TERRAE

Rural areas constitute 80% of the EU and host 30% of its population. Although their pivotal role in food production, recreation, and environmental health, they face severe challenges such as population decline, ageing, limited infrastructure and climate change, threatening their long-term viability. TERRAE envisions a transformative approach that leverages DT solutions, data-driven methods, immersive web interfaces and user-centred approaches, to help define, implement and evaluate strategies and action plans towards sustainability and resilience of rural communities in crucial sectors such as agriculture and forestry. The cornerstone is the Rural Digital Twin (RDT), an evolution of traditional DTs, providing a digital replica of the rural territory and of its key geographical, environmental, infrastructural, social, demographic, economic factors and processes. It includes social and physical capabilities, integrated and visualized in an immersive environment. These components allow for a holistic model of a given area, extending the modelling, analysis and simulation capabilities of traditional DTs to cover relevant physical and social factors. The RDT is designed to be a “community” tool for engaging ALL the stakeholders and end-users in rural areas and activating them in a collaborative process for their empowerment in the definition and implementation of transformative processes in their territories. TERRAE will involve 5 rural communities in IT, EL, ES, SI, UK, and further involve additional 4 ones through FSTP. The project will provide the methodology to establish Multi-actor Innovation Partnerships (MIPs), bringing together key rural actors who will provide needs and interact with their territories thanks to the RDT. TERRAE will moreover equip policymakers and practitioners with policy, technical and business recommendations, and provide instruments to enhance peer-to-peer learning and capacity building to create or boost rural innovation ecosystems.