From October 22 to 24, 2024, REGILIENCE convened its fifth Management Board Meeting in Poreč, Croatia, at one of the project’s focus regions with the generous hosting support from REGEA. This event was set together with Poreč one-day workshop which brought together project partners to not only review strategic milestones but also participate in a practical capacity-building workshop tailored for the local and regional authorities. This dual focus provided both a reflection on the project’s progress and an in-depth opportunity to strengthen regional climate resilience efforts.
What is left in a year for REGILIENCE project?
As the project approaches its final year (concluding in October 2025), the REGILIENCE partners have developed a strategy to continue supporting the 7 focus regions and beyond, making full use of existing resources and upcoming project activities. Many local and regional authorities (LRAs) still lack general knowledge on resilience and adaptation, possibly due to limited awareness of available EU platforms and resources. The REGILIENCE partners agreed that the project’s final year should focus on bringing selected and relevant resources of EU platforms and initiatives to LRAs, supporting them in creating or enhancing their climate resilience pathways. This will cover information on extreme climate events, curated tools specifically designed to support LRAs, and details on EU support available to regions and communities. Such information will be disseminated through REGILIENCE channels, materials, and capacitybuilding activities, including workshops like the one organised in Poreč.
Empowering Istria to become climate resilient
The main goal of the workshop “Climate change and adaptation in Istria: From planning to local action” was to empower Istrian Cities, Municipalities, and Istrian County institutions to develop their climate resilience pathway. It combined presentations of experts from REGILIENCE and the region with lively discussions on how Istria can prepare for present and projected climate hazards. The event introduced the concepts of resilience and climate adaptation, showcased relevant examples and tools, and covered the European legislative framework and how the region can access EU support.
The workshop provided an opportunity for Istrian cities and stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities for planning and implementing climate adaptation measures. It set the scene to the climate risks and impacts in the Istrian region, while bringing innovative and tested tools that can be utilised to their advantage. The REGILIENCE team facilitated discussions encouraging the participants to spot climate risks in their own cities and technical opportunities that can support them in planning for climate adaptation actions. In return, the discussions contribute to our understanding on the climate hazards affecting the local population as well as the support and information needed to develop climate resilience pathways. This has given us a unique insight, one which we could not obtain through desktop research alone.
The participatory approach allowed the participants to connect to each other, exchange knowledge, and explore possibilities for climate resilience, gaining a new perspective on challenges and solutions which might not have been obvious before. Additionally, the three sets of discussions sparked their interests in assessing the opportunities and needs for better and more integrated planning, better access to direct funding and the implementation of new financing mechanisms, as well as methods for the engagement of the local community in climate adaptation.
The major success of this workshop was the increased awareness of regional and local authorities and initiatives about the importance of developing adaptation strategies for Istria and the ways to achieve this. It has reinforced the importance of the strategy developed by REGILIENCE partners during the Management Board meeting and provided useful insights for the work planned for the final year.
