The ERATOSTHENES Center of Excellence (ECoE) announces that in the framework of a research proposal submitted through a consortium of six (6) research organizations under the PRIMA Programme (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area), secured funding of 175000 EURO for the research project entitled “Adaptive agreements on benefits sharing for managed aquifer recharge in the Mediterranean region” (AGREEMAR). The total amount of funding of the consortium is 1.1 million EURO.
The AGREEMAR research project is expected to kick-off in the coming three (3) months, and its implementation period is thirty-six (36) months.
Specifically, the AGREEMAR consortium consists of Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) – Coordinator of the project, National Institute of Agronomy (INAT), Carthage University, adelphi research GmbH, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV), ERATOSTHENES Center of Excellence (ECoE) and Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC). Dr. Konstantinos Panagiotou is the coordinator of the project on behalf of the ERATOSTHENES Center of Excellence. The project team includes also the researchers Dr. Christiana Papoutsa and Eleni Loulli. It is worth noting that, the AGREEMAR project has received the highest score from the proposals submitted with the participation of Cypriot partners for this programme.
AGREEMAR proposes an improved and integrated management of water resources centered on optimizing the storage of water in the subsurface with the aim of increasing water security in the Mediterranean region. To reach this goal, the project will develop an integrated, participative and coordinated methodology to assess and map the feasibility of nature-based groundwater solutions such as managed aquifer recharge (MAR) for climate change adaptation in alignment to the IWRM principles. The applicability of AGREEMAR governance framework will be demonstrated at island, regional and local scale on four case study areas from Tunisia, Cyprus, Portugal, and Spain. By selecting regions from EU and non-EU countries on both shores of the Mediterranean basin, AGREEMAR will foster intercultural and multidisciplinary collaboration and transfer between countries. The developed solutions are expected to close the gaps in the hydrological cycle and fulfil optimal water provisions for food security, domestic services and preservation of natural ecosystems in the Mediterranean region.
