As Mediterranean heatwaves intensify, regions look to nature-based solutions at European Urban Resilience Forum 2026
With extreme heat once again gripping large parts of Europe, climate adaptation has clearly moved to the top of the political agenda. This sense of urgency shaped discussions at the European Urban Resilience Forum (EURESFO) 2026, where regional authorities, researchers and practitioners gathered to exchange lessons on how to turn climate resilience plans into action.
Among the key conversations was a workshop hosted by DesirMED, alongside other Horizon Europe projects focusing on nature-based solutions such as ARCADIA and NBRACER (the projects are also among the sister projects of the NBS4EU cluster). The workshop brought together representatives from across Europe to discuss what it takes to design, implement and scale effective climate resilience pathways.
One message resonated throughout the event: solutions are available, but as implementation remains the challenge, pilots are what can really move the needle.
Making the impact of nature-based solutions visible
The importance of learning and knowledge-sharing was emphasised by Armando Alves of INOVA+, representing the Comunidade Intermunicipal das Beiras e Serra da Estrela in Portugal which is one of the demonstrating pilot regions in DesirMED.
“Regions need to collaborate with local scientific partners in order to identify the most relevant solutions,” he said.
For Alves, one of the biggest difficulties is demonstrating long-term transformation through projects that often run for only a few years. While pilot actions can provide valuable evidence, resilience also needs to be measured by what happens after project funding ends. He noted that part of the transformation process also means understanding and communicating the long-term impact that remains once the project is over.
Alves also argued that climate resilience still suffers from an accessibility problem. Technical language and policy terminology can create barriers between projects and the communities they are intended to serve.
“The language we use can be too abstract for most of the people we work with,” he said, stressing the need to make resilience more tangible and understandable.
One of the ways DesirMED is bridging this gap is by amplifying the voices of citizens and young people to show what everyday climate resilience looks like, at home, in our schools and workplaces, and in our communities. Through the Climate Adaptation Diaries, the project is building a network of Climate Ambassadors from across the Mediterranean and beyond, who are telling their stories of firefighting, urban gardening or community engagement.
Citizen participation is key to success
For Joana Peixoto of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Cávado, one of the pilot regions in the NBRACER project, success begins with collaboration. Drawing on experience from the Cávado River basin in Portugal, she described how municipalities, national authorities and local stakeholders are working together to identify climate risks and develop adaptation projects capable of attracting investment.
“If a project is well-planned, well-conceived, and involves a participatory process with stakeholders and the local population, it is embraced and yields results,” she said.
According to Peixoto, governance and decision-making capacity often determine whether adaptation projects succeed or fail. Nature-based solutions, she argued, require a different way of working than traditional infrastructure projects.
“There needs to be a shift in mindset,” she said, highlighting the need for moving beyond conventional public works approaches toward a model of living landscape management in which municipalities and communities work together.
Financing climate resilience
The workshop also explored one of the most persistent questions facing nature-based solutions: how to finance them at scale. While public funding continues to play a critical role, developing viable business models remains essential if nature-based approaches are to become mainstream rather than remaining dependent on project-based funding.
Miljenko Sedlar of REGEA, representing the ARCADIA project, said that nature-based solutions are still too often viewed as optional additions rather than core infrastructure. “Nature-based solutions are still perceived as an add-on or nice-to-have,” he said. “They need to be a building block.”
He pointed to examples where imported solutions failed because they were not adapted to local conditions. In one case, green roofs introduced from Poland to Croatia proved unsuitable and did not survive local climatic conditions.
The lesson, Sedlar argued, is that climate adaptation cannot rely on one-size-fits-all approaches. Effective solutions must be developed according to local environmental conditions, risks and community needs.
For Sedlar, recent experience demonstrates why proactive adaptation matters. Reflecting on major flooding events in Slovenia, which impacted 16% of national GDP, he noted that the economic damage was severe enough to trigger significant policy changes regarding development in high-risk areas. “But it was a reactive measure,” he said. “We need to be proactive to preserve what we have.”
As Mediterranean regions face another summer of extreme temperatures, the conversation is no longer centred on whether nature-based solutions work, but on how to integrate them into planning systems, investment decisions and everyday governance.
