The 5th General Assembly of the RESTORE4Cs project was held at the Tour du Valat from November 19 to 21. This was an important event for this Horizon Europe project, bringing together 15 partners from 9 different countries.
The 5th RESTORE4Cs General Assembly brought together representatives of the 15 project partners from 9 European countries, including universities, research institutes, small and medium-sized enterprises and intergovernmental organizations. The aim of the meeting was to report on the project’s progress halfway through its implementation, while defining the strategic directions to be taken, based on the recommendations of the evaluation committee.
Ongoing work and perspectives: the project in motion
The first two days were focused on the feedback from the 9 Work Packages. They presented their progress and action plans for the second phase of implementation, which is now beginning. Analysis of carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in European coastal wetlands; prioritization of sites and measures for restoring these ecosystems to promote their role as carbon sinks; assessment of the social acceptability of these initiatives, as well as the development of a European community of practice on these issues: the topics were numerous and highlighted the importance of a collaborative approach.
The third day was devoted to field visits. Participants had the opportunity to discover the richness of Camargue ecosystems by visiting one of the RESTORE4Cs sampling sites in the Rhône Delta: the Marais du Cassaïre, a Conservatoire du Littoral site managed by the association Les Amis des Marais du Vigueirat and including a wetland restored since 2009.
RESTORE4Cs : European coordination for wetlands
The RESTORE4Cs project has an ambitious objective: to provide better information on the role of European coastal wetlands in mitigating the effects of climate change, through carbon and GHG sequestration, in order to advocate for more effective management and restoration of these environments. In particular, the project aims to assess the benefits of coastal wetland conservation and restoration actions in the fight against climate change, while highlighting the other co-benefits generated by these same measures, for example in terms of maintaining biodiversity and regulating the water cycle.
Ultimately, the RESTORE4Cs project aims to develop a Toolbox for European coastal wetlands: conceived as a digital decision-making tool, it will support public authorities, managers and associations in prioritizing sites and actions to be taken. The aim is to preserve and restore these ecosystems, and thus optimize the services they provide to society in the fight against climate change. With this in mind, an educational “Serious Game” and a Summer School for decision-makers and the scientific community will be held in 2025. Among other things, these events will promote the various products and services developed by RESTORE4Cs, in particular the Online Platform and Toolbox for decision making.
