The consequences of climate change particularly affect the coastal areas of Macaronesia, which is why the European Commission has co-financed the Project LIFE Garachico in the field of adaptation to climate change, specifically in the face of possible adverse phenomena, such as coastal flooding. LIFE Garachico has a partnership of eleven partners led by the Deputy Ministry for the Fight against Climate Change and Ecological Transition of the Government of the Canary Islands, through which solutions are promoted that help build adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability in the municipalities of Garachico and Puerto de la Cruz, in Tenerife and Praia de Vitória, in the Azores.
The External Monitoring Team, NEEMO, carries out annual visits to the LIFE projects approved by the European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and Environment (CINEA) in order to monitor technical and financial progress. Throughout the 28th and 29th of June, follow-up sessions were held at the Palatial House of the Counts of La Gomera, Garachico, by Rachel Navarrete, monitor of the NEEMO Consortium assigned to the project, who has positively valued the work carried out by the partners.
Due to the good progress of the project and the number of actions carried out, the expert has needed two days to learn about and assess all the work carried out to date. The first of the sessions, which took place on Tuesday June 28 in the morning, served for the coordinators of each of the eleven entities to describe their role in the project and show the different advances registered in their field of action. That same day, already in the afternoon, field visits were made to the spaces where the actions will be carried out and direct intervention will be carried out: the coast of the urban area of Garachico -from the soccer field to the area of the Dock Viejo – and the area of Martiánez, in Puerto de la Cruz. In both locations, the information panels of the project were visited, intended to inform the population and tourists about its objectives. During these visits, it was indicated where the installation of a series of cameras is planned that will allow modeling the sheet of water that exceeds the coasts of both municipalities and will reinforce the early warning system for coastal flooding events when an adverse phenomenon is anticipated.
On Wednesday, June 29, the last day of the evaluation process, a single shift was established to analyze the administrative and financial aspects of the project. Navarrete It has highlighted that the deadlines established for its execution are being met and that, despite the high number of partners that make up the consortium, work is being done in a coordinated and synergistic manner. Finally, it is noteworthy that the next follow-up session will take place next year around these same dates.
LIFE Garachico is a project aligned with the SDGs 2030, which has an execution budget of 2,638,132 euros and has 55% of funding from the European Union, is led by the Deputy Ministry for the Fight against Climate Change and Ecological Transition and has a partnership of eleven partners. The objective of this project is to put into practice, test, evaluate and disseminate methodologies and new and innovative approaches, in the context of the protection of urban areas against the risk of coastal flooding and in the development of a flexible adaptation strategy for these areas. against climate change.
The LIFE program turns 30 years old. The only financial instrument of the European Union dedicated exclusively to the environment and climate action turns 30 years old. Since 1992, more than 900 LIFE projects have been approved in Spain alone, with a budget that exceeded 1,555 million euros and an EU contribution of 781 million.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Project title: Adaptation to coastal flooding due to climate change through flexible strategies in urban areas of Macaronesia.
Acronym: LIFE Garachico
Location: Garachico and Puerto de la Cruz (Canary Islands) and Praia da Vitória (Azores)
Duration: 2021-2026
Grant Agreement: LIFE20 CCA/ES/001641
EU financial contribution: 55%
Web: lifegarachico.eu
