The TERRAE project will create digital twins of rural areas across Europe to help them adapt to global change

Rural areas are particularly exposed to some of the major transformations of our time: population decline and ageing, the lack of infrastructure and services, and the effects of climate change and recent crises on activities that are fundamental to local economies, such as agriculture, forest management and labour availability. Against this backdrop, the European TERRAE project aims to explore whether technology can help these communities manage their territories more effectively, anticipate changes and assess the potential effects of different decisions in advance.

One of the project's main innovations is the TERRAE Rural Digital Twin (RDT): a digital representation that combines environmental and territorial information with data on people, the economy, the environment and society. Using artificial intelligence and 3D modelling, the RDT will make it possible to observe how different phenomena interact — from vegetation and water to labour availability and economic activity — and to visualise future scenarios. This will enable public authorities, operators and local communities to assess the consequences of a decision before putting it into practice, through an intuitive three-dimensional platform.

The initiative is funded by the HORIZON programme, coordinated by the Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), and brings together 17 organisations from eight countries, including CREAF. The partners will work together to develop and test new digital tools in five pilot regions in Catalonia, England, Italy, Slovenia and Greece. The pilot sites have been selected based on their environmental and social conditions. Each solution focuses on specific challenges related to agriculture or forest management, with the direct involvement of local communities. The replicability of the solutions will subsequently be tested in four additional areas selected through an open call.

"I am proud to coordinate a project that brings digital twin technology, which has traditionally been limited to industry and urban environments, to remote and rural territories. Agriculture and forest management are the economic foundations of these areas, and using digital twins to provide them with planning and forecasting capabilities can make a real difference to how these sectors adapt and grow, while generating benefits for the wider community," said Matteo Gerosa (FBK), project coordinator.

In the case of CREAF, the centre leads the scientific coordination of the pilot site located in the municipality of Àger, in La Noguera, and will also assess the impact of the project's actions on the territory and society.

To make this possible, the team will meet with people with knowledge of the municipality's water sources, some of which have been abandoned; researchers from the UAB Department of Archaeology, who are developing a map of the medieval canals, most of which are currently no longer in use; farmers; the local irrigation community; organisations working in different areas, including culture, tourism and the economy; and public institutions involved in water management.

According to the team, however, the use of this technology still raises a number of questions. Does it really provide benefits compared with traditional knowledge? Could the existing digital divide between rural and urban areas hinder its adoption? Is connectivity in these territories sufficient to use this type of tool? These and many other related questions are precisely what TERRAE aims to address.

The project also provides for the replication of the pilot by other local councils and public organisations. "In this regard, we are confident that the lessons learned in Àger and at the project's other pilot sites will help increase the resilience of rural and mountain regions in Catalonia in the face of the challenges posed by global change," Claramunt concludes.

The consortium is made up of the Fondazione Bruno Kessler, as coordinating organisation; University of Deusto, Institute for Rural Development Research (IfLS), CREAF, University of Leicester, Agricultural University of Athens and University of Ljubljana; Q-PLAN International Advisors, Fondazione ICONS, FundingBox Accelerator and FundingBox Communities; NILEAS and Fenland Soil; the Autonomous Province of Trento, Àger Town Council and Črna na Koroškem Town Council; and the European Association for Innovation in Local Development (AEIDL).