The Spanish part of the Duero Catchment
Investment: Over €8 million is to be invested by the Duero catchment authority over the next five years to fund green infrastructure, and to help align water management with the EU Water Framework Directive, the Floods Directive principles and other related EU strategies of the European Green Deal. In addition over €13.5 million will be allocated to the environmental and digital transformation of the agricultural sector, one of the most important economic drivers in the region. Droughts, floods and depopulation in the region are a challenge that must be addressed to ensure the future of the region's nature and people.
Scientific/Technical Project Contribution: ReSET will study how sustainable agricultural practices can reduce water use and mitigate flooding. For this purpose, soil and moisture data are being collected on a farm under conventional management and another under Regenerative Agriculture in the province of Valladolid. The data obtained are integrated with satellite images in biophysical models (Waterworld, KCL) and socio-economic models (Metronamica, RIKS) to study the environmental, economic and social viability of this model of agriculture in the basin. On the other hand, measures for the restoration of riparian vegetation will be studied.
End-Users: The end-users of our demo that you asked us about are: Government (local, regional or national), public organisms, insurance sector, academic institutions, agricultural organizations and associations, foundations, NGOs and private companies
ReSET in action: A community of practice has been established in the territory that has collaborated with the project through various workshops. Why do we carry out these participatory activities?
1. Cooperation and integration of different types of knowledge from multiple sources and perspectives improves people's capacity to manage complex social-ecological systems.
2. They facilitate negotiation and mutual learning
3. To reduce potential conflicts and help increase acceptance of others' decisions.
4. They bring contextual information and other sources of local knowledge to the project, increasing the impact of the results.
5. To encourage collaboration between stakeholders in the territory.