CREAF

Rural Mediterranean landscapes suffer from abandonment of traditional activities and are highly vulnerable to climate change. Maintaining its functionality requires innovation to promote its bioeconomy and climate resilience. Coastal wetlands such as the Ebro delta are seriously threatened by the reduction of water and sediments, coastal erosion, subsidence, salinization and loss of biodiversity, which affect their main economic activities (agriculture and tourism) based on natural capital. Inland landscapes such as the Almería-Granada-Murcia plateau are threatened, among other things, by drought, extreme temperatures, more frequent fires and desertification.

Objectives

This project will generate tools to promote the bioeconomy in these two types of landscapes, through the promotion of applied research and innovation to extend the restoration of natural capital, ecological and regenerative agriculture, and nature tourism as an opportunity to strengthen their climate resilience. The project finally seeks an alternative economic model for these rural Mediterranean territories and aims to extend it to other similar landscapes, through pilot tests, networking, capacity building, business model development, citizen participation and green employment generation, while nature-based solutions will be implemented to enhance ecosystem services. To this end, a network of Living Labs and experimental farms and a plan to promote the bioeconomy will be established.