The Arcadia First Festival took place in Zagreb, Croatia, on April 9, 2025. The event gathered around 200 participants from EU countries, including over 42 speakers, moderators, and representatives of 15 relevant projects, showcased through a poster presentation. It was organized by REGEA with the support of the University of Zagreb.
The Festival was a one-day journey triggered by the needs of local decision-makers and practitioners; fueled by the practical knowledge provided by tools, methodologies and approaches; it stoped for reflection, exchange and discussion on NbS with experts, professionals and peers; and finally lands on a learning platform of successful projects and interventions accomplished across Europe.
The event served as an excellent opportunity to foster collaboration among the “sister projects” of the NBS4EU cluster, which includes ARCADIA and DesirMED, alongside CARDIMED, Land4Climate, MountResilience, Natalie, and NBRACER [Explore the projects].
Alongside projects such as AcquaGuard, BLUE RECHARGE, GENESIS, GreenScape CE, INFIRE, NATURANCE, NBRACER, and RESTORIVER, the DesirMED project presented its latest progress and developments during the poster session through the following two posters:
- DesirMED Best Practices of Climate Resilience: Regional Stories of Transformative Adaptation
- The Transformational Journey of Split Dalmatia County
The day was structured around a series of inspiring presentations and engaging discussions. Following an initial institutional welcome by representatives of the EU and local institutions, the Festival continued with parallel sessions, where DesirMED partners played a key role as moderators and presenters, showcasing best practices.
Session 1: Which are the gaps to make climate adaptation through NBS happen?
Parallel Session 2:
- Session 2a: Governance regulation and standards -> (with a presentation by C-KIC - Mohesen Soleymani)
- Session 2b: Tools and Methods
- Session 2c: Financing and values leveraging values of nature (with a presentation by Inova+ - Vasco Barbosa)
Session 3: Learning from success stories: real-world cases of NBS interventions: technical aspects, engagement, costs, impacts (moderated by Elisa Furlan - CMCC)
Link to the event’s summary:
https://www.arcadia-adaptation.eu/index.php/2025-festival-of-transformative-nature-based-solutions/
