CASTWATER supports the sustainable tourism water management in Med coastal areas, by improving the monitoring and assessment of the water sustainability performance of the tourism sector. CASTWATER follows a studying, testing and transferring approach of transnational cooperation, involving public authorities, tourism enterprises, and relevant agencies and stakeholders.
Under the pressure of tourism, water demand strains supply capacity in the Mediterranean coastal areas negatively affecting the maintenance of natural and cultural heritage. In the last fifty years, the aggregate water demand in the Mediterranean has doubled, due to the tourism’s water consumption which, per capita, is double than a local residence. Seasonal tourist demand places enormous pressures on local water supplies in the CASTWATER destinations where water sources are more likely to be scarce. The seasonality and the localization of tourism activities and infrastructures in arid areas highlight the importance to measure regional tourism’s water effect at an appropriate temporal and spatial scale rather than just relying on national assessments. CASTWATER‘s interregional approach helps benefitting from comparisons with similar challenges and policies.
OVERALL PURPOSE
The project addresses Priority Axis 3, Specific Objective 3.1 “To enhance the development of a sustainable and responsible coastal and maritime tourism in the MED area”. CASTWATER aims to enhance the capacity of public authorities to monitor and assess the territorial tourism water sustainability. On completion of the project activities, public authorities in the partnership coastal areas will achieve enhanced capacity in monitoring and measuring systematically and effectively the level of water sustainability of tourism activities in their areas, with the aim to improve water efficiency, supporting the minimization of hydrological stress linked to tourism activities in the territories concerned.
The project’s main outputs include the promotion of widespread uptake of water sustainability indicators and evaluation criteria to measure the tourism sector performance in water efficiency. Additionally, CASTWATER aims to develop, validate and evaluate an online tool for SMEs to monitor, compare and self-assess water efficiency status and efforts, and for public authorities to identify issues, and assess the overall situation of their territories. The project also aims to develop transferable learning and knowledge resources, and to organize local workshops for public authorities staff on sustainable tourism water management. Transferability and action plans for public authorities is key to the project, in order to support the policy integration of sustainable tourism water management approaches into policies and measures, and for enterprises to integrate best practices in their day to day operations.
Main Objectives:
The main goal of the project is to provide means for managing environmental risks linked to tourism activities in the CASTWATER area, supporting sustainable tourism water management, generating the vibrant involvement of public authorities, and the tourism sector.
Veneto Innovazione is partner of the project CASTWATER, together with Rethymno Municipality – LP (Grecia), Regione del Veneto (Italia), Regione Emilia Romagna (Italia), Water Board of Lemesos (Cipro), University of Patras (Grecia), Euromediterranean Water Institute Foundation (Spagna), Institute of Agriculture and Tourism (Croazia), Las Naves – Foundation of the Valencian Community to promote Strategic urban Development and Innovation (Spagna), Departmental Council of Herault (Francia), Malta Regional Development and Dialogue Foundation (Malta), Sustainable Energy and Water Conservation Unit (Malta).
CASTWATER that lasts three years, is funded by the European Union in the frame of Interreg 2014-2020. The project budget amounts to 2.345.606,60 (€ 1.993.765,62 ERDF).
More information: CASTWATER
This project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund via Interreg MED.