The starting signal for Blue Transition has been given! More than 60 (inter)national project partners met for the kick-off in Hannover.
Why we need a Blue Transition
Blue Transition aims to ensure the future availability of good quality water, protect natural habitats and contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions by changing land use and integrating the management of forests, agricultural land, urban areas, peatlands, wetlands and nature reserves. By developing solutions for integrated water and soil management, taking into account complex interacting factors, the project serves the objectives of the EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the EU Groundwater, Water and Soils Directives, which call for rapid and systematic change.
State Representative for Regional Development Leine-Weser Frauke Patzke with project leader Prof. Dr. Mike-Müller-Petke
Opening by the State Representative Frauke Patzke
The Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics, which manages and coordinates the project, organised a kick-off event in the Royal Stables of the Leibniz University of Hannover. Frauke Patzke, State Representative of the Office for Regional Development Leine-Weser, gave the welcoming speech and symbolically handed over the funding notification: "I am very pleased that in the future the Leine-Weser district will be working with so many European partners in the North Sea region on solutions for adapting to the consequences of climate change! A particular concern of mine is to ensure the sustainable availability of water."
Lena Hübsch
Expert presentations on the complex framework conditions and political perspective
After these introductory words, Dr Fanny Frick-Trzebitzky from the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE) at the Goethe University in Frankfurt introduced the complex Groundwater Governance with her presentation "Groundwater governance - from adaptation to transformation of hydrosocial relations". Lena Hübsch from the Lower Saxony Competence Centre for Climate Change (NIKO) then presented the political perspective.
Networking between politics and partner organisations
Following the keynote speeches, the guests were able to exchange ideas among themselves. Further workshops and an excursion to a pilot area near Uelzen are planned for the partner organisations in the coming days at the Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics in the Geozentrum Hannover. The consortium consists of a total of 24 partners from six countries and builds on the EU project TOPSOIL, which ended in 2021.