Improving Coastal Areas Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and setting up Guidelines for Sustainable Beach Stabilization and Management

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A IPA Croatia - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Montenegro

Date of latest update: 2025-12-15

Description

Description (EN):

Coastal areas along the Programme area are world- wide well known tourist destinations with beach areas of great importance for the type of tourism participating countries are offering. Since all three counties covered by the Programme are faced to significant contribution of the tourism branch to national GDP (25 % Croatia, 30 % Montenegro, 10 % BiH), their general economic stability mainly depends on “beach and sea” tourism type which assumes appropriate surface of beach areas. Although significantly dependent on beach resources, coastal area of the participating countries are harmfully affected by the climate change induced impacts. The latter is mainly visible via two factors: i) occurrence of wind generated waves in coastal areal more often compared to the past, and ii) the increase in the mean sea level. Unless the latter causes flooding of beach areas thus reducing their effective surface area available for recreation, sports and tourism, wind generated waves destructively act to the sediment beaches are made of, thus implying significant beach erosion effects and the effect of “beach diminishing”. Following the abovementioned challenges and their relevance, ClimBeach project aims for the unique, multiphysical and multitech solution to tackle negative climate change impacts along the beach areas and to increase beach resilience to the erosion and flooding with a potential to be up taken and/or up-scaled to other pilot site along and out of the Programme area. This is planned to be accomplish by putting joint effort of all project partners to ensure the Programme objective realization. ClimBeach results in, in general manner, three main outputs jointly planned, developed and/or implemented by participation of all project partners from three participating countries. Projects foundation relies on the specifically purpose-planned and implemented site specific monitoring system covering for meteo/climatic variables, seawater dynamics and beach volumetric and coastline monitoring beneath and above the sea level. As an extension of the monitoring system, ClimBeach offers an up to date IT tool called BeachCloud which couples for. i) site specific monitoring data sets enabling the insight to the cause of the problem, ii) risk assessment procedure to determine the risks of beach erosion and flooding and iii) results and outcomes of the tested soft and hard mitigation measures, their appropriateness and effectiveness to contribute to the increase of the coastal erosion and flooding resilience. Taking the benefits from two outputs elaborated, ClimBeach enables the development of the strategy for the adaptation of beach areas to climate change impacts. Specific effort will be given to the use of appropriate short and long term measures, actions either interventions to prevent negative climate change impacts and ensure beach areas sustainable planning and management. As a follow up, action plan will be created to ensure the on time and straightforward strategy implementation. Due to the fact ClimBeach project consortium has been established based on their area of expertise, professional background and their role in the coastal management procedures and/or related branch, ClimBeach represents the way of incorporating technical and strategical know-how into the solution of the problem strictly related to relevant program objective. The successful accomplishment of the project pre-assumes realistic implementation which is planned via three work packages (WP). Although each WP is primary focused to the achievement of its specific objective, WPs are well connected and create a unique and interdependent add on to each other with special emphasis of the ClimBeach tendency to imply the participation of all project partners contributing to the joint actions and developed solution. Compared to typical approaches in coastal engineering and protection, ClimBeach offers unique, physically and IT based up to date support to tackle negative climate change impacts along the beach areas and to increase beach resilience to the erosion and flooding with a potential to be up taken and/or up-scaled to other pilot site along and out of the Programme area. Higlighted novelties of the ClimBeach can be summarized as follows: i) planned and implemented monitoring system coupling for climatological/meteorological variables, precipitation wind speed and direction representing external conditions contributing to assess loadings to beach areas, ii) observed wind generated wave parameters, sea currents and tides to identify local sea conditions and assess climate change trends, iii) developed and site implemented BeachCloud which offers an insight to the local conditions, external loadings, climate change induced beach flooding and erosion risks with soft and hard actions, interventions either infrastructure to be implemented to increase the resilience of beach areas to climate change impacts.

Actual Achievements (EN):

The first reporting period of the ClimBeach project has focused on fulfilling obligations related to establishing efficient project management, project communication (both internal and external), and completing technical activities as outlined in the Application Form (AF). The project officially started on September 1st, 2024. The subsidy contract was signed by the Lead Partner following the signature of the Partnership Agreement by all project partners. In accordance with C.7 of the AF, the Kick-off Meeting was organized by LP1 in Split on October 25, 2024, where the ClimBeach project was officially presented, and the specific responsibilities of each project partner were discussed within the defined Work Plan. Furthermore, an initial meeting of the Project Steering Committee was held to establish the committee members (two from each project partner). Each project partner responsible for a WP selected a person to oversee coordination and monitor the progress of activities within the respective WP. This person is also responsible for organizing, collecting, and ensuring the quality of the deliverables, coordinating all other PPs involved in the WP, and informing the LP and other PPs about the WP progress. In accordance with quality control (C.7), a document titled "Risk Management Plan" has been developed to comprehensively identify, assess, manage, and mitigate risks associated with the ClimBeach project. Additionally, an Evaluation Plan has been developed to provide a structured framework for monitoring and evaluating the project. This includes evaluation tools for assessing the project timeline through a comprehensive monitoring table of planned and completed activities, as well as the evaluation of financial implementation through a Financial Monitoring table. Regarding project communication, the rules and obligations of all PPs were defined during the Kick-off Meeting (KoM). To ensure efficient communication between PPs, the LP has established a WhatsApp group with PSC members. Furthermore, the official email for the ClimBeach project and the associated Google Drive have been set up and shared among PPs for document and data exchange and storage. As part of internal communication, the project work plan has been shared among PPs, with each project activity assigned to a specific PP. Regarding external communication, activities have primarily focused on reaching specific target groups. The Project Communication Strategy was developed by the LP, with approval from all PPs, to define the specific steps for fulfilling the objectives related to target groups. Furthermore, specific forms have been created for each PP to complete, ensuring efficient communication and information sharing. Regarding the technical aspect of the project, all activities were initiated on time, in accordance with the AF. Within WP1, partners were involved in Activity 1.1, which focused on the development of the monitoring plan. This activity involved joint efforts to define monitoring activities and related infrastructure, taking into account the local, site-specific conditions of the pilot sites in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. The characterization of the pilot sites was conducted based on geomorphological, climatological, meteorological, and oceanographic data. This activity was coordinated by the Lead Partner (LP), with contributions from all project partners (PPs). Based on the completed characterization, a comprehensive monitoring plan was jointly developed for all pilot sites, detailing the planned activities and required equipment. The activities carried out within WP1 during the first reporting period contributed to the achievement of RCR104-2.4 and supported the accomplishment of Programme Output RCO84-2.4: Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in the projects. Regarding WP2, the main contribution in the first reporting period is linked to Activity 2.1, which focuses on beach erosion and flooding risk assessment. Specifically, during this period, activities were centered on reviewing best practices related to available and suitable countermeasures for preventing beach erosion and flooding. This activity was coordinated by the Lead Partner (LP), with strong support from PP4 (UNIMO-FGAG). The activities included defining the types of beaches and reviewing various countermeasures, including hard engineering structures, soft engineering solutions, hybrid approaches, as well as management and policy measures that could contribute to more efficient beach management. Finally, the effectiveness and durability of these measures were analyzed, along with local interest in the project’s pilot sites. The start of WP3 is expected in the fourth implementation period, and no significant activities have been carried out during this period. The second reporting period marked important milestones across multiple work packages, reflecting the dedication and coordinated efforts of all project partners. The achievements during this phase have laid a strong foundation for upcoming stages, ensuring the continued advancement toward the project’s overall objectives. Under WP1, Deliverable D1.2.1 – Report on the establishment and operationalization of weather/climate monitoring infrastructure has been completed, as a part of Activity A1.2. All technical and logistical components were completed in accordance with the project timeline and specifications. The stations are now fully installed and operational, enabling the continuous collection of meteorological data for further analysis and reporting. These activities carried out within WP1 contributed to the achievement of Programme Output RCO84-2.4, by performing joint pilot activities related to implementation of monitoring systems. Under Activity A1.5, eco-promotional materials aligned with the project’s coastal sustainability theme have been completed (D1.5.1). Project Partners also continued their contributions to coordination and dissemination activities. Under Activity A1.6: Coordination and Management, all PPs participated in the second Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting, held in Mostar on 21 August 2025, where project progress was discussed and planning for upcoming periods took place. Within WP2, activities have been focused on development of BeachCloud specifications, resulting with two completed deliverables. Initial infrastructure of BeachCloud has been developed (D2.3.1), and needs and requirements of potential end-users and target groups have been collected (D2.3.3). Latter included designing customized questionnaires and reaching out to potential end-users to collect feedback and requirements. Finally, the conclusions drawn were incorporated into the BeachCloud infrastructure plan. These activities contributed to the achievement of Programme Output RCO116-2.4: Jointly developed solutions, as well as Programme result indicator RCR104-2.4: Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organizations. Also, activities in WP2 have been engaged through monitoring and field-based activities aimed at assessing local coastal conditions, and also by developing the initial design of the physical beach model at the laboratory. Also, numerical modeling activities were carried out, including the setup and testing of a numerical model for beach sediment transport. Under WP3, project partners participated in scientific conferences (A3.4), actively promoting ClimBeach project internationally.

Project outputs: Pilot produced combined atmospheric, oceanographic and beach volumetry monitoring system establishment and implementation(EN)
Developing BeachCloud tool to increase the beach areas resilience to climate change induced impacts (EN)
Website (not verified): http://www.unist.gradst.hr

Thematic information

ICT and digital society Tourism Climate change and biodiversity

Priority: (VI-A_HR-B-ME_2) Green investments in environmental protection and efficient risk management

Priority specific objective: RSO2.4. Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention and resilience, taking into account eco-system based approaches

Priority policy objective (Interreg specific objective): PO2 A greener, low-carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon economy and resilient Europe by promoting clean and fair energy transition, green and blue investment, the circular economy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, risk prevention and management, and sustainable urban mobility

Type of intervention: 079 Nature and biodiversity protection, natural heritage and resources, green and blue infrastructure

Partners (6)

Lead Partner: SVEUČILIŠTE U SPLITU, FAKULTET GRAĐEVINARSTVA, ARHITEKTURE I GEODEZIJE

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 83615500218

Department: FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND GEODESY

Address: Matice hrvatske, 21000 Split, Croatia

Department address: Matice hrvatske, 21000 Split, Croatia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: http://gradst.unist.hr/

Total budget: EUR 560 274.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 476 232.90

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 85.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 84 041.10

Općina Neum

Name: Općina Neum

Department: Division for housing and communal affairs, construction and development; Department for projects

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 4227086860006

Address: Kralja Tomislava, 88390 Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Department address: Kralja Tomislava, 88390 Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Local public authority

Website: http://www.neum.ba

Total budget: EUR 186 858.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 158 829.30

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 85.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 28 028.70

Sveučilište u Mostaru

Name: Sveučilište u Mostaru

Department: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 227088130005

Address: Trg hrvatskih velikana, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Department address: Matice hrvatske, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: http://www.sum.ba

Total budget: EUR 257 607.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 218 965.95

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 85.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 38 641.05

Contractors:

Name: KATARINA d.o.o. Mostar
VAT registration or tax identification number: 227066670006
Name: Aquaveo, LLC (USA)
VAT registration or tax identification number: 20-8428279
Name: Hotel Mostar d.o.o.
VAT registration or tax identification number: 227088130021
Name: IPEMED
VAT registration or tax identification number: 01049029065

Javno preduzeće za upravljanje morskim dobrom Crne Gore

Name: Javno preduzeće za upravljanje morskim dobrom Crne Gore

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 81/31-03710-5

Address: Popa Jola Zeca, 85310 Budva, Montenegro

Legal status: public

Organisation type: National public authority

Website: http://www.morskodobro.me

Total budget: EUR 512 076.60

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 435 265.11

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 85.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 76 811.49

Contractors:

Name: Biljana Trtica Vujanić
VAT registration or tax identification number: N/A
Name: G Tech doo Podgorica
VAT registration or tax identification number: 30/31-09535-1
Name: Jadran auto doo Podgorica
VAT registration or tax identification number: 30/31-15300-9
Name: Meteos doo Belgrade, Serbia
VAT registration or tax identification number: 479224441

Regionalna razvojna agencija Dubrovačko-neretvanske županije – DUNEA

Name: Regionalna razvojna agencija Dubrovačko-neretvanske županije – DUNEA

Department: Department for preparation and implementation of EU projects

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 59914845989

Address: Ulica branitelja, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia

Department address: Ulica branitelja, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Sectoral agency

Website: http://www.dunea.hr

Total budget: EUR 268 380.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 228 123.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 85.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 40 257.00

Contractors:

Name: Furia d.o.o.
VAT registration or tax identification number: 13889264611
Name: Alfa - 2 d.o.o.
VAT registration or tax identification number: 273305410571
Name: Radio Ragusa d.o.o.
VAT registration or tax identification number: 89301862181
Name: Verbum Publicum d.o.o.
VAT registration or tax identification number: 60852160170

Regionalna razvojna agencija Dubrovačko-neretvanske županije

Name: Regionalna razvojna agencija Dubrovačko-neretvanske županije

Department: Department for preparation and implementation of EU projects

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 59914845989

Address: Ulica branitelja, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia

Department address: Ulica branitelja, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Sectoral agency

Website: http://www.dunea.hr

Total budget: EUR 268 380.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 228 123.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 85.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 40 257.00

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Municipality of Neum

Improving Coastal Areas Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and setting up Guidelines for Sustainable Beach Stabilization and Management

Partners and Projects info

University of Mostar

Improving Coastal Areas Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and setting up Guidelines for Sustainable Beach Stabilization and Management

Partners and Projects info

Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone Management of Montenegro

Improving Coastal Areas Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and setting up Guidelines for Sustainable Beach Stabilization and Management

Partners and Projects info

Regional Development Agency Dubrovnik-Neretva County – DUNEA

Improving Coastal Areas Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and setting up Guidelines for Sustainable Beach Stabilization and Management

Partners and Projects info

UNIVERSITY OF SPLIT, FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND GEODESY

Improving Coastal Areas Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and setting up Guidelines for Sustainable Beach Stabilization and Management

Partners and Projects info

The Regional Development Agency Dubrovnik-Neretva County

Improving Coastal Areas Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and setting up Guidelines for Sustainable Beach Stabilization and Management

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Improving Coastal Areas Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and setting up Guidelines for Sustainable Beach Stabilization and Management

Project acronym: ClimBeach

Project ID: HR-BA-ME00201

Project start date: 2024-09-01

Project end date: 2027-08-31

Project status: ongoing

Relevant linked projects:

MoST (Interreg Italy-Croatia 2014-2020)
MoST (Monitoring Sea-water intrusion in coastal aquifers and Testing pilot projects for its mitigation), funded by Interreg Italy-Croatia, aimed at monitoring seawater intrusion in specific regions of the northern Adriatic coasts of Italy and Croatia. To assess relevance of seawater intrusion project MoST used numerical models on laboratory and field scale, performed on-site investigation and suggested appropriate countermeasures.
(EN) | Project ClimBeach can use methodology developed by project MoST, starting from monitoring, to laboratory and numerical modelling and producing mitigation measures at the end. Communication and management skills developed by Croatian partners on project MoST (UNIST-FGAG and DUNEA) can be capitalized so that outcomes of project ClimBeach can reach as many stakeholders as possible. (EN), SeCure (Interreg Italy-Croatia 2014-2020)
SeCure project (Saltwater intrusion and climate change: monitoring, countermeasures and informed governance), funded by Interreg Italy-Croatia, aims at maximizing the main outcomes and experiences developed in MoST, ASTERIS, and CHANGE WE CARE Interreg IT-HR projects. (EN) | Monitoring the process, evaluating effective mitigation strategies, and sharing the knowledge with governing authorities and stakeholders are the main pillars of project ClimBeach and already established synergies between Croatian project partners (UNIST-FGAG and DUNEA) will allow to enhance visibility, increase transferability, fully exploit and consolidate project results and outcomes. (EN), COASTING (Interreg Mediterranean)
COASTING project is the result of co-operation of previously implemented coastal area management projects, COAST, COASTANCE and COASTGAP. In 2011, through COASTANCE project, Guidelines for Integrated Coastal Management of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County have been developed, as the first document of this kind at the regional level in Croatia, identifying key issues such as litoralisation, insufficiently developed infrastructure, unstable tourism growth, inefficient maritime management and others.
In COASTING, through the capitalization process, project partners defined a common methodology focusing deeper on the tourism sector criticalities and contributing to a joint institutional uptake. In order to enhance the development of a sustainable and responsible coastal and maritime tourism in Mediterranean area, project COASTING supports the implementation and dissemination of an integrated coastal recovery and management tool based on a multilevel governance model (Coast Contract).
(EN) | Project ClimBeach will capitalize knowledge gained by project partner DUNEA and for strategic planning of the beach areas and increasing their resilience to climate change induced erosion and flooding. Project developed strategy aims at establishing a targeted way to achieve a goal-oriented process in a defined area of beach protection and its sustainable management.
Jointly developed strategy and action plan imply the involvement of all project partner, so the special emphasize will be on transfer knowledge from DUNEA to other project partners.
(EN), WELCOME (Interreg IPA Italy - Albania – Montenegro 2014-2020)
WELCOME (WatEr LandsCapes sustainability thrOugh reuse of Marine litter), funded by Interreg IPA Italy - Albania – Montenegro 2014-2020. The WELCOME project is mainly aimed at developing a soft method based on an art-driven reuse of wood ML to make anti-erosion coastal systems in a sustainable, circular economy based approach.
The WELCOME project engages research institutions and public authorities to perform: i) research on ML (including modelling) and ML removal from selected beaches, ii) dune restoration, according to a well-defined methodology, iii) drafting of a ML plan in the frame of ICZM.
(EN) | Since the main focus of both project is on sustainable care for coastal systems there are many common topics between projects. Project ClimBeach can make use of WELCOME project outcomes, mainly from the long-term marine litter (ML) management, development of guidelines, testing of a soft method for coastal dune consolidation, based on art-driven reuse of wood ML and the increasing of public awareness on sustainable development. (EN), PORTODIMARE (Interreg ADRION)
PORTODIMARE (geoPORtal of TOols & Data for sustaInable Management of coAstal and maRine Enviroment), funded by Interreg ADRION Programme, provides access to numerous datasets related to coastal and marine areas and to several modules for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) analysis and risk evaluation. It represents a relevant and original improvement supporting transparent and efficient decision-making processes. The Geoportal improve transnational cooperation between AIR Countries on maritime and marine governance and services, and it is an important support to the EUSAIR Action Plan implementation, cross-cutting to the 4 Pillars of the Strategy. (EN) | Project ClimBeach will capitalize knowledge gained by project partner JPMD for effective coastal management and can contribute to development knowledge base by developing BeachCloud, open database - cloud which couples the data relevant for the pilot sites beaches and offers flooding and erosion risk assessment under the impact of climate changes as well as mitigation countermeasures/actions. This data base can become a part of united coastal management on trilateral area that contributes ICZM and MSP. (EN), Integrated Waste Management and Marine Litter Prevention in the Western Balkans
Integrated Waste Management and Marine Litter Prevention in the Western Balkans is project funded by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. It supports four countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro – in reducing plastic discharge into the Adriatic Sea. It aims to achieve its goals by facilitating regional exchange, knowledge sharing and cross-border cooperation. It also initiates regular and systematic exchanges of information about the project’s experiences at regional, national and local levels. (EN) | Project ClimBeach has similar goals as this project and all results and outcomes of the project ClimBeach can be seen as contribution to common goal, fight against climate change, providing countermeasures to negative effects of climate change, rising awareness, increasing knowledge and enhancement of cross-border cooperation. (EN), Tourismed Plus (Interreg Mediterranean)
The municipality of Neum participated as a partner in Tourismed Plus - a project co-financed by Interreg Mediterranean, together with partners from Spain, Italy, France, and Montenegro in organized lectures on the development of new tourist products, the importance of public-private partnerships and sustainable tourism strategies with an emphasis on the experiences of implementing fishing tourism. Through workshops and learning from the example of Spain, the existing models of fisheries laws in the area of Valencia and the business models of agro-tourism and eco-tourism were especially considered. (EN) | Knowledge gained by Municipality of Neum trough project Tourismed Plus can be used by project ClimBeach, especially for the activities assigned to the Municipality. Since the Municipality is responsible partner for organization of “Workshop on the good practice excellence example – BeachCloud as a cross border mitigation tool against climate change impacts”, previous experience in organizing such workshop is substantially since the important part of the project ClimBeach is reaching target groups like local, regional and national authorities, sectoral agencies, public service providers, interest groups, NGOs and general public. (EN)

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 1 785 195.60

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 1 517 416.26

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 85.00%

Co-financing sources:

IPA/IPA II/IPA III: Amount, EUR 1 517 416.26. Co-financing rate, 85.00%.

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Deliverables:

Report on monitoring plan
Report on the establishment and put into operation weather/climate monitoring infrastructure
Report on the continuous data sets obtained by weather/climate monitoring infrastructure
Report on the establishment and put into operation seawater dynamics monitoring infrastructure
Report on the continuous data sets obtained by seawater dynamics infrastructure
Report on the monitoring activities in CR, BiH and MN
Report on the beach dynamics monitoring in CR, BiH and MN
Promotional and video materials
Social networks and media announcements
Thematic workshop on the pilot sites monitoring activities
Site visits for the target groups in CR, BiH and MN
Scientific paper on the effectiveness of the established and put into operation monitoring
Project communication strategy and digital editorial plan
Project events
PSC meetings
Report on the outcomes of the monitoring data sets analysis per pilot sites
Report on the available and appropriate countermeasures to prevent beach erosion and flooding
Report on the development and testing beach erosion and flooding risk assessment framework
Report on the laboratory activities performed
Report on the numerical modeling activities performed
Report on the effectiveness of beach erosion and flooding countermeasures and/or pilot solutions
Report on the BeachCloud infrastructure plan
Report on the BeachCloud infrastructure and functionality development and implementation
Report on the target groups needs and demands for BeachCloud
Report on the BeachCloud testing, updating, and up-scaling
Social network and web posts
E-learning course of the BeachCloud tool and training for target groups
Interactive report on cross border joint solution development for climate change resilience
Workshop on the good practice excellence example – BeachCloud
Scientific paper on BeachCloud
Report on the strategy for beach resilience to climate change impacts
Action plan development
Report on the revitalization of selected beach site in CR
Report on the revitalization of selected beach site in BiH
Report on the revitalization of selected beach site in MN
Social network and web posts
Participation at conferences, scientific and popular
E-flipbook on the strategy development activities on cross border climate change resilience

Contribution to wider strategies and policies:

EUStrategyAdriaticIonianRegion Connection between project ClimBeach and European Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) can be found in specific objectives for Pillar 3: Environmental Quality for marine environment through aims set by Barcelona Convention (The Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Protocol). Common Regional Framework for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (CRF) provides strategic orientations for ICZM.
ClimBeach matches Objectives and General Principles of the CRF (Artt. 5-7,18, 19, 22, 28 and 29) through objective “Address natural hazards, in particular coastal climate change” and points “participating in awareness raising, stakeholder engagement and capacity building for addressing coastal risks” and “promoting the use of best practices and best available data”. Project will contribute to both these items by monitoring, characterizing and finding best practices to set up criteria for definition relevant treats to coastal aquifer systems and to prepare strategic plans for coastal flooding and beach erosion induced by climate change.
Land Policy (Art. 20) of ICZM mentions that it is important to “Conduct a diagnosis of sensitive coastal zones threatened by climate change” and “Support continuous scientific observation of coastal zones’ evolutions”. First statements correspond to ClimBeach pilot sites characterization and second to activities planned by the project.
International Cooperation for the Implementation of the CRF (Artt. 16, 25-28) emphasizes the need for cooperation in the field of monitoring and observation (Art. 16), strategies preparation and implementation (Art. 28) and training and research, technical and scientific cooperation (Artt. 25-27). All these areas of cooperation are covered between Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin partners as listed in project work plans.
EuropeanGreenDeal Contribution of project ClimBeach and European Green Deal can be found in two policies.
First policy is “Increasing the EU’s climate ambition for 2030 and 2050” and there is stated that “Strengthening the efforts on climate-proofing, resilience building, prevention and preparedness is crucial” and “It will be important to ensure that across the EU, investors, insurers, businesses, cities and citizens are able to access data and to develop instruments to integrate climate change into their risk management practices.” These statements are consistent with the project plans to create a framework for identifying negative effects of climate changes on beaches (coastal erosion, coastal flooding) and sharing the findings with all stakeholders through a unique, interactive platform and in the form of guidelines with recommendations to reduce the negative impacts of climate change.
Second policy is “Mobilising research and fostering innovation” where it is stated that it is important to “promote collaboration among higher education institutions, research organisations and companies on climate change”. It is also mentioned that “Accessible and interoperable data are at the heart of data-driven innovation” and that “This data, combined with digital infrastructure (e.g. supercomputers, cloud, ultra-fast networks) and artificial intelligence solutions, facilitate evidence-based decisions and expand the capacity to understand and tackle environmental challenges”. By connecting research institutions (UNIST-FGAG and UNIMO-FGAG) with public authorities (JPMD and NEUM) and with creation of the BeachCloud project ClimBeach directly contributes to these policies.
Other EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change 2021
European strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change 2021 sets out how the European Union can adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change and become climate resilient by 2050. The Strategy has four principle objectives: to make adaptation smarter, swifter and more systemic, and to step up international action on adaptation to climate change.
ClimBeach contributes to:
- Smarter adaptation by helping to close knowledge gaps on climate impacts and resilience, by improving the state of the art on adaptation modelling and creating data base with areas exposed to negative effect of climate changes;
- Systemic adaptation by developing monitoring system and reporting effects of climate changes on selected beaches, by stimulating cross border cooperation to create the adaptation strategies and action plans to reduce negative effects of climate changes and by testing nature-based solutions for adaptation;
- Faster adaptation by supporting the development of adaptation solutions possible to use on various locations facing the same problem.
Other Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe, as EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation, strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges, like climate change.
One of the missions of Horizon Europe is Restore our Ocean and Waters and project ClimBeach can contribute to the realization of that mission. Mission’s strategic objective is to restore the health of ocean and waters with specific objective “Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity”.
Outcomes that collide between project ClimBeach and objective are “to transfer innovations and support cooperation with local research institutions” and “to find solutions for climate change mitigation”. Project will contribute to this objective by continuous cooperation between Croatian and Bosnian research institutions in finding sustainable solutions to fight climate change induced coastal flooding and beach erosion. Creation of a digital platform, BeachCloud database, that integrates knowledge about negative effects of climate change on beaches and transfers it to the wider community contributes to the achievement of these goals.
Other Croatian National Development Strategy 2030
Project ClimBeach contributes to the achievement of goals set by the Croatian National Development Strategy 2030 (hrv. Nacionalna razvojna strategija Republike Hrvatske do 2030. godine, NRS). One of the main treats recognized in NRS are climate changes, and among them sea level rise. NRS emphasizes the importance of investments in research, development and innovation. Project ClimBeach is based on research to develop innovative solutions to mitigate effects of climate changes on vulnerable coastal areas.
Strategic goal 8 “Environmental and energy transition for climate neutrality” of NRS states that “work will be done on the implementation of public policies aimed at… effective management of resources to reduce risks to the environment and increase resilience to climate change”, “environmental protection and preservation of the Adriatic Sea is a joint task, and fight against climate change is an obligation towards future generations” and “development of infrastructure to reduce flood risk through nature-based solutions will be ensured”. ClimBeach will cope with all these needs and directly contributes to fulfilment of strategic goals of NRS by enabling a reliable risk assessment for the beach erosion and flooding induced by combined impacts of wind generated waves, tidal oscillations and barometric pressure changes and offering mitigation countermeasures and actions.
Other Development Strategy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2021-2027
Project ClimBeach contributes to achievement of the goals set by the Development Strategy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2021-2027 (bos. Strategija razvoja Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine, SR).
Strategic goal 3 “Resource efficient and sustainable development” of the Strategy emphasize the need to raise the awareness about environmental protection and climate change, to improve the legal and institutional framework of environmental regulation and to improve the protection and use of natural resources. One of the goals is to ensure sustainable use of water resources and it states “it is necessary to implement measures to increase the level of flood protection, …, implement measures to reduce erosion, establish programs and measures to adapt to climate change”. Project ClimBeach contributes to the achievement of these goals by its communication activities which will help to raise awareness about climate change between specific target groups. Other goal of the project ClimBeach that contributes to SR is to create climate change adaptation strategy for sustainable management of beach areas along the trilateral area.
Other National Strategy for Sustainable Development until 2030 of Montenegro
Project ClimBeach contributes to the achievement of goals set by the National Strategy for Sustainable Development until 2030 of Montenegro (mn. Nacionalna strategija održivog razvoja do 2030. godine Crne Gore, NSOR). Link between project ClimBeach and NSOR can be found in two strategic goals, Goal 13. Taking urgent action in the fight against climate change and its impacts and Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Strategic goals are defined through Priority topics.
Specific topic 4.3. Preservation of natural capital defines measurements to preserve natural resources. ClimBeach contributes to: Enable resource-efficient use of water resources, Establish integral management of the coastal area, Increase understanding of hazard risk and Invest in reducing risk and strengthening the resilience of natural and social systems.
Specific topic 4.4. Introduction of green economy and measurements (Build capacity, improve education and raise public awareness of climate change and mitigation measures, Preserve the attractiveness of the coastal area for the development of sustainable tourism, Support the sustainable valorisation and preservation of marine resources) are also where project ClimBeach can directly contribute.
Other National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Croatia)
Project ClimBeach contributes to the achievement of goals set by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Croatia (cro. Nacionalni plan oporavka i otpornosti 2021-2026, NPOO).
Reforms suggested by NPOO is “C1.3. Improvement of water and waste management” and its goals are reducing the negative consequences of climate change, increasing the functionality of the flood protection system and thus reduce the risk of floods.
Project ClimBeach, after monitoring and laboratory studying, offers countermeasures to negative effect of climate change, such as coastal flooding.
As a part of “C1.3. R1-I3 Disaster Risk Reduction Program in the Water Management Sector” among the challenges is emphasized that “special attention in the water management sector needs to be directed towards adaptation to climate change, as well as risk prevention and disaster resilience”. Main goal of project ClimBeach matches this aim, since Project proposal is to increase the beach resilience to climate changes induced threats and to ensure sustainable SUN-SEA tourism along the eastern Adriatic coastline.
Among “Raising the research and innovation capacity” part of NCOO it is proposed to increase investments in research, development and innovation to stimulate productivity and among “Cross-border and multinational projects” participation in international projects is encouraged, especially in terms of the development of research and technological infrastructure.
Project ClimBeach covers all these statements in a holistic way and offers solutions based on the most important principles of NCOO by developing BeachCloud, which couples the data relevant for the pilot sites beaches and offers flooding and erosion risk assessment under the impact of climate changes as well as mitigation measures. BeachCloud covers pilot site in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Montenegro and contributes to strategic planning of the beach areas in trilateral area.
Other Strategy of adaptation to climate changes in Republic of Croatia
Strategy of adaptation to climate changes in Republic of Croatia notes a lack of knowledge about the impacts of climate change but it states that expected sea level rise in Adriatic Sea is between 32 and 65 cm (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Strategy states that the expected sea level rise, future sea changes, waves and storm surges will have a negative impact on beach sand, and can lead to its complete disappearance. Coastal erosion and coastal flooding are also expected on beach areas.
Among the measures suggested by the Strategy to ensure sustainable regional and urban development, project ClimBeach coincides with:
-Reduction of harmful consequences on coastal water-utility infrastructure and coastal water resources caused by sea level rise due to climate change by defining vulnerable beach areas, analyzing coastal areas facing climate change and proposing optimal solutions
-Improving knowledge and capacity for monitoring the impact of climate change, risk assessment, and adaptation to climate change by implementing system of monitoring for wind generated waves and tides to enable continuous monitoring of the external loadings and intermittent remote sensing of the beach project sites and bathymetric features until the depth closure after each storm and mild wind wave state. Data obtained by system of monitoring will be used for studying (laboratory modelling of the beach erosion under different conditions) and testing (defining suitable mitigation measures tested by laboratory and numerical modelling)
-Strengthening of research and management capacity for the assessment of negative impacts of climate change by creating synergies between Croatian and Bosnian research groups on finding optimal model for climate change adverse impact assessments
-Inclusion of adaptation measures to climate change into key documents through the production of a guidelines for stakeholders at regional and national levels
Other ERDF/CF OP Competitiveness and Cohesion (Croatia)
Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion (Croatia) (hrv. Operativni program Konkurentnost i kohezija 2014. – 2020.) states that Croatia can be considered highly threatened by climate change. In addition to sectors that are crucial for the economy (tourism and agriculture), existing water resources, ecosystems and infrastructure are also threatened by climate change. The risk of weather-related disasters, especially floods, is expected to increase due to the effects of climate change. Based on those treats, Programme emphasizes the need for improvement of the climate change monitoring and assessment system.
Project ClimBeach contributes to specific goal “Improving monitoring, forecasting and planning of climate change adaptation measures” by setting monitoring systems (implementation of the weather/climate monitoring infrastructure at pilot locations, implementation of the seawater dynamics monitoring infrastructure at pilot locations and In –situ beach dynamics monitoring implementation in pilot sites), using data obtained from monitoring system to create BeachCloud (open data base - cloud which couples the data relevant for the pilot sites beaches) and using all that to
offer mitigation countermeasures and actions. Specific attention will be given to the use of BeachCloud and its contribution to strategic planning of the beach areas and increasing their resilience to climate change induced erosion and flooding.
Other National Strategy for Integrated Coastal Area Management
The National Strategy for Integrated Coastal Zone Management for Montenegro was drafted as a part of the Coastal Area Management Programme for Montenegro (CAMP MNE). This National Strategy has defined a strategic framework for sustainable development of Montenegro coast. Besides that, by defining a set of concrete measures and actions in the Action plan for the Strategy, it has created a dynamic framework to support the implementation of the Special Purpose Spatial Plan for Coastal Area of Montenegro.
Project ClimBeach contributes to the achievement of goals set by the Coastal Area Management Programme Montenegro through research activities, improving knowledge and through the creation of a BeachCloud database, an interactive, up-to-date and state of the art basis of relevant data representing sites in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. BeachCloud will be used in Montenegro by JPMD (Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone Management of Montenegro) to provide sustainable beach management.
Other Sustainable tourism development strategy until 2030 (Croatia)
Sustainable tourism development strategy until 2030 (Croatia) states that growing climate changes are already affecting the increase in extreme weather events in Croatia, the rise of the sea level and the erosion of the sea coast, which destroys the infrastructure of beaches and affects their attractiveness. Croatian tourism is well established as a destination with a pleasant climate, clean sea and excellent beaches and any threat to these aspects would have a negative effect on overall tourism.
Strategy developed four strategic goals to address those treats, and project ClimBeach can contribute to one of them.
Under strategic goal “Tourism with preserved environment, space and climate” there is Priority area 2.3 “Reducing the negative relationship between tourism and climate” that emphasizes the need of strengthening the resistance of the tourist infrastructure to different weather extremes and educating and informing in order to raise awareness of the negative interrelationships between climate and tourism. Also, one of the measures to mitigate the negative impact of the implementation of the Strategy on the ecological network is to “Ensure the preservation of natural beaches in their natural state and the preservation of natural vegetation on rocks.”.
Project ClimBeach will contribute to this goal by offering mitigation measures and actions to reduce negative influence of climate change, especially from coastal flooding and beach erosion. With its communication activities, carefully directed to specific target groups, ClimBeach will contribute to rising awareness and educating about climate change.
Other Bosnia and Herzegovina National Adaptation Plan – NAP
Bosnia and Herzegovina finalized and submitted its Climate Change Adaptation Plan (NAP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2022. It is a comprehensive document that was prepared on the recommendation and in accordance with the guidelines of the UNFCCC, which provides an analysis and assessment of vulnerability and risk from climate change, and defines specific activities and measures for adapting to climate scenarios. NAP indicates the need to improve the planning of adaptation to climate change in the country, with the aim of reducing negative climate consequences on all aspects of the environment and economy.
Negative effects of climate changes, that are main focus of ClimBeach, coastal flooding and beach erosion are defined as a threat for many areas in NAP. There are specific actions named to mitigate those effects. ClimBeach contributes to realization of those actions by offering mitigation measures and actions.
Other Climate Change Adaptation and Low-Emission Development Strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2020-2030
Climate Change Adaptation and Low-Emission Development Strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2020-2030 was prepared within the project "Fourth National Communication and Third Biennial Update Report under the UNFCCC" funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Strategy is relevant for the project ClimBeach because it deals in detail with topics relevant for climate change and offers details about climate change in Bosnia and Herzegovina, water resources, tourism, biodiversity, energy sector and erosion. This strategy can be considered as one of the key documents for detection of climate change effect in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Programme Common Output Indicator:

RCO 116 - Jointly developed solutions, Measurement unit:
RCO 084 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects, Measurement unit:

Programme Common Result Indicator:

RCR 104 - Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations, Measurement unit:

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSAIR

EUSAIR Priority (Policy) area / Horizontal action:

EUSAIR Degree of compliance:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A IPA Croatia - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Montenegro

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2025-12-15

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

37 / 37 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

167 / 167 (100%)

Notes on the data

The end dates of project: - RACE 2 - APOLLO - CODES - SMART STEP are an approximation based on the programme's List of Operations available on the programme's website on 2024 -09-18. There the end date is marked in quarters. Combined total of all projects partnerships (11764705.89) in field total_budget is larger than projects total (1499618.4) of total_budget.

Languages

Contact Form

Improving Coastal Areas Resilience to Climate Change Impacts and setting up Guidelines for Sustainable Beach Stabilization and Management

Description

Thematic information

Partners (6)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Disclaimer