Digital Drought Risk Management enabling the drought mitigation and adaptation strategies for the restoration of the ecosystem equilibrium in Mediterranean European Countries
INTERREG Euro-MED Program
Project: Euro - MED0200878 - Germ of Life
Duration: 01/01/2024 – 31/03/2028 (51 months, including the transfer phase)
Total budget: 3.797.350,00 € (Interreg Funds: 3.037.880,00 €; 80% co-financing)
Project description and objectives
Germ of Life, co-financed by the Interreg Euro-MED Programme, develops, tests and transfers digital tools and methodologies for preventive drought risk management. It combines shared data, monitoring sources and indices to support drought risk prediction, vulnerability assessment and timely warnings, helping Mediterranean territories strengthen climate resilience and protect ecosystems.
During the testing phase, the project developed and validated three core outputs: a Drought Risk Prediction solution, a Vulnerability Assessment tool, and an Innovation Procurement Platform for technologies and nature-based solutions. Testing was carried out in four pilot areas: Aigialeia in Western Greece, the Piedmontese Po Park in Italy, Alentejo in Portugal, and Andalusia in Spain. Meteorological stations installed in these areas collect local weather, soil and vegetation data to support drought monitoring and the testing of the digital tools. Pilot activities assessed their applicability in Mediterranean territories and established the basis for wider adoption.
The transfer phase adapts these outputs to four new territories: Ohrid in North Macedonia, the Lake Trasimeno area in Italy, Catalonia in Spain, and Kourion in Cyprus. These areas bring different climatic, environmental and governance conditions, allowing the partnership to assess the transferability, operational applicability and scalability of the solutions beyond the original pilot areas.
Transfer activities include assessing territorial needs and readiness, adapting and validating the tools locally, training stakeholders, organising technical exchanges and dissemination events, and preparing territorial uptake plans. Cooperation between public authorities, research institutions, meteorological services and local stakeholders supports long-term use of the project results.
The University of Patras continues as Lead Partner and scientific coordinator of the transfer phase, ensuring methodological continuity with the testing phase. DOTSOFT and Atos support the technical transfer and operational uptake of the digital tools, monitoring systems and prediction functionalities.
The project supports regional and local stakeholders in three main areas:
- Drought Risk Prediction: Using AI, remote sensing and data-driven early warning systems to detect, assess and anticipate drought conditions.
- Vulnerability Assessment: Applying shared methods and comparable data to assess territorial vulnerability, support joint risk management and inform adaptation decisions.
- Procuring Innovative Solutions: Helping public authorities identify and adopt technologies and nature-based solutions suited to drought mitigation and ecosystem resilience.
Specific objective: RSO2.4 - Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention, resilience, taking into account eco-system based approaches
Partership:
The Germ of Life consortium comprises 14 project partners from seven countries: Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Cyprus and North Macedonia. The partnership is as follows:
- University of Patras - Department of Physics (Lead Partner) - Greece
- Region of Western Greece - Greece
- Foundation Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) - Italy
- LAMORO Development Agency - Italy
- Ubitel - Spain
- Atos - France
- The Development and Infrastructure Company of Alqueva (EDIA) - Portugal
- Andalucia Region - Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy - Spain
- DOTSOFT - Integrated Information Technology Solutions - Greece
- Infotrend Innovations Company Ltd - Cyprus
- Municipality of Ohrid - North Macedonia
- I Borghi più belli d'Italia (The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy) - Italy
- Rovira i Virgili University - Spain
- Kourion Municipality - Cyprus
The four new project partners are supported by four new associated partners: the environmental engineers' association "Razvojna Programa" in North Macedonia, the municipalities of Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno in Italy, and the Meteorological Service of Catalonia in Spain.
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germoflife@interreg-euro-med.eu
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