Interreg Euro-MED WatHer Project

31/07/2026

A big thank you to PadovaOggi for featuring the WatHer project and helping us share how water heritage can contribute to a more climate-resilient future.

Il Bo partecipa a WatHer, il progetto europeo che punta a recuperare la centuriazione romana per rendere il territorio più resiliente a siccità, alluvioni e cambiamenti climatici. Al centro anche il recupero della rete di fossi e siepi

23/07/2026

WatHer reaches local media in Italy

As part of the WatHer communication activities, our partners from the University of Padua Official, Dr. Mauro Varotto, Associate Professor, and Tanja Kremenić, Postdoctoral Researcher, gave an interview to Marco Milan a journalist from the University's Press Office to present the WatHer project and highlight the importance of the Padua pilot site.

The interview introduced WatHer as an Interreg Euro-MED project that brings together 12 partners from eight Mediterranean countries, under the coordination of the Politecnico di Milano. Each partner focuses on studying, restoring, or promoting a different historical water management system, with the common goal of strengthening climate resilience and preserving Mediterranean water heritage.

A significant part of the discussion focused on one of the most pressing environmental issues facing the Mediterranean today: water. The researchers explained that today's water challenges extend beyond drought and should be understood through the concept of the "water trilemma" as presented in the Manifesto of the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum (to be held in Rome in September 2026). This refers to three interconnected challenges that many Mediterranean regions are facing: prolonged periods of water scarcity and drought, increasingly frequent heavy rainfall and flooding events, and the deterioration of water quality caused by diffuse pollution.

Using the Padua pilot site as an example, Dr. Varotto and Ms. Kremenić explained how historical water heritage systems can become part of the solution. The pilot focuses on the ancient network of Roman ditches within the historic centuriated landscape around Padua. Over the past decades, many of these ditches and the surrounding hedgerows have disappeared, reducing the landscape's natural ability to manage water, support biodiversity, and maintain healthy ecosystems.

The researchers highlighted that restoring these historical landscape features could deliver multiple environmental benefits. Rehabilitated ditches can help slow down and temporarily store excess rainwater, reducing flood risks during extreme weather events. Vegetated banks can naturally filter nutrients and pollutants before they reach rivers and streams, improving water quality. At the same time, restored hedgerows can reduce soil erosion, limit water evaporation by providing shade, enhance biodiversity, and reconnect habitats across agricultural landscapes.

The interview also emphasized that the Padua pilot site, together with the other WatHer pilot sites across the Mediterranean, is designed as a demonstration project. The project will assess whether restoring these historical water heritage systems can provide measurable ecosystem services while remaining economically sustainable. If successful, the approach could serve as a model for many other agricultural regions facing similar water and climate challenges across the Mediterranean and Europe.

Find out more info about the project
https://wather.interreg-euro-med.eu/

16/07/2026

WatHer on the Radio!

Our project was recently presented on Astra Radio 92.8 as part of our communication and outreach activities in Cyprus.

Charalambos Louka, Research Associate at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), and Eleni Panayiotou, Senior Research Officer at Laona Foundation, introduced the WatHer project and explained how it promotes the restoration and sustainable use of Water Heritage Systems to help rural areas become more resilient to climate change.

Interreg Euro-MED WatHer project revives centuries-old Water Heritage Systems (WHS) as a modern solution to drought in rural Mediterranean areas. The project restores traditional canals, ponds, and irrigation ditches - long neglected but proven to capture and store water sustainably.

In selected pilot sites, Water Heritage Systems are mapped, restored, and monitored using a mix of field knowledge and modern tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and environmental sensors. Action plans are co-designed with local communities, blending ancestral techniques with today’s ecological standards.

To ensure uptake, the project delivers training guidelines, engages local actors through seminars and consultations, and builds a joint strategy for water heritage systems reuse. Through transnational cooperation – within the Global Network of Water Museums – these methods will be carried across borders, turning field-tested heritage into a shared Mediterranean resource.

The lead partner of the project is Politecnico di Milano (IT), and the project partners are University of Padua Official (IT), Universidad de Granada (ES), Universidade do Algarve UAlg (PT), Associação In Loco (PT), OTRA – Island Development Agency Ltd (HR), BSC – Business support centre Ltd, Kranj (SI), Cyprus University of Technology / Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου (CY), Laona Foundation Ίδρυμα Λαόνα (CY), Bashkia Selenicë Faqja Zyrtare (AL), Chambre d’agriculture des Bouches-du-Rhône (FR) and Terres en villes (FR).

10/07/2026

A special thanks to Dialogos Group and Astra Radio for hosting our two project partners from the Cyprus University of Technology / Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου and Laona Foundation Ίδρυμα Λαόνα.

Our project was presented by Charalambos Louka, Research Associate at the Cyprus University of Technology, and Eleni Panayiotou, Senior Research Officer at Laona Foundation.

Thank you for supporting and promoting our project in Cyprus!

Listen to 09-07-2026 ΕΚΠΕΜΠΟΝΤΑΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΟΝ ΠΛΑΝΗΤΗ by Dialogos Media Group

10/07/2026

A big thank you to LimassolToday for supporting and promoting our project in Cyprus! We truly appreciate your help in raising awareness about sustainable water management and sharing our mission. Together, we can make a difference!

Το ΤΕΠΑΚ αξιοποιεί τη γνώση του παρελθόντος για βιώσιμες λύσεις απέναντι στη λειψυδρία και την κλιματική αλλαγή μέσω του έργου WatHer

07/07/2026

Watch the official video of the Interreg Euro-MED WatHer Project!

WatHer project revives centuries-old water heritage systems (WHS) as a modern solution to drought in rural Mediterranean areas. The project restores traditional canals, ponds, and irrigation ditches - long neglected but proven to capture and store water sustainably.

In selected pilot sites, WHS are mapped, restored, and monitored using a mix of field knowledge and modern tools such as Geographic information system (GIS) and environmental sensors. Action plans are co-designed with local communities, blending ancestral techniques with today’s ecological standards.

To ensure uptake, the project delivers training guidelines, engages local actors through seminars and consultations, and builds a joint strategy for WHS reuse.

Through transnational cooperation these methods will be carried across borders, turning field-tested heritage into a shared Mediterranean resource.

The project is led by the Politecnico di Milano (Italy). Other partners are: University of Padua Official (Italy), University of Granada | Universidad de Granada (Spain), University of Algarve | Universidade do Algarve UAlg (Portugal), IN LOCO Association | Associação In Loco (Portugal), OTRA – Island Development Agency Ltd (Croatia), BSC – Business Support Centre Ltd., Kranj (Slovenia), Cyprus University of Technology / Τεχνολογικό Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου (Cyprus), Laona Foundation Ίδρυμα Λαόνα (Cyprus), Selenica Municipality | Bashkia Selenicë Faqja Zyrtare (Albania), The Agricultural Chamber of the Administrative area of Bouches-du-Rhône (France) and Terres en villes (France).

For more information visit: https://wather.interreg-euro-med.eu/

Water Heritage in European Rural Mediterranean. Re(dis)covering wa...

12/06/2026

Second Field Visit in Ticino

On 11 June 2026, researchers, ecologists and hydrologists from the Politecnico di Milano met for a second time with officials from the Parco Lombardo della Valle del Ticino (Ticino River Park) and local farmers to jointly define the pilot areas for the testing phase of the WatHer project.

While the first field survey provided an opportunity to better understand the functioning of the local water heritage systems and the historical agricultural practices that are still alive today, this second visit allowed the team to refine the initial ideas and insights that emerged directly from observing the landscape.

Particular attention was devoted to the issue of the water balance and to the role played by winter water circulation. The discussions highlighted how maintaining the flow of water through irrigation canals and using it during winter to flood permanent meadows (marcite) and rice fields - when competition among farmers for water resources is significantly lower - can contribute to groundwater recharge. This approach benefits not only biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but also farmers themselves, who can rely on greater water availability during spring and, above all, during the increasingly dry summer months. In this way, a larger number of farmers can benefit from a resource that is becoming progressively scarcer.

The latest field visit focused on the territories of the Municipalities of Turbigo, Cassolnovo and Abbiategrasso. Farmers from these areas stressed to the Park authorities and the experts from the Politecnico di Milano that the continuity and preservation of historical winter water management practices have proven to be highly effective in ensuring more sustainable water availability during the summer season. Once again, the field survey confirmed how ancient water management knowledge can provide valuable solutions to contemporary climate challenges, demonstrating the strategic role that water heritage systems can play in building more resilient Mediterranean rural landscapes.

29/05/2026

Biodiversity Monitoring Begins in Benamaurel, Spain!

As part of the WatHer Project, an important biodiversity (botanical) sampling campaign was recently conducted in the Benamaurel Irrigation System in Spain by the team of MEMOLab-University of Granada.

The sampling took place in the section where WatHer restoration actions will be implemented and represents an important baseline assessment, helping us understand the current ecological conditions before improvements begin.

The WatHer Project addresses the growing challenge of water scarcity and climate change in rural Mediterranean areas, demonstrating how Water Heritage Systems (WHS), traditional systems developed through centuries of local knowledge and sustainable water management, can continue to secure water during droughts.

By restoring and revitalizing these valuable systems, the project aims to reverse neglect and demonstrate their continued role as sustainable water solutions for Mediterranean communities.

Photo credits: MEMOLab–UGR

Learn more about WatHer Project: https://wather.interreg-euro-med.eu/

28/05/2026

The WatHer project was presented at the 10th International Seminar: Strategies for Understanding Architectural Heritage: New Challenges in the Integration, Transfer and Governance of Digital Cultural Heritage Information (Methodological Debates), held in Seville, Spain.

Our partner José María Martín Civantos, from Universidad de Granada and MEMOLab, delivered a presentation entitled “Traditional historical irrigation systems: actions from identification to heritage protection”, highlighting the methodologies used to document traditional irrigation systems and emphasising their value as repositories of traditional knowledge and techniques.

During the presentation, the WatHer project was showcased as a valuable opportunity to strengthen the conservation and sustainable management of these systems through its pilot actions. Special attention was given to the Granada pilot area, including an overview of the planned interventions.

We are proud to see WatHer contributing to international discussions on cultural heritage, sustainability, and water stewardship.

Learn more about WatHer Project: https://wather.interreg-euro-med.eu/

26/05/2026

Fonte Filipe, the water that brings us together, a collective initiative to control invasive species, by the WatHer Project

On 24 May 2026, the WatHer Project organised a hands-on collective action at Fonte Filipe, Querença (Loulé, Portugal), bringing together local landowners, volunteers and community members to help restore an important water heritage site through invasive species control.

The challenge was significant: to learn nature-based techniques for controlling one of the invasive species that poses one of the greatest threats to local water heritage and watercourses, the Giant Reed (Arundo Donax), as well as the invasive brambly shrub, the Blackberry (Rubus ulmifolius), which hampers agricultural activities.

With technical and scientific guidance from Pedro at Invasoras.pt, a group of 15 volunteers began the restoration of an initial section of the Fonte Filipe Levada in Querença, an area severely affected by the spread of giant reed and dense bramble growth.

Although the rapid expansion of the reedbeds and bramble since the area was first identified less than two months earlier was remarkable, the group, composed of landowners, volunteers, members of the local community, and the WatHer team from Associação In Loco and Universidade do Algarve UAlg, worked together to remove all visible reed growth, along with a substantial portion of the rhizomes and invasive vegetation.

A second intervention will be necessary to prevent regrowth and support the ecological restoration of these agricultural fields, served by the Fonte Filipe Levada, which forms part of the WatHer Pilot Project in Portugal.

Follow us on this mission – join us in protecting our water heritage.

Learn more about WatHer Project: https://wather.interreg-euro-med.eu/