Displaying 1 - 10 of 10

H2020 AQUACROSS Case Study 5: Improving integrated management of Natura 2000 sites in the Ria de Aveiro Natura 2000 site, from catchment to coast, Portugal

Submitted by H2020 AQUACROSS on 28 March 2018
Aveiro River (c) Ana Lillebo, University of Aveiro

Minimising the impacts of dredging and flood bank extension: In 2018/2019, in the Ria de Aveiro two management interventions will have negative unintended impacts on biodiversity: 1) a dredging programme to manage water flow and navigability in Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon, and 2) the extension of a flood bank to stop surface saltwater intruding onto local farmland. The goal of this study is to apply adaptive management and minimise foreseen but unintended management challenges in a Natura 2000 protected area, which crosses fresh and marine waters, in the context of EU...

H2020 AQUACROSS Case Study 3 - Danube River Basin - harmonising inland, coastal and marine ecosystem management to achieve aquatic biodiversity targets

Submitted by H2020 AQUACROSS on 28 March 2018
Danube River connected sidearm (c) Andrea Funk

Restoring river-floodplains to protect biodiversity: The Danube’s river biodiversity is threatened by changes to hydrology and geomorphology (so-called hydro-morphological alterations), such as disconnection of floodplains. Multiple human activities, including the construction of hydropower plants, expansion of agriculture, and large-scale river regulation measures to increase navigation and flood protection are resulting in an ongoing loss of habitat and biodiversity. Our aim: In this Case Study, we apply the AQUACROSS Assessment Framework to identify how management of...

Urban gardens in Barcelona: multifunctional green to enhance Nature-Based Thinking in cities

Submitted by Jemma on 19 November 2021
Renaturing Barcelona: various green typologies in the centre of the city. Bellow, on the left: Cover of the government measure “The Programme for Enhancing the Urban Green Infrastructure”. Photo captures: Corina Basnou.

The Programme for Enhancing the Urban Green Infrastructure is an ambitious government measure approved in 2017. It establishes the main strategies for enhancing the quality and quantity of green infrastructure in Barcelona till 2030. Barcelona wants to renature the city and create, in this period, 165 ha of new green spaces, which increases the green spaces/inhabitant ratio by 1m2. As Barcelona is a compact city, there are various strategies to improve, transform or create new green spaces. The actions will take place at various urban scales (street, district or city scale) and...

Integrated green grey infrastructure (IGGI) - Ecologically enhanced sea defence

Submitted by Anonymous on 20 December 2018
Passive enhanced boulder with water retention feature uppermost.

Ecological enhancement of hard coastal structures. Project aimed to mitigate expected habitat losses associated with improving  coastal defences for both the natural substrate & pre-existing defences within Natural 2000 site, & minimise future habitat losses due to sea level rise & coastal squeeze.

Green roofs in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Submitted by Jemma on 30 November 2021
The extensive use of bromelias on the green roofs for keeping the weight of the structure low for safety (Image from Herzong and Rozado 2019).

Controlling and mitigating the heat island effect in Arará slum, northern Rio de Janeiro, based on the development and monitoring of green roofs, using epiphytes or lithophytes. Given the common uses of cement or metal, tiles required the development of specific techniques and materials to allow for the growth of vegetation while keeping the overall weight low for safety.

Scotland: Inner Forth Coastal Realignment

Submitted by Anja Helena Liski on 16 January 2017

This exemplar aims to: Map and describe existing and potential use and non-use community-held values of the estuary; Elicit community-held preferences and willingness to pay for coastal land use and management on landscape-scale; Test impacts of deliberation on preferences for estuarine land in a workshop setting; Contextualise study findings through institutional analysis; Identify ecosystem values held by land-owners and their attitudes towards coastal realignment; Understand future visions for the estuaries from diverse stakeholders; Test operational potential and impact of valuation...

Managing the deposition of harbour maintenance dredging sludge in a Wadden Sea Natura 2000 area

Submitted by Anonymous on 16 January 2017

Examining management scenarios related to the maintenance of a marina at the Dutch Wadden Sea Island Schiermonnikoog. Identifying how ecosystem services (ES) in a Natura 2000 area would be affected by different ways of depositing the dredging sludge. Gathering stakeholder feedback to advance the ES approach.

H2020 AQUACROSS Case Study 2: Analysis of transboundary water ecosystems, Green and Blue Infrastructures in the Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean (IBRM): Andalusia (Spain) – Morocco.

Submitted by H2020 AQUACROSS on 28 March 2018
El Estrecho (c) Alejandro Iglesias-Campos

Protecting areas to protect biodiversity: The IBRM is home to several remarkable protected sites, high biodiversity richness and an important cultural heritage. However, pressures from human activities in the area are threatening these distinct values. Our aim is to use diverse data plus stakeholder input to understand the social and ecological system and design a multifunctional network of  areas – that allow conservation, exploitation and restoration - and identify ideal sites for restoring degraded freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems.