Interreg projects
Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics

ECOMAPS contributes to addressing environmental challenges in the Italy-Slovenia area through the combined study of climate change and air pollution, two interconnected and critical phenomena, especially in urban areas. On the one hand, it studies the influence that certain pollutants can have on the climate and climate change; on the other, it investigates how a change in climate parameters can alter the chemistry of the atmosphere and the reactions that regulate the production and degradation of pollutants in the air. 
Over a two-year period, ECOMAPS will not only intensify cross-border cooperation, but also develop a web application that will allow citizens and local authorities to view real-time air quality and black carbon (BC) concentration data, for which it will produce a historical dataset of measurements. In addition, ECOMAPS will study the degradation of pollutants and develop guidelines for identifying future climate change-related contaminants that will need to be monitored.  
The Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia 2021-2027 Programme, which funds this project, is a European cross-border cooperation programme. The Programme enriches the cross-border area with joint actions and investments to improve the quality of life of the population, while also protecting and promoting cultural and natural heritage.

The BREATHING project aims to provide effective tools for adapting to climate and environmental changes in urban areas. Climate change and air pollution, often considered separately, are in fact closely linked: rising temperatures accelerate the dynamics of contaminants and can indirectly influence pollution through changes in the use of plant protection products. These phenomena particularly affect cities, which experience more intense warming compared to surrounding areas.
The project focuses on identifying the main sources of pollution and emerging contaminants related to climate change, also by using predictive models, to develop a monitoring plan specifically for environmental control agencies. Best practices will also be proposed to support adaptation to climate and environmental changes.
Measurement campaigns organised during the project will provide information on the current spatial and temporal distribution of pollutants and variations in pollution sources, integrated with meteorological data and information on vegetation biodiversity. Finally, plant protection treatments used in rural areas, which may contribute to air contamination, will be tested.
BREATHING will carry out its activities in the cities of Treviso, Belluno (Italy), and Innsbruck (Austria).

In the Italian-Slovenian cross-border area, viticulture constitutes one of the most relevant economic sectors. In this area, the use of irrigation is limited due to tradition and lack of water sources. Due to climate change which is leading to higher temperatures and increasingly frequent droughts, the quantity/quality of the grapes produced, and the survival of the vines are at risk. Irrigation is therefore now considered a necessary relief practice and it has become essential to determine good water management practices based on sustainability principles.
During the previous Acquavitis project concerning three important wine-growing areas (Vipacco Valley, Carso and Bassa Friulana), innovative irrigation and soil management protocols were developed to optimise the water balance in the vineyard using an ecosystem approach. IRRIGAVIT wants to consolidate and extend these resilience strategies in new areas of high interest (Colli Orientali, Brda) to propose these practices to key policy makers, with the aim of drafting new guidelines that can be applied by winegrowers.
The Ca' Foscari University of Venice will analyse the isotopic composition of rainfall water, soil and xylem saps and integrate the irrigation model with the dynamics of water uptake in vineyards.

The agri-food sector in the programme area is going through a very difficult time, revealing its fragility and vulnerability. Therefore, it is crucial to develop circular and resource efficient food production systems, which are less dependent from energy and raw material and can provide locally sourced high quality sustainable products. In this context, BeBlue - Beyond Bluegrass aims at capitalizing the achievements of the BLUEGRASS project, which successfully introduced in the programme area aquaponics, a sustainable and innovative food production technology based on circular economy principles. Aquaponics combines soilless agriculture and fish farming in a single recycling system that optimizes the use of natural resources needed to produce fish feed. BeBlue aims to disseminate aquaponics through actions aimed at:

1. facilitating the management of aquaponic systems, through digitalization; 
2. attracting investments, by developing tools for assessing environmental and economic sustainability, which can be used in the preparation of business plans; 
3. extending the range of products, by combining the production of marine fish with that of salicornia, a plant that can tolerate high salinity, and macroalgae; 
4. adding value to products, by informing consumers, large-scale retailers and operators in the HORECA sector; 
5. including aquaponics in urban regeneration plans.

Cross-border cooperation is a qualifying and essential element of the project, which will allow the achievement of the project objectives: BeBlue partners will ensure the integration of technical-scientific expertise, connections with operators/stakeholder and capacity of involving them in participatory processes.