EviBAN

EviBAN will increase the knowledge on evidence based, sustainable management of water resources. This will be achieved by developing a toolbox for evaluation of adaptive management options and measures that account for impacts of climate change, anthropogenic activities and societal change in different regions of Europe and beyond. The toolbox will have methodologies linking hydrological modelling of natural water retention measures (NWRMs) and similar nature-based solutions (NBS) with regional climate models; an optimisation tool for NWRM and MAR techniques in the context of a complex situation of water demand and supply; and an integrated sustainability assessment (ISA) including evaluation of ecosystem services (ESS). Optimisation of water resource use will be based on quality and cost. Measures acting on water quantity and/or quality will be evaluated. Management options will be evaluated by ISA to assess their ability to mitigate negative impacts of human activities and climate change on the water cycle, and contribute towards the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). The project activities will be performed by a multidisciplinary team with researchers, water service providers, public agencies for water and health, and private companies supplying NBS and ICT (Information, Communication Technology) monitoring solutions. The toolbox will be developed, tested and verified using data from case studies from Finland, Norway, France and in South Africa to cover diverse conditions with respect to climate, water resources, hydrogeological conditions and water management challenges. EviBAN will thereby enable evaluation of adaptive management options and measures that account for impacts of climate change, anthropogenic activities and societal change in different regions of Europe and beyond.