Greener regions, real impact: Beyond the Buzzword to make Nature-based Solutions work
18. June 13:30 - 15:15
Room 3
While Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are increasingly recognised as effective tools for addressing climate and environmental challenges, sometimes the concept remains broad and often inconsistently interpreted. Clarifying how NBS can be effectively implemented is critical for advancing its impact and fostering collaboration across cities, regions and sectors.
This interactive workshop will explore how to accelerate and mainstream Nature-based Solutions across Europe’s diverse regional contexts. Through a World Café format, participants will exchange experiences, challenges, and practical lessons with regional authorities, cities, researchers, and practitioners working directly on NbS implementation. Discussions will focus on demystifying buzzwords around NBS and Climate Adaptation, while addressing concrete topics relevant to public authorities, including multi-level governance, citizen engagement, financing mechanisms, water resilience, wildfire adaptation, and the integration of green infrastructure into spatial planning.
This workshop is co-organised by 6 projects (CARDIMED, LAND4CLIMATE, NBRACER, NURISH, Commit2Green and MountResilience). These projects are working at the forefront of NBS implementation across various biogeographical contexts. Together are united by the shared goal of strengthening the role of NBS in fostering climate resilience and systemic transformation throughout Europe, in alignment with the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change goals.
Speakers
Project Manager, Department of Energy and Regional Development, Régional Council Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur
Marie Caroline Vallon, Project Manager, Department of Energy and Regional Development, RÉgional Council Provence Alpes CÔte d'Azur
A graduate of the Institut d'Études Politiques, Marie Caroline Vallon has been working for over 25 years with local governments on all aspects of sustainable regional development, adopting a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and pragmatic approach to urban issues and practices.
As a project manager in the Energy and Territorial Transition Department of the Region Sud she brings her expertise to integrating climate change issues into urban projects. For 5 years, as part of the Nature For City LIFE project, she developed training initiatives for urban stakeholders and several engagement tools aimed at better managing nature to help cities adapt to climate change.
Currently, she represents the Region in the CARDIMED project (Horizon Europe program), as part of the French team responsible for a demo site where nature-based solutions (NBS) are tested and implemented, as well as the Dialogue4Tourism governance project for the Sustainable Tourism mission under the Interreg EuroMed program.
Project Manager, Agency for the Support of Regional Development Košice
Lenka Kristofova, Project Manager, Agency for the Support of Regional Development Košice
Lenka Kristofová works as a project manager at the Agency for the Support of Regional Development Košice (ARR), where she focuses on climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. She is actively involved in international initiatives such as Land4Climate, supporting the implementation of nature-based solutions on private land. Alongside project management, she develops and delivers educational activities for primary and secondary school students, raising awareness on environmental protection, climate change, circular economy, and sustainability. Her work connects practical implementation with education, helping to build climate resilience and environmental responsibility across different target groups.
Mayor, Municipality of Skiathos
Thodoris Tzoumas, Mayor, Municipality of Skiathos
Mayor of Skiathos Island in Greece since 2019. Born in Skiathos in 1979, he studied agriculture and chemistry at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. He has been volunteering involved since 2009 in local associations of Skiathos, for the protection of the cultural heritage and the protection of the environment, in cooperation with European and Greek organizations. Active member of Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe program as he was elected and serves in the Steering Committee of the Governing Board of the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe, covering Greece, Cyprus and Turkey (the European Cemeteries Route, 2015-2023).
Postdoctoral Researcher, National Technical University of Athens
Dr. Theocharis Nazos, Postdoctoral Researcher, National Technical University of Athens
Dr. Theocharis Nazos is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Sanitary Engineering Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens. His research focuses on microalgae applications, bioenergetics, and environmental engineering, with particular emphasis on the use of photosynthetic microorganisms for wastewater treatment, resource recovery, and biomass valorization into high added-value products. His work also explores the use of non-conventional water sources and the integration of microalgae into nature-based treatment systems, contributing to the advancement of sustainable biotechnology and environmental engineering. He is actively involved in several EU-funded projects, including NURISH, SEACURE, CARDIMED, and TASC-RestoreMed.
Policy Officer, City of The Hague
Sander Brinkman, Policy Officer, City of The Hague
Sander Brinkman is a climatologist, currently working on greening the city. Climate adaptation, rewilding and participation are his strongpoints.
Porto Municipality
Cristina Monteiro, Porto Municipality
Dr. Cristina Monteiro is currently working as a Project Manager at the Municipal Division of Environmental Management for the Porto Municipality, specifically the EU Horizon-funded NBRACER project.Prior to her tenure in public administration, Dr. Monteiro accumulated 12 years of post-doctoral research at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, focusing on green infrastructures for sustainable water management, publishing widely on green roof dynamics and urban hydric efficiency. An expert in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and urban resilience, she contributes to the wide dissemination and implementation of transformative green solutions designed to accelerate environmental resilience and for a regional climate-adapted urban future. She leverages her deep academic expertise to help environmental public policies for the city of Porto.
Team Leader at Interregional Unit, INOVA+
Armando Alves, Team Leader at Interregional Unit, INOVA+
Armando currently works as a Team Leader at INOVA+, where he supports organisations such as public authorities and research organizations in the development of project proposals to European funding programs on a wide range of topics, including climate change adaptation, resilience, and territorial cooperation. His work also encompasses funding opportunities monitoring, project management, implementation and the development of interregional knowledge transfer activities amongst territories across Europe.
Armando holds a degree and a master's in Environmental Sciences and Technologies from the University of Porto, with a specialisation in Ecology and Natural Resource Management, and a post-graduation in Environmental Economics and Management Studies. He is currently a PhD candidate in Public Policy, focusing on environmental public policies and decision-making processes.
Consultant & Project Manager, INOVA+
Luísa Barateiro, Consultant & Project Manager, INOVA+
Luísa Barateiro is a consultant and project manager at the Interregional Unit of the EU HUB at INOVA+. She holds a degree in Biology and a Master's in Public Health from the University of Porto, and is currently a PhD candidate in Climate Change and Policies for Sustainable Development at the University of Lisbon. Her work focuses on interregional cooperation and European-funded projects at the intersection of sustainability, policy and territorial development.
Moderators
Senior Project Manager, National Technical University of Athens
Dr. Tadej Stepisnik Perdih, Senior Project Manager, National Technical University of Athens
Tadej Stepisnik Perdih (PhD Mech Eng) is responsible for partnerships and project implementation at the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens. His career focuses on cross-disciplinary topics around climate adaptation; including Nature-based Solutions, water-energy-food nexus and alternative water sources.
Junior Expert, Resilience and Climate Adaptation, ICLEI Europe
Lucía D'Amore, Junior Expert, Resilience and Climate Adaptation, ICLEI Europe
Lucía is a Junior Expert in Resilience and Climate Adaptation at ICLEI Europe, where she supports European regions and cities in strengthening their climate resilience through projects such as Commit2Green, CARDIMED, and Pathways2Resilience.
Holding an MSc in Environmental Governance and a specialisation in Gender and Feminist Studies with a particular focus on Latin America, she brings an intersectional lens to climate adaptation, with a focus on just resilience. A background in education further shapes her approach to knowledge-sharing and capacity-building.
In parallel to her professional work, Lucía has been actively engaged in community-led initiatives for environmental and gender justice, advocating for grassroots action in local contexts.