With nutrient pollution and heavy rainfall events as central topics, the BaltAqua workshop (05.-07.10.2022, Riga) was initiated.
Those issues, and other problem areas in water management sector, are of particular concern to actors from Germany and the Baltic states at the local and regional level. On this premise, establishing a partner network between the Baltic States and Germany in order to jointly address these challenges is the goal of the BaltAqua project.
With welcoming words from Dr Cornelia Soetbeer (DBU, German Federal Environment Foundation), the interactive workshop was officially started. Within small groups, a number of topics were addressed, including forecasting heavy rainfall events, creating fact-based trustful cooperation, and future-ready water suppliers in the field of digitalization.
After intensive work sessions, each group could eventually present their results in a so-called ‘gallery walk’. The day ended with a short panel discussion and was followed by a joint dinner, where all participants could continue networking in a relaxing atmosphere and let the successful workshop day come to an end.
The next day offered the opportunity to gain some practical insights: During an excursion through Riga, the participants gathered impressions of a sustainable approach to heavy rainfall at various locations. One example was the green-blue corridor, which is currently being developed in the Skanste district.
The workshop has laid the foundation for a sustainable network and long-term cooperation between the two regions. Next, the individual project groups will further develop and implement their project ideas.
The project is being carried out by the OOWV together with COAST - Centre for Environmental and Sustainability Research at the University Oldenburg, the Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia and with funding from the German Federal Environmental Foundation. If you have any questions about the project, please contact Antonia Krebs at antonia.krebs@uol.de or Franziska Meergans at izw@oowv.de! (LinkedIn OOWV).