Climate protection where others go on holiday: How Berlin-based research is making the Mediterranean more resilient

Using stone-reinforced drainage channels, erosion can be prevented at minimal cost. © Terrartives, Crete, Greece

27.01.2026
Climate protection where others go on holiday: How Berlin-based research is making the Mediterranean more resilient

Brain City Berlin

Extreme heat, water scarcity and flooding are putting increasing pressure not only on ecosystems and agriculture, but also on cities and tourist infrastructure. An international consortium led by TU Berlin is now exploring how the Mediterranean region can adapt to these challenges. Over the next three years, the project will investigate nature-based solutions for climate-resilient water and risk management.

The research consortium comprises eight institutions and is led by the team of Professor Boris Heinz at the Chair of Community Energy and Adaptation to Climate Change at TU Berlin. The project has received a total of €2.7 million in funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme.

With the FLOW4Med project, TU Berlin is strengthening its research and knowledge transfer activities in the field of water management and nature-based solutions in the Mediterranean region. Around €574,000 of the funding will go directly to TU Berlin.

Over a period of 36 months, the project will demonstrate, evaluate and scale nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. Three pilot sites have been selected, representing urban, rural and semi-rural settings. At these locations, researchers will examine which solutions are suitable for addressing challenges such as water scarcity, flood risks and extreme heat.

A climate hotspot and popular holiday destination

The Mediterranean region is not only an ecological hotspot, but also one of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations. Millions of people travel there every year, even as water resources, landscapes and cities increasingly suffer from the impacts of climate change. These include extreme heat, more frequent droughts, water scarcity, wildfires and biodiversity loss, challenges that are already becoming more pronounced.

These developments are closely interconnected and intensify the region’s socio-ecological challenges. Water scarcity and extreme weather events are overarching issues. Declining water availability and quality, rising irrigation demands in agriculture and ongoing biodiversity loss further threaten the stability of the interconnected systems of water, energy, food and ecosystems.

Projects in Lebanon, Crete and Cairo

Nature-based solutions offer a way forward by supporting climate change adaptation. As measures to protect, sustainably manage and restore ecosystems, they can bring about positive change in the Mediterranean region.

The FLOW4Med project is investigating nature-based solutions at three pilot sites across the Mediterranean, each reflecting different climatic, social and spatial conditions.

1. In Akkar, Lebanon, an artificially constructed wetland is being tested to improve water purification and support agricultural water use.

2. On Crete, Greece, the focus is on holistic ecosystem restoration to reduce flood risks and retain water within agroforestry systems.

3. In Cairo, Egypt, green infrastructure and landscape design measures are being implemented to support urban cooling and enable water reuse.

Nature-based solutions as social innovations

FLOW4Med, officially titled Fostering Landscape-scale Adoption of NBS for Water Security: Strengthening Mediterranean Ecosystem Resilience against Climate Extremes, understands nature-based solutions not merely as infrastructure measures, but as social innovations. These approaches represent collective processes of change that can only be effective in the long term if they are tested under real-world conditions and embedded locally.

For this reason, the project works with so-called Living Labs, where civil society, users, public administration, policymakers and researchers jointly develop solutions, test them in practice and refine them iteratively. Participatory research brings together the knowledge of non-academic actors with scientific expertise, ensuring that development is aligned with concrete needs, potential conflicts of use and local concerns.

Citizens and end users are actively involved in the co-creation process. This strengthens the acceptance and legitimacy of the measures, increases their effectiveness and everyday applicability, and helps ensure that nature-based solutions become more inclusive, socially just and sustainable over the long term. In this way, the project contributes to preserving the Mediterranean region as a place to live and a holiday destination even under changing climate conditions.

Further information

In addition to TU Berlin, consortium partners include the Berlin-based non-governmental organisation Hudara, the University of Balamand in Lebanon, the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania and the company Terratives on Crete, Ain Shams University in Cairo, the Egyptian company Integrated Development Group, and the non-governmental organisation Wadi for Sustainable Development in Jordan. Three additional associated partners are supporting the project, including the Italian environmental consultancy Etifor. Two further partners will be identified and involved during the course of the project.

Chair website: https://www.tu.berlin/ceacc