TERRAE

TERRAE is a Horizon Europe project that aims to strengthen the sustainability, resilience, and climate adaptation capacity of rural communities across Europe through the development of an innovative Rural Digital Twin (RDT). The project is based on the recognition that rural areas face major challenges, including depopulation, population ageing, scarcity of natural resources, vulnerability to extreme climate events, and the need to modernize strategic sectors such as agriculture and forestry. To address these challenges, TERRAE will create a digital replica of rural territories that integrates environmental, social, and economic data with artificial intelligence, simulation capabilities, and immersive 3D models. This system will enable stakeholders to analyse current situations, explore future scenarios, and support evidence-based decision-making.

The project adopts a strong participatory and community-centred approach. To this end, it will establish five Multi-Actor Innovation Partnerships (MIPs) in rural areas of Italy, Spain, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Slovenia, bringing together farmers, forest owners, public authorities, businesses, researchers, and citizens to identify local needs and co-design solutions tailored to each territory. Through this collaborative process, TERRAE will develop a Rural Digital Twin integrating social and physical dimensions, a rural data platform, detailed 3D territorial models, and an immersive web interface that will facilitate the visualisation of local challenges and the assessment of potential interventions.

Among the main actions planned are the collection and integration of territorial data , the development of simulation and prediction models , the implementation of five pilot projects focused on specific challenges - such as water management in the Àger Valley, the fight against forest pests in the Italian Alps, the optimization of irrigation of Greek olive groves, the sustainable management of British agricultural peatlands or forest crisis planning in Slovenia - as well as training activities , knowledge exchange and the creation of rural innovation ecosystems . The project will also promote two open calls to incorporate new technological solutions and transfer the results to four new European rural regions, demonstrating the replicability of the developed model.

The project’s main activities include collecting and integrating territorial data, developing simulation and prediction models, and implementing five pilot actions focused on specific challenges, such as water management in the Àger Valley (Spain), forest pest control in the Italian Alps, irrigation optimisation in Greek olive groves, sustainable peatland agriculture in the United Kingdom, and forest crisis management in Slovenia. TERRAE will also promote training activities, peer-to-peer learning, and the creation of rural innovation ecosystems. Furthermore, two open calls will be launched to incorporate additional technological solutions and transfer the project results to four new rural regions, demonstrating the replicability and scalability of the proposed approach.

Ultimately, TERRAE seeks to provide rural communities with advanced digital tools that support participatory governance, better territorial planning, and more informed decision-making, thereby enhancing competitiveness, environmental sustainability, and quality of life in rural areas. By the end of the project, a transferable Rural Digital Twin model, innovation-support tools, and policy recommendations will be available to help drive the digital and green transition of rural Europe