Project description
The OurMED project aims to design a tool to improve the management of water resources in river basins. The main challenge is to integrate multiple sources of information into a single system to monitor the quantity of water in a river basin, both on the surface (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.) and underground. This in turn will improve monitoring and decision-making regarding the overall water resources of a basin.
OurMED is an R&D project funded by the European Commission through the PRIMA programme. This initiative is an annex for the Mediterranean regions in Horizon Europe, the European Commission's innovation programme. The project is coordinated by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ).
image legend
A series of pilot projects will be carried out in different regions of several countries (Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia, and Turkey).
The Mediterranean region is a unique mosaic of cultures and climate zones characterised by a blend of inhabitants, natural environments and a diversity of species. However, rapid population growth, urbanisation and intensive agriculture in many areas are threatening the quantity and quality of water and the associated ecosystem services.
In response to this challenge and PRIMA's objectives on water management, the OurMED project intends to develop integrated and holistic water management at multiple levels, addressing multi-sectoral needs and avoiding conflicts between domestic/industrial water use, food production and ecosystem needs
OurMED project presents a new vision of equitable, balanced and co-designed water storage and distribution management in the Mediterranean region, taking into account stakeholder perceptions and taking advantage of technologically advanced monitoring techniques, intelligent forecasting, optimisation and digital transformation capabilities.
With this project, OurMED also aims to strengthen short-term water storage, distribution forecasting and long-term water management.
The Euro-mediterranean Water Information System on know-how in the Water Sector (EMWIS) is in charge of maximising OurMED’s impact, stakeholder engagement, and exploitation.
The OurMED consortium includes 15 partners from 10 countries: UFZ, Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH (Germany), Technical University of Valencia (Spain), Global Omnium Idrica (Spain), Euro-Mediterranean Information System on know-how in the Water sector (France), La Tour du Valat (France), Technical University of Crete (Greece), University of Parma (Italy), University of Sassari (Italy), University of Naples Federico II (Italy), Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (Jordan), Living Planet Morocco (Morocco), AgroInsider (Portugal), Higher School of Engineering of Medjez El Bab (Tunisia), and Boğaziçi University (Turkey).
image legend