For the third consecutive edition, the CARDIMED project participated in the European Urban Resilience Forum (EURESFO), one of Europe’s leading events on climate adaptation and resilience, held this year in Guimarães, Portugal.
Represented by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and BIOAZUL, CARDIMED took part in the Marketplace area, where the project showcased its work on accelerating the implementation and replication of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across the Mediterranean. Throughout the event, the team exchanged experiences with regional authorities, policymakers, researchers and practitioners committed to advancing climate resilience.
A major highlight of CARDIMED’s participation was the co-organisation of the interactive workshop “Greener Regions, Real Impact: Beyond Buzzwords to Make Nature-based Solutions Work”. Organised under the framework of the NBS4EU Cluster together with LAND4CLIMATE, DesirMED, NBRACER and MountResilience, and in collaboration with other Horizon Europe projects including NURISH and Commit2Green, the workshop brought together experts and regional representatives to discuss practical pathways for accelerating the uptake of Nature-based Solutions across Europe. Discussions addressed key topics such as governance, citizen engagement, financing mechanisms, water resilience, wildfire adaptation and spatial planning.
The workshop was jointly facilitated by Lucia D’Amore (ICLEI Europe) and Tadej Stepišnik Perdih (NTUA), CARDIMED Project Coordinator. Through an interactive discussion format, participants rotated between thematic tables to exchange experiences, share practical challenges and identify solutions for scaling up Nature-based Solutions across different regional contexts.
The session opened with the presentation of the Mediterranean Resilience Alliance, a voluntary cross-regional initiative established through CARDIMED to connect regions, cities, municipalities, communities and projects committed to strengthening climate resilience through Nature-based Solutions. Designed to continue beyond the lifetime of the project, the Alliance promotes knowledge exchange, peer learning and the replication of successful NbS experiences across the Mediterranean and neighbouring regions. It is open to any region, city, municipality or project interested in joining this growing community, with participation being free and voluntary.
Following the introduction, participants joined thematic discussion tables to exchange practical experiences and identify solutions to common implementation challenges. CARDIMED led the table on multi-level governance, facilitated by Marie-Caroline Vallon from Région Sud (France). The discussion explored how stronger coordination between regional and local authorities can accelerate the deployment of Nature-based Solutions, with participants sharing governance models, policy experiences and recommendations for scaling up climate adaptation actions.
Beyond the workshop, CARDIMED also contributed to the official EURESFO programme through its participation in the session “The MEL Clinic: Diagnosing and Strengthening Regional and Local Learning Systems”. During the session, João Sardinha from the Intermunicipal Community of Central Alentejo presented the progress of CARDIMED DEMO 7 in the Alentejo region, showcasing how Nature-based Solutions are supporting climate resilience while strengthening regional learning processes. His presentation highlighted the importance of translating practical demonstration experiences into integrated governance approaches that can help regions better respond to climate challenges.
Bringing together 420 participants from 42 countries, more than 140 speakers and 25 projects represented in the Marketplace, EURESFO 2026 once again confirmed its role as a key meeting point for Europe’s climate resilience community. For CARDIMED, the event provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen existing collaborations, engage with new regional stakeholders and showcase practical experiences that are helping accelerate the uptake of Nature-based Solutions across the Mediterranean.
The presentation of the Mediterranean Resilience Alliance marked an important milestone in this journey. By creating a long-term network for collaboration beyond the lifetime of the project, CARDIMED aims to support the replication of successful Nature-based Solutions, foster peer learning between regions and contribute to a more coordinated Mediterranean response to climate change. Regions, cities, municipalities and projects interested in joining this initiative are warmly invited to become part of the Alliance.
