When the winds are correct, the ship goes to port! We are happy about the start of the activities with some members of the coastal cities working group! The directorates of coasts and sustainable urban planning of the cities of Bodrum, Dubrovnik, Málaga, and Tangier met in Barcelona from September 25 to 27 to learn first-hand about the integrated coastal management plan and beach management actions of Barcelona City Council and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) and to learn about and explore the opportunities offered by citizen science for their cities.

The Barcelona city council hosted the group during the first work session to present in detail the governance and strategic planning involved in managing the coastal actors and activities and the beaches, that welcome more than 5 million users annually. Likewise, the invited city councils were able to present the situation, challenges, and solutions that the invited cities are implementing in coastal and beach management. Many of the challenges they face are common: rising sea levels, maintaining beaches, and managing natural and anthropological waste.

On the second day, the Metropolitan Area of ​​Barcelona invited group members to learn about the integrated management of natural coastal ecosystems in the metropolitan region, such as the Llobregat Delta Natural Park. During the work session, in the framework of the Horizon project GUARDEN partners meeting, including AMB, participants were able to learn about how they work from the AMB and, in addition, see a practical case of coastal resilience and dune space recovery, as well as a citizen mobilization program for follow-up and control (monitoring) of the area in Castelldefels through the use of the citizen science application MINKA, which MedCities is testing in other member cities through the project ANERIS. Participants also met with representatives of the Marine Sciences Institute (ICM) to get an understanding of initiatives led by ICM as the Ocean Cities Network UNESCO programme and the Horizon project ANERIS and the use of the Minka Platform, all activities with MedCities engagement.

Finally, the exchange ended with a work session to share MedCities coastal and marine activities and opportunities for members e.g. the EU Mission Ocean and Waters, the BlueMissionMed measures to abate marine pollution, and agree on the priorities for continuing the work group’s activities. The session ended with some proposals that we will be working on in the coming months.