Workshop n02 - Mediterranean Region

 

Co-organised by: ACTeon and IMDEA

Supported by: CIRF

Funded by: EC

 

Aim · This workshop has been designed both to link NWRM to different policy challenges (including those framed by the Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive) and also to emphasise on the multibenefits of these measures, as linked to different policy aims (natural flood management, drought risk mitigation, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, etc.). Each session will be followed by a facilitated discussion.

 

Venue · Italy has proved to be the most appropriate place for this second regional workshop because it would allow us all to maximize the impact of the event building an explicit link to the activities of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, since Italy is the incumbent country (second semester 2014).

Concept · NWRM may be good on their own (if appraised individually, which does not make much sense) because they help restore the environment and ecosystem functions and services. Yet, self-evidence of advantages tends to ignore the existence of alternatives that may serve the same purpose and to overlook the opportunity cost of resources. Therefore, besides their rationality for nature restoration, NWRM need to be judged against their potential contribution to other policy objectives (WFD, FD, EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, CCA strategy, CAP reform, Habitats Directive, Birds Directive, etc.). At the end of the day, NWRM advantages are better captured within integrated programmes of measures, such as those that are designed and implemented as part of the planning cycles of the WFD and the FD.

As part of ‘successful stories’, sometimes purely financial reasons would suffice. NWRM might be cost-effective alternatives to attain particular objectives (improving the status of water bodies, mitigating flood risks, etc.). Yet, costs other than purely financial ones may be more relevant in most cases (notably in upstream-downstream relationships). Thus, as important as putting the right incentive in place is also to avoid prevailing ones (and environmentally harmful subsidies).

In addition trade-offs should not be neglected. Changing land-use practices entails opportunity costs. Not only benefits are characteristic of NWRM; specific costs could also be relevant. What should then be financed and what not? Who should pay? The assessment of trade offs allows to identify who wins and who loses and to figure out the required incentives to make NWRM acceptable and implementable. And what is most important: if in addition to water management NWRM serve many other purposes (i.e. their multi-benefit dimension), how should then these measures be financed? For more information see the background document.

 

DAY 1
12:30	REGISTRATION AND LIGHT LUNCH
	Opening session
13:30	Welcome	Salvatore de Giorgio, Regione Piemonte, Regional Environment Director, Italy
13:40	Introduction to the project (I)	Evdokia Achilleos, EC DGENV, Water Unit, project officer, Cyprus
14:00	Progress of the project (II)          Facilitation and introduction to the workshop	Benoît Fribourg-Blanc, OIEau, NWRM Project Co-ordination, France Gonzalo Delacámara, IMDEA, NWRM Mediterranean Coordinator, Spain
	Session 1· The multiple benefits of NWRM – Water retention: a means to different ends
14:10	Biophysical impacts: evidence from Sustainable urban Drainage Systems (SuDS)	Nick Jarritt, AMEC, UK
14:30	Economic evidence of benefits of NWRM	Gonzalo Delacámara, IMDEA, NWRM Mediterranean Coordinator, Spain
14:50	Facilitated discussion / all participants	Chair: Ayis Iacovides, I.A.CO
	Session 2 · NWRM as part of ecosystem-based management approaches
15:10	NWRM: an ecosystemic approach	Fernando Magdaleno, CEDEX, Spain
15:30	Ecosystem based adaptation approaches – lessons from the EU SEARCH project	Stefano Barchiesi, IUCN, Global Water Programme, Italy (complementary document: UNEP guide "green infrastructure guide for water management")
15:50	Facilitated discussion / all participants	Chair: Mats Ivarsson, Enveco
16:10	COFFEE BREAK
	Session 3 · Facilitated role playing in break-out groups
16:30		Led by Pierre Strosser, ACTeon, France Facilitated by Pierre Strosser, Gloria de Paoli, Sabine Tutte (ACTeon); Gonzalo Delacámara & Estefanía Ibáñez (IMDEA); Nick Jarritt (AMEC)
18:40	Closing of day 1
	CONFERENCE DINNER - Aperitif @ La Revoltosa, Piazza Emanuele Filiberto 4, followed by dinner @ Osteria La Gricia, Piazza Emanuele Filiberto 6
DAY 2
	Opening Session & wrap-up session from the role playing
9:00	Synthesis of Day 1 & Introduction to Day 2	Gonzalo Delacámara, IMDEA, NWRM Mediterranean Coordinator, Spain
9:05	Wrap-up session (General discussion from the role playing)	Sabine Tutte, ACTeon, France
	Session 4 · Supporting NWRM design and implementation
10:00	The knowledge base	Maggie Kossida, I.A.CO, Greece
10:20	The practical guide	Pierre Strosser, ACTeon, France
10:40	COFFEE BREAK
	Session 5 · Parallel sessions // Breakout groups
	Breakout group 1: NWRM within the context of climate change adaptation (CCA)
11:00	The relevance of bioengineering and riparian afforestation within a context of water scarcity and drought risk	Samantha J. Hughes, CITAB-UTAD, Portugal
11:20	Water banking through Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR)	Giancarlo Gusmaroli, Life+ AQUOR project, Italy
11:40	Riparian buffers to mitigate runoff effects and the role of riparian vegetation	Vincenzo Pellegrino & Alessia Giannetta, Regione Piemonte // Piedmont Region, Italy
12:00	Facilitated discussion / all participants	Chair: Dennis Collentine, SLU
	Breakout group 2: NWRM within the context of disaster risk reduction (DRR)
11:00	Key issues to be addressed for the implementation of NWRM to tackle flood risk in Italy	Andrea Goltara, CIRF, Italy
11:20	Local rainwater harvesting – the Maltese experience	Philip Grech, Grech & Associates, Malta
11:40	Forest NWRM and climate change adaptation in the Mediterranean.	Ivan Pilaš, Croatian Forest Research Institute, Croatia
12:00	Facilitated discussion / all participants	Chair: Nick Jarritt, AMEC
	Breakout group 3: NWRM as a catalyst for policy co-ordination (spatial development, agricultural policy, urban development, water policy, land use policy, conservation policy)
11:00	When soil conservation meets water retention	José A. Gómez, IAS-CSIC, Spain
11:20	Practical and policy issues on current and future implementation of NWRM	Gerald Dörflinger, Water Development Department of Cyprus, Cyprus
11:40	Sediment management programmes and river contracts: two instruments at a catchment scale for river and basin restoration	Paolo Mancin, Regione Piemonte / Piedmont Region, Italy
12:00	Facilitated discussion / all participants	Chair: Gloria de Paoli, ACTeon
12:30	Wrap up session – general discussion from the parallel sessions
	Session 8 · Inputs for the WFD CIS process (art. 5 discussions, incentives – linked to funding issues, local trade-offs) – Panel of policy makers and practitioners
13:00	Facilitated discussion / all participants	Chair: Gonzalo Delacámara, IMDEA, NWRM Mediterranean Coordinator, Spain Panellists: Evdokia Achilleos (EC DGENV, Water Unit, project officer); Andrea Goltara (CIRF); Gerald Dörflinger (Water Development Department of Cyprus) [TBC], Jaime L. Fraile (Segura River Basin, Planning Office, Spain) [TBC].
13:40	Synthesis of the workshop – lessons learnt - Gonzalo Delacámara, IMDEA, NWRM Mediterranean Coordinator, Spain
14:00	LUNCH & INFORMAL DEBRIEFING

 

This initiative takes place in the framework of ''Contract 07.0330/2013/659147/SER/ENV.C1 "Pilot Project - Atmospheric Precipitation - Protection and efficient use of Fresh Water: Integration of Natural Water Retention Measures in River Basin Management" with the support of the European Commission, however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.