After 6 years of operation, the 12th and last General Assembly of the EU funded HORIZON 2020 RECONECT Project was held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 1–2 July, 2024. Activities at the Assembly were dedicated to the future momentum of the Project’s work and guaranteeing its foundational legacy for Nature-based Solutions (NbS). It was the forum to review results but also to reflect on the road taken from where it all started.
The final and semi-annual General Assembly (GA) was held at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Belgrade, Serbia, from 1–2 July, 2024, providing a platform for the wider RECONECT Conference which followed. Online attendance was available for those who could not be physically present.
Dedicated to guaranteeing the legacy and continuation of the Project’s work, activities covered overall progress of the project towards its objectives with key results and conclusions after finalisation and implementation of research activities; observed impacts at the local and national level during the last 6 years; with projected implementation and future impacts in the application of NbS in flood protection, drought, landslides and other hydrometeorological risks.
To give just one significant case of RECONECT achievements, PRONING DHI d.o.o., project Collaborator for the Bregana river case in Croatia, after reflecting on the Project journey, shared:
“NbS really took off in these 6 years in Croatia. Cities are often seen as crucial for implementing innovative approaches like NbS. In a perfect example, after 6 years of investigating NbS measures it is our great joy to announce that Proning and partners are currently performing a parallel project — a comprehensive state of the art Sewerage Masterplan project for the city of Zagreb with math models and with implementation of NbS measures. Furthermore, currently in preparation for the city of Zagreb is the general urban planning project which will also investigate impacts of NbS measures. NbS is really a game changer approach in line with green transition goals.”
“In these 6 years we learned a lot, primarily on various aspects of the project including how to build the best possible solutions […] We learned how to act in the group of more than 35 project participants. We met new friends. Our special thanks go to Zoran Vojinovic and Jasna Plavsic who masterminded major activities and led us through it. It is a perfect moment to remember all.”
Immediately following the General Assembly, in the RECONECT International Conference, academic communities and practitioners came together to exchange information, experiences, research, and results on NbS for water security and climate adaptation. Multiple important aspects were examined and explored under the four main topics of the Conference, showcased in a diverse spectrum of almost 100 events over three days.
