News

The regional workshop of the European project DesirMED took place at the Ros’e Mari Hotel in Oristano, bringing together institutions, research centers, and local stakeholders around a crucial question: how to adapt Sardinia’s coasts to ongoing climate change.

The event created a structured space for dialogue among diverse actors — regional authorities, local administrations, coastal and beach sector operators, associations, CEAS centers, universities, and research institutions — all united by the need to respond in a coordinated way to the pressures that climate change is placing on Sardinia’s coastal and marine systems.

Coastal erosion, sediment management, and the alteration of marine ecosystems were identified as the main critical issues during the morning session, which focused on presenting the project’s progress and the pilot actions currently underway on the island.

From vision to implementation: participatory working groups

In the afternoon, discussions became more operational. Through thematic working groups, participants contributed to shaping concrete adaptation pathways, with the goal of integrating Nature-based Solutions (NbS) into coastal planning processes and local policies.

Stakeholders were actively involved not only in identifying possible actions, but also in exploring the barriers and opportunities for making the three “desired futures” for the Sardinia region a reality.

Key topics included:

• how to ensure that adaptation strategies effectively translate into planning and project decisions, making NbS the preferred approach for coastal interventions;
• how to communicate sustainability and raise public awareness about coastal, river, and lake ecosystems and their ecological value;
• how to strengthen the scientific and technical capacity of public administrations, taking into account the interconnections between coastal, river, and lake systems, and how to foster awareness starting from younger generations.

The challenge is ambitious: bridging the gap between scientific experimentation and real-world application, ensuring that nature-based solutions are not only effective but also scalable at the regional level.

In this process, MEDSEA translated the work carried out in recent months by the entire cluster — including visions, objectives, and actions — into a structured guiding framework. This provided stakeholders with key insights, reflections, and inputs to support discussions and to consciously initiate the development of adaptation pathways.

The multi-level, integrated approach that characterized the workshop reflects the complexity of the challenge: there is no single solution to climate change in coastal areas, but it is possible to build shared pathways rooted in local contexts and capable of generating lasting impacts.

A three-step process

The April workshop is part of a broader journey that began with a first meeting, also held in Oristano, in 2025. A third event is already planned and will focus on validating and consolidating the adaptation pathways developed, turning the proposals that emerged into operational tools for the territory.