Partner offer: Expertise offer on water resources management is arid and islandic regions.

CLIMATE EREL (NCSRD) is well positioned to contribute significantly to the HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-BIODIV-02 call by leveraging extensive expertise and methodologies developed through numerous EU projects and independent research to improve the assessment of groundwater ecosystems. Building on RECREATE, CLIMATE EREL (NCSRD) can apply and further develop alternative water resources frameworks and hydrological modelling tools that incorporate climate projections, land use change, and water availability scenarios. These methods enable precise evaluation of groundwater ecosystem presence and sensitivity under future climate stresses, supporting robust approaches for both baseline and scenario-based assessments. CLIMATE EREL (NCSRD) also offers valuable experience in participatory system dynamics, social-ecological modelling, and data-driven risk assessment. These tools facilitate a multidimensional evaluation of groundwater ecosystem functions within their catchment and social context, ensuring assessments are ecologically meaningful and informed by stakeholder insights. Moreover, a technical toolkit integrating Nature-Based Solutions (NbS), advanced data analytics, and infrastructure resilience strategies addresses the interaction between climate impacts and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, including innovative monitoring, evaluation, and adaptation methods tailored for Mediterranean and arid environments.

By synthesising these project experiences, CLIMATE EREL (NCSRD) can deliver strong, validated protocols for sampling, functional assessment, and sensitivity analysis of groundwater ecosystems—integrating traditional hydro-ecological techniques with cutting-edge eDNA methods, GIS-based vulnerability mapping, and ecosystem service valuation. This multifaceted expertise provides the HORIZON call with proven, scalable, and climate-ready solutions to map, monitor, and protect groundwater biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and resilience against both current and future pressures, establishing CLIMATE EREL (NCSRD) as a key strategic partner for advancing methodological excellence in this field.