Four city members of MedCities network participated -in person or online- in URWAN’s first transnational Living Lab and Training to discuss nature-based solutions (NBS) for water management.

Representatives of municipalities of Sarajevo, Málaga and Jerash met in Ptuj, Slovenia this December to talk and share good practices about sustainable water management NBS. IRIDRA, the first Italian firm specialised into the use of Nature-Based Solutions for water management, presented with the preliminary version of URWAN first output: a catalogue gathering a series of practical and tested NBS for sustainable water management in cities.

They also participated in an interesting role-play simulation created by Make It Better, a Portuguese project facilitator, that allowed the participants to understand better the needs and positions of the different stakeholders impacted by a Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), from the city’s accountant to the neighbors’ spokesperson. The results of the simulation also nourished the activity of the second day: the Living Lab.

During the Living Lab, led by MedCities, the participants were invited to think about possible barriers that can affect the good planning, implementation and maintenance of an NBS. This idea was not only for the 6 cities to identify possible obstacles they might face while carrying out their pilot activities, but also to start thinking about how to overcome them. Indeed, the last part of the day was dedicated to sharing good practices and solutions. All this information was collected and will nourish the URWAN Enabler Pack. Last, but not least, all Partners defied the cold Slovenian winter for a study visit organised by ZRS BISTRA Ptuj to a basin, a NBS implemented by Ptuj municipality to cope with the regular flooding of its culture heritage pond.

On the last day, the partnership of URWAN, including the municipality of Larnaka, MedCities member city, gathered to discuss the progress of the project’s implementation, discuss the next steps to be taken and celebrate its steering committee.