What is the main focus of your Expert Group?
Our Expert Group supports the vision of a water-smart society. It tackles key climate change challenges affecting water resources by promoting resilience, adaptation, and sustainable management.
The EG focuses on understanding climate impacts on water quantity and quality, advancing innovative, climate-resilient solutions, and fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. It also works on developing policy recommendations and technical guidelines. By bridging science, technology, and policy, the EG aims to strengthen Europe’s water security and support effective climate adaptation strategies, contributing to a more resilient and sustainable water future across the continent.
What are the opportunities and challenges in your field that the Expert group is addressing?
This Expert Group addresses key challenges related to climate change and water management. These include the increasing frequency of extreme weather events affecting water supply and infrastructure, rising water demand driven by population growth and economic activity, and the degradation of freshwater ecosystems due to altered precipitation patterns. Another challenge is the limited integration of climate adaptation strategies into existing water governance frameworks. At the same time, there are clear opportunities. The group can promote innovative, nature-based solutions for sustainable water management and strengthen cross-sector collaboration to enhance climate adaptation efforts. Promoting digital and smart water technologies can improve real-time monitoring and informed decision-making. Moreover, the group is in a strong position to influence policy and regulatory frameworks, embedding resilience into future water strategies.
By leveraging these opportunities and addressing emerging challenges, this Expert Group contributes meaningfully to building a more climate-resilient, sustainable, and water-smart Europe.
How does your Expert Group plan to achieve its goals, and how will it contribute to Water Europe’s Vision of a Water-Smart Society?
To achieve its goals, the EG will adopt a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach focused on knowledge sharing, stakeholder engagement, and capacity building. Key activities include organizing workshops, producing articles and reports, and hosting events to strengthen skills and awareness among water professionals and policymakers. The group will foster dialogue across sectors and disciplines, promoting innovative solutions and facilitating the exchange of best practices. Networking and partnerships with EU research projects and Water Europe members will ensure alignment with European policies and maximize impact.
Recognizing the interconnected nature of water challenges, this EG will actively seek collaboration and coordination with other EGs to ensure complementary efforts and a coherent approach across Water Europe’s activities. By bridging science, innovation, and policy, this EG will contribute to a resilient, sustainable, and water-smart society and economy in Europe.
