21 July 2026, the URWAN project (Urban Regenerative Water Avant-garde(N)), co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Euro-MED Programme, has officially launched its Transfer Phase, opening a new chapter dedicated to sharing and replicating innovative Nature-based Solutions (NbS) with additional Mediterranean municipalities.
The Transfer Phase was officially launched during the Kick-off Meeting held online on 21 July 2026, bringing together the entire URWAN partnership and representatives from all partner organisations.
From urban regeneration to climate resilience
URWAN addresses the crucial connection between urban regeneration, water management and climate change adaptation, promoting the adoption of Nature-based Solutions to create greener, more resilient and water-smart Mediterranean cities, in line with the Interreg Euro-MED objective RSO2.4 – Climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention.
A strengthened partnership for a new phase
The Transfer Phase, coordinated by ANCI Lazio – Regional Association of Italian Towns in Lazio, welcomes new partners into the URWAN consortium:
- Regional Centre for Development and Cooperation (RCDC, Albania)
- MUSOL Foundation (Spain)
- University of Patras (Greece)
- Energy and Environment Agency of Arrábida (ENA, Portugal)
Together with the long-standing URWAN partners, they will contribute to transferring and adapting the project’s approach to new territories across the Mediterranean.
During the Kick-off Meeting, partners aligned on the methodology, tools, timeline and next steps, laying the foundations for a coordinated implementation of the Transfer Phase.
Sharing tested tools and successful approaches
At the heart of this new phase is the URWAN Enabler Pack, a set of free tools developed and tested during the first phase of the project to support municipalities in planning and implementing Nature-based Solutions.
The pack includes:
✔️ multilingual Training Kits
✔️ the URWAN NBS Catalogue, featuring 20 Nature-based Solutions classified as water-smart and water-sensitive approaches
✔️ the Start Park participatory co-design methodology
✔️ the URWAN Checklist, a decision-support tool for effective NbS implementation
These tools have already generated concrete results in URWAN pilot territories, including Cuba (Portugal), Rome and Ferla (Italy), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Ptuj (Slovenia), where the project contributed to the development of six urban master plans incorporating NbS, trained more than 225 people, and involved over 900 citizens and stakeholders through participatory processes.
What’s next?
In the coming months, the URWAN partnership will:
- identify and engage new “receiver” territories;
- adapt the Enabler Pack for transfer activities;
- launch the URWAN School to strengthen local capacities;
- support new participatory co-design processes and territory-specific roadmaps.
The first transfer results are expected by the end of 2027.
The URWAN partnership will also participate in the Interreg Euro-MED mid-term event in Marseille in November 2026 and will meet again in person in Sicily in the coming months.
“The full participation of every partner in this kick-off meeting confirms the strength and commitment of the URWAN partnership as we move into this new, ambitious phase of sharing what we have built with more Mediterranean cities.” – Andrea Vignoli, URWAN Project Coordinator, ANCI Lazio
About URWAN
URWAN (Urban Regenerative Water Avant-garde(N)) is a project co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Euro-MED Programme. It brings together partners from Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania to promote Nature-based Solutions for climate-resilient and water-smart Mediterranean cities.
The project is led by ANCI Lazio – Regional Association of Italian Towns in Lazio.
More information: project@ancilazio.it
