In June 2024, REXUS partners participated in important scientific fora and Congresses, sharing experiences on the benefits of the Nexus approach and disseminating the project’s successful outcomes. In particular, innovative methods and key takeaways from the pilot implementations in the Pinios Learning and Action Alliance in Greece, as well as the REXUS innovative approach to water management, and its potential application in the Isonzo–Soča river basin, were shared.
Venue: 8th International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research, Lisbon, June 4-7
REXUS Partner: Soil and Water Resources Institute (SWRI)
Dr. Vassilis Pisinaras, Senior Researcher at the Soil and Water Resources Institute (SWRI) of the Hellenic Agricultural Organisation presented a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis of the Pinios River Basin, undertaken in participatory way by the Pinios Learning and Action Alliance. Dr. Pisinaras analysed how stakeholders with profound knowledge of the state of all four Nexus sectors in the basin, offered their valuable insights analyzing each sector within the framework of the exercise, leading to significant conclusions for Pinios’s water, energy, food and ecosystems, indispensable for designing and implementing holistic sustainable interventions in the region.
Venue: Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress (SRI) in Helsinki, June 10-14
REXUS Partners: Soil and Water Resources Institute (SWRI) & iCatalist
Ms. Barbara Willaarts from iCatalist convened the Session “Moving beyond scientific excellence: Mainstreaming transdisciplinary approaches in climate and WEFE nexus policy and practice for wider societal impacts” that was dedicated to the importance of knowledge sharing in transdisciplinary approaches, dealing with complex sustainability challenges like Nexus or climate change. The focus was on the importance of bringing stakeholders on board in research projects, aiming to generate outputs and outcomes that are relevant in terms of social dynamics and policy design.
During the session, Dr. Andreas Panagopoulos, Research Director of SWRI, analysed the Pinios’s Learning and Action Alliance (LAA) fascinating two-year journey, its significant results and its long-lasting impact for the region. Comprised, on average, of 44 actively engaged stakeholders from all NEXUS sectors and levels (local to national), the Pinios LAA journey started from identifying the problems and challenges that Pinios faces in co-proposing and co-creating measures and solutions. Marking an important milestone for the project, the top 20 multidisciplinary priority measures, scientifically evaluated and validated and covering all Nexus sectors, were adopted and accepted in the 2nd Revision of the Pinios Basin Management Plan. Most importantly, Dr. Panagopoulos stressed that key REXUS stakeholders are now participating as partners in a subsequent Horizon Europe programme, SpongeWorks solidifying a collaboration that has yielded significant outputs.
Venue: National Days of Hydrology 2024, June 24-26 Udine
REXUS Partner: AAWA
REXUS travelled to the highly prestigious National Days of Hydrology 2024, the most important hydrological event in Italy. Francesca Lombardo, from AAWA (Autorità di bacino distrettuale delle Alpi Orientali) presented an abstract and a poster on June 25 with the title REXUS – a new innovative approach for water management, coping with the climatic challenges and considering the WEFE Nexus: possible application in the Isonzo – Soča river basin.” The poster provided an overview of the REXUS methodology, its scope, context, approach and scientific components to water management, the participatory activities and the workshops implemented and delved in depth in the Isonzo – Soča river basin pilot and REXUS’s contribution to the NEXUS challenges that the area is facing.
