about the project
LANDS
Leveraging Actions with Nature for Development and Sustainability
LANDS – Leveraging Actions with Nature for Development and Sustainability is an Erasmus+ cooperation project designed to strengthen the capacities of public authorities, urban planners and Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers to effectively integrate Nature-based Solutions (NbS) into climate adaptation and urban regeneration strategies, with a specific focus on water-scarce and climate-vulnerable Mediterranean territories.
Over the past decade, NbS have gained strong momentum at European and global level, promoted as cost-effective and multifunctional approaches to address climate change and environmental challenges. In urban areas, NbS are increasingly recognised as key tools for adaptation: greening cities through trees, green roofs, vegetated walls and permeable surfaces helps mitigate heatwaves, manage stormwater, improve air and water quality, enhance biodiversity, and create healthier, more liveable spaces that support social interaction and well-being.
At the same time, the effectiveness of NbS is deeply connected to water availability and management. Plant growth and cooling capacity depend on sufficient water supply: photosynthesis requires water to produce organic matter, while the cooling effect of vegetation is largely driven by evapotranspiration, a process through which water evaporates from plant surfaces and absorbs heat from the surrounding environment. Without a conscious and integrated approach to water use, NbS risk becoming resource-intensive rather than truly resilient solutions.
This critical link between NbS and water lies at the core of the NbS catalogue developed within the URWAN project under the Interreg Euro-MED. The catalogue not only highlights the ecosystem services delivered by NbS, but also explicitly addresses their water requirements, introducing a distinction between “water-snob” NbS, which rely on potable water from public supply networks, and “water-smart” NbS, which are designed to use alternative, non-conventional water sources.
Water-smart NbS represent a paradigm shift. Some of these solutions are capable of treating alternative water sources, such as wastewater, producing volumes of purified water that exceed their own needs. This surplus water can be reused for other applications, including irrigating water-snob NbS, effectively transforming them into circular and more sustainable solutions.
Building on this knowledge base, LANDS enhances and adapts the URWAN NbS catalogue into a practice-oriented educational tool, tailored to the needs of VET providers, training institutions and professional associations. Through updated learning content, real case studies and co-design methodologies, the project supports the integration of water-conscious NbS into training courses and curricula, bridging the gap between technical knowledge and real-world application.
By empowering VET providers and trainers as key multipliers, LANDS contributes to long-term upskilling of practitioners and decision-makers, enabling NbS to move from theory to practice and become concrete, water-smart tools for climate adaptation, urban regeneration and resilient cities.
