https://www.optain.eu/
Optimal strategies to retain and re-use water and nutrients
Interventions to increase water retention in areas can help reduce conflicts between agricultural water use and other residential and environmental water needs. The application of interventions will become highly important due to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as drought and sudden heavy rainfall. Carefully planning of water management in the upper river basins will significantly increase the resilience of agriculture and society to climate change.
Water conservation interventions also contribute simultaneously to the achievement of the various sustainable development and environmental goals set out in a number of EU water and agriculture policies.
Despite the availability of interventions to increase water retention in river basins and agricultural fields, there is still a lack of knowledge about the extent of their effectiveness in different soil-climatic regions and farming systems, especially in changing climatic conditions.
The OPTAIN project, “Optimal strategies to retain and re-use water and nutrients”, financed by the EU’s Horizon2020 program in support of scientific and innovation development, aims to:
- identify methods for water and nutrient retention and recycling for small agricultural catchments in continental, Pannonian and Boreal [1] European biogeographical regions [2], taking into account possible synergies with existing drainage and irrigation systems and in close cooperation with local participants,
- select water retention interventions at the agricultural table and river basin level and optimizes their spatial distribution and combination based on environmental and economic sustainability indicators.
The project involves 22 partner organizations from 15 European countries (Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Belgium, Lithuania, Italy, Norway, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Sweden, Slovakia, France, the Netherlands).
On behalf of Hungary, in addition to the GDWM (General Directorate of Water Management), the Institute of Soil Sciences of the Centre for Agricultural Research and the University of Pannonia participate in the implementation of the project.
Project duration: 01.09.2020 – 31.08.2025
Total budget: EUR 6,9 million
[1] The boreal climate, or otherwise subarctic or subpolar climate is the most extreme continental climate, where the largest annual temperature fluctuations occur on Earth.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subarctic_climate
[2] Region defined on the basis of vegetation and climatic characteristics. Within the 15 former EU Member States, six biogeographical regions have been designated (Boreal, Continental, Alpine, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Macaronesian). With the accession of Hungary, a new Pannonian region was added to the list of regions, covering the entire territory of Hungary. In the Pannonian biogeographical region, many species and habitat types to be protected, the so-called "Pannonicum", which does not occur in the territory of the former Member States. Hungary also had to determine their habitats on the basis of professional criteria, independently by designating Natura 2000 sites. Source: http://www.terport.hu/fogalomtar/biogeografiai-regio
Translated by: Attila Kádár, International Department, General Directorate of Water Management of Hungary