EU project RECONECT

On 26th September 2018, EU Horizon2020 project “RECONECT- Regenerating ECOsystems with Nature based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk rEduCTion”, kicked off in Portofino, Italy.

The second General Assembly of the project takes place in the Van der Valk Hotel in Zwolle, The Netherlands, on 8th – 10th May 2019. All project partners come together to discuss project progress and plan for subsequent stages of the project.

The programme includes a field trip with the 80 international participants to the river IJssel to get a taste of the Dutch programme “Room for the River” (Ruimte voor de Rivier), and also features presentations by, among others, Henk Ovink (Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands), by Zoran Vojinovic (RECONECT Project Coordinator), Pritha Hariram (of FMO, Dutch Development Bank), and Ingwer de Boer (advisor to the project and former Director of the Room for the River programme).

Together with BDCA (Bulgaria) and UFZ (Germany) Tauw leads work package 2, ‘Demonstration’. Work package 2 aims to achieve cross-border knowledge exchange about ‘nature based solutions’ (or, ‘building with nature’ solutions) that are demonstrated or will be demonstrated in various EU countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Italy, Germany and Spain, as well as through case studies from Thailand, Taiwan, Australia and Brasil. Being one of the ‘demonstrators’ itself, Tauw brings in the “Ruimte voor de Rivier” (‘room for the river’) project of ‘Stroomlijn’.

EU Horizon 2020
Tauw is represented in the project’s executive board and leads one of the 6 work packages, while partaking in most other work packages. We are one of the leaders in this large Horizon2020 project – with an EU contribution of around 13 million EUR, with a total expenditure profile of around 44 million EUR, and with 36 partners. For facts and figures of the project, please refer to: www.RECONECT.eu

The coming about of the project
A project of this stature brings a history. Much conceptualization, brainstorming, alliance formation and cups of coffee have preceded the current status. Overall project management is in the hands of IHE Delft with whom Tauw implemented different international studies into ‘waste water management’ and ‘heat-stress mapping’ in countries like the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand which were essential references to get involved in RECONECT.

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