Representatives from Azores (Portugal), Tuscany (Italy) and South Aquitaine (France) today met at Ekoetxea Txingudi with the Basque consortium of the Regions4Climate project: AZTI, Tecnalia, Zabala and Ihobe. The project is part of the EU Mission Adaptation to Climate Change and the Basque Country will thus work with a dozen European religions on innovative climate resilience solutions.

Some of the visitors will take part in the session on coastal climate change adaptation organised by Ihobe and to be held tomorrow

The Basque Country is taking part in Regions4Climate as an advanced region in the cluster of regions for coastal adaptation; it is running pilot schemes to develop and test their transformative adaptation plans and pathways. Two main actions are going to be implemented within the Basque pilot: the recovery of different salt-marsh areas in the Bay of Txingudi and the deployment of the Basque Mission Adaptation to Climate Change.

The planned action in the Plaiaundi area envisages removing earth to open up the San Lorenzo lagoon to the tides by getting rid of 50,000 cubic metres of agricultural land and eliminating the sluice gates that currently regulate the water flow. The project aims to obtain the largest flat surface of water possible, at a height of 50 cm and with the minimum soil balance possible. Thus, the plan envisages an extension of 5.5 hectares of new marshland; that would mean the natural restoration of the tidal pattern, improve the resilience of the land and engineer a larger floodable surface area to allow adaptation to the envisaged climate scenarios.

The action is also taking place in a special protection area for birds that is part of the Natura 2000 Network, and will improve the habitat for those species and act as a refuge for biodiversity.

After visiting the San Lorenzo and Plaiaundi intervention zone, the group will also travel to southern France to learn about the interventions in the neighbouring region of South Aquitaine, is also a Regions4Climate project partner. The collaboration between the Basque Country and South Aquitaine is an example of the cross-border cooperation being fostered by Europe as part of the EU Mission Adaptation.

On 22 October, part of the international delegation will participate in the session on coastal adaptation to climate change, organised by Ihobe in Bilbao and part of ASTEKLIMA, the Basque Climate and Energy Week, which is being held from 18 to 27 October.