Riding the Wave: Ensuring Water Security in BSR Through Sustainable and Resilient Water Management

One of the cornerstones of Europe's sustainable future is water security. The European Commission has highlighted it by making “Towards a water-resilient Europe” the main theme of this year's European Green Week. The Interreg Baltic Sea Region’s programme period 2021 – 2027 focuses strongly on the development of sustainable water use in municipalities and cities. In this panel, representatives of four projects aiming to close water and nutrient loop or reduce flooding, offer holistic solutions to address water management challenges.

The Opening Words are given by Patrick Child, Deputy Director General for Environment, Cities Mission Manager, European Commission.

The projects ReNutriWater, Waterman, Nursecoast II and City Blues contribute to the Policy Area Nutri in the EU Strategy for a Baltic Sea Region. They promote water security and sustainable practices by recovering safe water and nutrients from wastewater, implementing water reuse strategies, and piloting alternative treatment technologies and preventing flooding through nature-based solutions. Through capacity building, peer learning, and stakeholder engagement offered by projects, municipalities can develop strategic approaches to enhance water supply resilience, reduce nutrient discharge, and improve urban water management. These efforts aim to creating more sustainable and resilient communities while addressing the impact of climate change on water resources and infrastructure.

Speakers:

Patrick Child, Deputy Director General for Environment, Cities Mission Manager, European Commission

Elsi Kauppinen, EUSBSR Policy Area Nutri Coordinator, The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Southwest Finland

Jens Masuch, Partner, WaterMan, GA-MA Consulting GmbH

Klara Ramm, Lead Partner, ReNutriWater, Chamber of Economy, Polish Waterworks

Anu Reinikainen, Partner, NurseCoast II, Natural Resources Institute Finland

Anna Vilhula, Lead Partner, City Blues, City of Tampere

Moderator:

Kirsi Ahlman, Deputy Director, Centrum Balticum

Programme language: English