challenges in diverse urban, industrial, rural and natural environments.
The project CARDIMEDwhich began to be implemented in September 2023, with the objective to drive systemic transformations for climate resilience in the Mediterranean region, unifying and integrating all initiatives addressing climate adaptation and mitigation through nature-based solutions and other engineering infrastructures. To achieve this goal, it provides both the underlying structural framework and the network of 9 demonstration (DEMO) groups that will form a critical mass for replication, transferability and scaling up. The project will implement, test and demonstrate circular solutions that promote the digital, social and systemic transformation. CARDIMED aims to connect more than 28 Mediterranean regions and more than 70 communities through demonstration and replication strategies, effectively integrating nature-based solutions in building systemic resilience. The implementation of this project is being carried out in collaboration with a consortium of companies characterised by a multidisciplinary approach and European scope. The total budget of the project is €19,971,411.25.
CTCON will contribute to the project by working together with 51 participants from a total of 13 countries gathering information, risks and barriers and mitigating problems of integrating nature-based solutions into existing value chains.
