Five entities from Cantabria present the European NBRACER project, which offers nature-based solutions for regional climate resilience in the Atlantic

A consortium of 30 entities from different European countries (Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy) make up the international project titled “Nature-Based Solutions for Atlantic Regional Climate Resilience” (NBRACER), whose implementation is funded by the European Commission with 18 million euros from a Horizon Europe call. This morning, the presentation of this project took place in an event held at the Auditorium of the Institute of Environmental Hydraulics of the University of Cantabria (IHCantabria, by its acronym in Spanish), attended by authorities and representatives of the technical team of the five entities that are part of this project in Cantabria, as well as their regional and international coordinators.

Of all the regions in the Atlantic Arc, Cantabria is the only Spanish territory where the demonstration of the NBRACER project will be carried out. In this region, the following entities will participate as partners: the Foundation Institute of Environmental Hydraulics of Cantabria (FIHAC)/IHCantabria, the University of Cantabria, the European Projects Office of the Government of Cantabria (OPE Cantabria), the Red Cambera Association, and the Santander City Council.

The effects of climate change are intensifying worldwide, affecting human health and societal prosperity. Additionally, the continued degradation of natural capital leads to increasing costs, increased vulnerability, and decreased stability of key systems and infrastructure. Many regions and communities are struggling to prevent or minimize the negative effects of climate change. Therefore, the European Climate Change Adaptation Mission recognizes the need for a systemic approach, working across all sectors and disciplines, experimenting, and engaging local communities.

The NBRACER project addresses this challenge with an innovative and practical approach to accelerate the transformation of climate-resilient regions that are safe, green, clean, healthy, and just. Adaptation will be based on the smart combination of nature-based solutions (NBS), rooted in the resources provided by different landscape features (coastal, urban, rural), and integrated into a transformative action approach that mobilizes and enables regions and communities to accelerate their progress in climate change adaptation.

NBS are approaches, actions, or processes that use the principles of nature to address various issues related to territorial and urban management, such as climate change adaptation, resource management, water management, food security, and air and environmental quality. Therefore, NBS can play an important role in coastal protection against climate risks.

In summary, NBRACER aims to generate significant synergies to advance the implementation of NBS, integrating experiences from diverse professionals, including ecosystem engineers, transformative adaptation innovators, experts in financing, and capacity development. Internationally, this project is led by the Dutch Deltares Foundation, and nationally, by representatives of IHCantabria. Its development will take place over the next 4 years, starting in October of this year.

During his speech at the presentation ceremony of the NBRACER project, Carlos Beltrán, UC Vice Rector for Research and Science Policy, pointed out that what makes NBRACER more significant for this university and for the region is that both the UC and IHCantabria have an essential role in the development of this project and that Cantabria has been chosen as one of the regions in which it will be demonstrated. “This means that Cantabria will be leading the way in implementing this type of solution to address the effects of climate change in our region. We hope that, like the other regions, we will end up being an example so that the same methodology can be applied in many other regions,” added Beltrán.

“In the urban environment, the NBRACER project will contribute to highlight the policies developed by the Environmental Department of the Santander City Council and, in particular, will demonstrate the results of the ‘Santander Natural Capital’ initiative, managed by the Biodiversity Foundation of the MITECO, which works to strengthen the role of Santander’s urban green spaces network in biodiversity conservation to improve the quality of life of our residents,” stated Alvaro Lavín, Councillors for Innovation, Commerce, Markets, and Institutional Relations of the Santander City Council.

Representing the Government of Cantabria, Marta García, Director General of European Funds, highlighted the role that the European Projects Office of the Government of Cantabria (OPE Cantabria) will play in the implementation of the NBRACER project. OPE Cantabria is a public company under the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and European Funds and is also a fundamental tool for coordinating the government’s participation in European projects.

This event was hosted by Raul Medina, Director of IHCantabria and Vice President of FIHAC, and Jose Barquín, Professor at UC and head of the Continental Ecosystems team at IHCantabria, who explained the particular characteristics of the NBRACER project at the regional and international levels.

Regions of the Atlantic Arc where the NBRACER project is planned to be implemented

The project is supported by a well-balanced consortium of partners, including regional and municipal governments, companies, NGOs and research institutes. Specifically, NBRACER is being developed in 8 regions of the Atlantic biogeographic zone to envision, co-design, demonstrate and scale up sustainable NBS, through 5 demonstration regions (Porto, Cantabria, Central Denmark, New Aquitaine and West Flanders) and 3 replication regions (Cávado, East Flanders and Friesland).

This process is supported by a regional-scale effort to build adaptation pathways with the support of communities, testing and validating portfolios of NBS that are sustainable and targeted to different types of landscapes. The development of innovative, site-specific adaptation and transformation pathways is envisaged, as well as capacity building and networking to enable the exchange of knowledge and experience.

“The project is supported by a well- balanced consortium of partners including regional and municipal governments, businesses, and knowledge institutes. It is clearly focused on demonstrating and sharing nature based solutions in Atlantic landscapes. We are thrilled for the opportunity to assist the regions and Europe to progress toward a sustainable and green climate adaptation”, said its international coordinator, Mindert de Vries.