CAMARO-D Cooperating towards Advanced MAnagement ROutines for land use impacts on the water regime in the Danube river basin
About the project
GOALS AND SOLUTIONS
Actual Danube basin-wide challenges – like erosion, floods, soil compaction, surface water run-off, water pollution, invasive plant species and further risks boosted by climate change - ask for a coordinated transnational cross-sector approach towards an optimal land use management respectively vegetation cover within relevant river catchment areas. The main objectives are the sustainable protection of water resources and enhanced flood risk prevention for safeguarding urbanised areas through sustainable land use practices fostering the improvement of infiltration and water storage, as well as mitigation of erosion and floods.
CAMARO-D develops a transnational catchment-based “Land Use Development Plan” (LUDP) for an adequate coordination and harmonization of different function-oriented sustainable land use management activities. This new planning instrument provides the initial action to set framework conditions for transnational catchment-based cooperation and should therefore be integrated in existing River Basin Management Plans. Its operational implementation will be initiated and tested in practice within different Pilot Actions respectively Pilot Areas. Existing tools and models in some of the participating countries will be checked in terms of their transferability and further developed according to the needs in the respective pilot areas. For the relevant stakeholders and decision-makers an innovative transnational guidance for sustainable land use planning (GUIDR) will be developed as a practically oriented decision support tool. It will encompass a set of best practices for steering function-oriented land use activities and management, also regarding uncertain trends concerning climate change. By means of a tailored stakeholder toolkit decision makers will get support in mitigating different conflicts of interests and receive recommendations for implementation of optimized steering tools for regional development strategies and respective funding programmes. Additionally, target-oriented trainings at agricultural and forest related schools will be organized to guarantee a fruitful dissemination also to the future generation.
As this newly developed planning instrument (LUDP) demonstrates procedures for a sound water management on a transnational basis, it provides important inputs for the further development of EUSDR and other relevant policies.
WORK PACKAGES
Investigative Danube
Building on results and outputs from previous projects and national stakeholder workshops in each participating country current shortcomings in actual land use management practices (agriculture/grassland management/forestry/settlements) as well as governance related issues within the context of water protection and flood prevention will be evaluated and “hot spots” identified in order to determine the areas of intervention.
Explorative Danube
Within 12 different pilot areas – assigned to 3 thematic clusters differentiated between “groundwater resources”, “torrents and small rivers” and “rivers” – current land use activities respectively vegetation cover are evaluated and respective best management practices will be elaborated and implemented, supported by dialogues and workshops with relevant stakeholders. By means of 3 thematic pilot cluster coordination meetings a permanent know-how exchange between the project partners on a transnational level is guaranteed.
Visionary Danube
Built on the identified gaps of current land use activities regarding water protection and flood risk prevention issues and the results of the pilot actions a transnational guidance for the Danube Region for sustainable land use planning (GUIDR) with a set of best practices will be developed. The initiation of its practical implementation will be conducted in the respective pilot areas supported by tailored stakeholder toolkits, stakeholder workshops and trainings.
Progressive Danube
Based on the comprehensive experiences gained within previous work steps a transnational, catchment-based Land Use Development Plan (LUDP) will be elaborated considering existing strategies and regulations on different levels. This strategy will encompass improved coordination of spatial planning, enhanced flood forecasting, economic incentives for adequate land use, cost-benefit analysis, cross-sector communication strategies on different levels and a roadmap for the national implementation. The LUDP will be signed by notable representatives during the Final Conference.
