Work package WP1 – Project management, coordination and communication: provides the organizational infrastructure and management of the project, necessary to operate the project and to perform all administrative, financial and operational tasks, directly related to the coordination of the project.

Work package WP2 – Science to Cities: knowledge transfer for applying nature-based and smart solutions for urban pluvial flood resilience: supports cities implementing flood resilience solutions, by transferring the existing knowledge on state-of-the-art tools and validated proofs of concepts to the cities. It includes Task 2.1 Designing composition of high-potential plant communities – native rain garden ecosystems – for urban flood resilience; Task 2.2 Providing design consultations of passive and active measures for partner municipalities; Task 2.3 Development of integrated decision support system for flood resilient NBS design; Task 2.4 Identifying and testing novel sensing techniques to monitor NBS performance.

Work package WP3 – Setting up a demonstration portfolio of smart & nature-based flood resilience solutions in cities: Nature-based solutions (NBS) will be developed and tested at 8 demonstration sites that will protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems in local governments of Estonia (Viimsi, Haapsalu, Rakvere, Võru, Narva) and Latvia (Riga, Valmiera, Cesis). It will integrate innovative tools and solutions (developed WP2), incl. standardised design criteria for plant selection for flood resilience, digital decision support system (DSS), etc. The technical design of new NBS at 8 demonstration sites will be prepared that will use the results of assessment of suitability of different NBS within identified problem areas (prepared in WP4) as an input. This will result into a report / portfolio on NBS development practice overview from demonstration sites showcasing to other municipalities and for providing input to transfer of results/replication on best practises.

Work package WP4 – Mainstreaming of the nature-based solutions in urban climate resilient planning: aims at operationalising and mainstreaming green infrastructure (GI) and nature-based solutions (NBS) in local urban municipal planning for improving climate resilience of the cities and well-being of citizens. Suitability of different NBS (developed by WP2 and WP3) for improving climate resilience of the cities will be assessed within three demo municipalities in Latvia, identifying locations where implementation of such measures would be the most effective. Maintenance and improvement of urban GI for increasing cities’ climate resilience will be ensured by Urban Greening Plans for Riga, Valmiera and Cēsis and maintenance protocol for the established NBS in participating municipalities.

Work package WP5 – Monitoring and validation: Monitoring of water quality will be carried out in the demonstration sites to assess the impact of NBSs on improvement of water quality. Water quality samples will be taken in similar conditions before and after interventions to measure the impact of NBSs. In order to assess the performance of the demonstration sites for flood prevention, relationship between precipitation, runoff and flooding needs to established. Therefore, in all demonstration sites, rain gauges and flow/level sensors will be installed. For monitoring of NBS implemented in pilot municipalities in Latvia (Riga, Cesis, Valmiera), input data will be used from WP4, mapping and assessment of green spaces and heat island effect. In addition, within this task, the socio-economic effects of implemented nature-based solutions in demonstration sites will be evaluated.

Work package WP6 – Raising awareness on adaptation to climate change effects and thriving co-creation of the nature-based solutions with the local communities of partner municipalities: focuses on involvement and raising awareness of local communities in the partner municipalities on the climate change and related problems in urban environments as well as on sustainable and nature-based solutions for those problems. To ensure the successful implementation of the planned pilot activities within the project as well as the continuation/replication of sustainable solutions in other areas after the project, the understanding, acceptance and support of local people is essential. Furthermore, involvement of local communities in mapping of climate-related problems and co-creation of solutions enables to include local knowledge in planning climate change adaptation measures.

Work package WP7 – Sustainability, replication and exploitation of project results: will support the implementation and enforcement of the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and also, the European Climate Pact, EU Biodiversity Strategy and New European Bauhaus initiative on the local, regional, national and BSR level. To reach wider range of target groups, the project results and the knowledge on benefits of using nature-based solutions will be disseminated using traditional media through beneficiaries’ networks, project meetings, workshops, seminars, newsletters on local, regional, national and international levels, as well as innovative solutions. To ensure the further exploitation of the project benefits and deliverables to develop NBS the Integrated guidelines for planning and management of nature-based solutions will be developed on the basis of WP2, WP3, WP4, WP5, WP6.