SpongeBoost is a newly-started project under the Horizon Europe programme and is part of the EU EU mission “Adaptation to Climate Change” focusing on supporting EU regions, cities and local authorities in their efforts to build resilience against the impacts of climate change.
Extreme heat, prolonged drought or too much rain: Europe’s landscapes have suffered from a variety of extreme events in recent years. Floods and droughts have caused considerable damage, not only to nature but also to society. To counteract such acute events, the SpongeBoost project was launched in January 2024. It aims to tackle these severe circumstances by protecting and promoting natural sponge landscapes.
Henceforth, SpongeBoost will strive to promote the natural sponge function of landscapes in order to improve their resilience to flood and drought events. The functional capacity of sponge landscapes is to be enhanced through the further development of existing solutions and their large-scale implementation, but also through the utilisation of innovative approaches. The project’s leading expert researchers are focussing on promoting natural water retention in landscapes.
The four-year endeavour is coordinated by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and will be developed with the active participation of 10 partnering institutions from 7 countries across Europe.
The project’s website is under construction. For the time being you can follow us on X and LinkedIn.