Mara-Mediterra:
Safeguarding the livelihood of rural communities and the environment in the Mediterranean through Nature-based Solutions.
Mara-Mediterra:
Safeguarding the livelihood of rural communities and the environment in the Mediterranean through Nature-based Solutions.
Mara-Mediterra is aimed at addressing the hitherto low uptake of Nature-based Solutions (NbSs) in agro-ecosystems, with 5 ‘hotspots’ of land and water degradation as Case Studies.
Mara-Mediterra is aimed at addressing the hitherto low uptake of Nature-based Solutions (NbSs) in agro-ecosystems, with 5 ‘hotspots’ of land and water degradation as Case Studies.
Our approach adopts the concept of Living Labs defined as “user-centered, open innovation ecosystems based on a systematic user co-creation approach in public-private-people partnerships, integrating research and innovation processes in real-life communities and settings” .
By involving multi-stakeholders around the thematic of water and land degradation in 5 Case Studies over the entire project duration, our Living Labs will function as a demo-type environment with a cross-sector WEFE (Water, Energy, Food, Ecosystem) nexus approach. Our array of Nature based Solutions will be tested, taken up into action plans and ultimately integrated with new business models and policy improvement initiatives based on the value of water and land. This Living Lab approach will guarantee the alignment between different decision-making velocities among stakeholders.
Mara-Mediterra is funded through the PRIMA partnership for research and innovation in the Mediterranean area which is supported by Horizon 2020, the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
The Challenge: Combating deforestation caused by wild fires
The abundance of greenery in the mountainous Akkar Al-Atika area rendered it a major attraction for both local and foreign tourists alike. In recent years however, droughts have become more frequent, and vast tracts of the area have been almost continuously exposed to massive fire outbreaks that caused the near-total elimination of the areas’ forest wealth. As burned trees were cut down, soil erosion quickened at an alarming rate. Restoration efforts are hampered due to the lack of surface water storage infrastructure and unsustainable irrigation practices. This resulted in Increased conflicts both among farmers and between different water user groups, i.e. villagers and farmers. A holistic plan of action is needed urgently to restore and preserve the area’s scenic beauty of years past. To sustain and conserve the rural community’s livelihood, the ingredients of such an action plan would need to include solutions to store and manage rainwater in a cost-effective manner as well as to ensure the conservation of soils. Moreover, targeted awareness-raising and capacity building events should ensure the plan’s alignment with national efforts for better environmental management.
Our Mission:
Led by the Lebanese University (UL), the Living Lab in Lebanon aspires to put in place rainfall harvesting solutions and smart irrigation systems and to restore forests in a sustainable manner. In this context, the guidance of DEU DESUM will be sought to ensure sufficient water is stored to overcome periods of drought. AMENHYD’s protocol for micro-ecosystem based afforestation in desert landscapes will be trialled and adapted to the mountainous area of Al-Atika.
The Challenge: Combating desertification
To protect the country from the advancing desert, the authorities in Algeria embarked on the ambitious Green Dam project. Launched in 1971, this gigantic operation involved the planting of a forest strip of between 4 to 25 km wide and 1200 km long. Stretching all the way between the country’s borders with Tunisia to the east and Morocco to the west, the project was designed to create 3 million hectares of woodland. However, several obstacles contributed to slowing down the success of Algeria’s flagship project against the advance of the desert. In particular, soil degradation in areas dedicated to reforestation, and the growing impact of climate change, have been turning these areas into hostile environments.
Our Mission:
Led by AMENHYD, the Living Lab in Algeria aspires to contribute to the development of novel agro-ecological solutions. The new approach will be based on the artificial creation of a micro-ecosystem at the level of each tree that will planted in the experimental afforestation site at Djelfa, known as the Gateway to the Sahara. In addition, the approach foresees the use of renewable energies, the valorisation and reuse of by-products from wastewater treatment, as well as the use of digital monitoring tools.
Through this effort, AMENHYD aspires to reinstate pastoral and agricultural land productivity, thereby improving the socio-economic conditions of the population and provide fuel wood to rural communities. AMENHYD estimates that this effort will support Algeria’s commitment to decreasing GHGs emissions by 7% by 2030.
The Challenge: Combating rural landscape desertification
Olive cultivation in the hilly areas – with typically shallow soils – of the North Aegean islands was traditionally considered as the main pillar of the islands’ agricultural economy. The adoption of unsustainable cultivation practices, and the abandonment of traditional olive cultivation areas due to the lack irrigation water, resulted in severe desertification of the rural landscapes in the islands.
Our Mission:
Led by SWRI, the Living Lab in Greece aspires to develop novel agri-environmental models of olive cultivation in areas vulnerable to desertification. Being the main pillar of the agricultural sector in Lesvos, as well as in all North Aegean islands, our stakeholders are committed to join us to address the challenge of desertification and to restore soil health for the benefit of the environment and the rural communities. In this effort, the ambition of SWRI is to establish the first Thematic Park of agri-environmental Nature based Solutions in the Mediterranean as a hub of knowledge transfer, interaction and stakeholders’ support that will contribute decisively to the needs of both science-based decision making as well as the societal awareness towards a sustainable future in cooperation with nature.
The Challenge: Combating water and soil salinization
The construction of the Aswan Dam has led to significantly reduced river flood flows reaching the Nile Delta. Coupled with a rising sea level over the past couple of decades, this progressively led to increased seawater intrusion in the Delta. Moreover, as the land is no longer inundated with silt-laden peak flows, the natural fertilization of the lands cultivated by the famers in the Delta was lost. Farmers thus became dependent on the purchase of artificial fertilizers which brought a negative impact on their income. In addition to sustainable solutions to address water and soil salinization, alternative systems of primary production based on circular bio-economy principles are needed urgently, so as to minimize the pressures on the environment and restore the sustainable livelihood of farmer communities in the Delta.
Our Mission:
Led by ECU, the Living Lab in Egypt aspires to bring a solution to the water and soil salinization problematic in the Nile Delta that is based on a novel primary production system using aquaponic wetlands. Preliminary experimental trials at the lab scale have shown that combining aquaculture and hydroponics, the entire system has high potential to reach zero-liquid discharge. This is accomplished by continuously recirculating water between a plant bed and a fish farming habitat. Each component of the system will be further evaluated to reach optimum cost-efficiency, including the use of solar energy to run the system.
In addition to this Nature-based Solution, AMENHYD and DEU DESUM bring their expert knowledge in hydrological modeling to simulate the cost-effectiveness of creating a hydraulic barrier to halt the seawater intrusion in the Nile Delta. In a first scenario of this eco-engineering solution, treated domestic effluent will be diverted to feed a string of existing, northernmost canals which run parallel to the coastline. In the second, the treated effluent will be simulated as aquifer recharge.
The Challenge: Combating natural eco-system degradation
The Gordes dam construction reduced the inflow to the Marmara Lake by 70%. Coupled with prolonged droughts, the decreasing lake volume caused a significant reduction in irrigation water and impacted on the lake habitats and bird species in this Wetland of National Importance. Resolving conflicts among water users and the introduction of an alternative bio-economy model are of primary importance..
Our Mission:
Led by DEU DESUM, the Living Lab in Turkey aspires to return the Marmara Lake to good ecological status by determining the minimum environmental flow which this would require. This will be based on a novel, dynamic monitoring and proactive intervention scheme that will draw on satellite-based data services, in-situ discharge measurements and improved technologies for supply calibration and the adapted use of meteorological predictions. Moreover, to bring a lasting solution to the ecosystem degradation, DEU DESUM will build up a dynamic water allocation scheme that looks not only at the environmental flow but also at the sanitary water needs of the urban settlements in the case study. The novel allocation set-up will resemble the actions of dynamically changing shears on a railway network.
