MedINA and the General Secretariat for Aegean and Island Policy (GSINP) of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Island Policy (MINEP) are co-organizing a workshop on the use of traditional practices as Nature-Based Solutions (NbS), aiming at the integrated management of water resources in the Aegean islands. The workshop will take place on 9 March 2026 at the Eugenides Foundation.
The construction of stone terraces in ephemeral island streams is a traditional practice whose roots go back to antiquity. Nowadays, its reintroduction as a traditional technique has multiple benefits; from creating biodiversity hotbeds and flood mitigation to enriching the aquifer and using them to enhance crops.
The workshop aims to promote a targeted and structured dialogue between public policy makers and Public Administration, the scientific community, civil society organisations and professionals in the field, with the aim of transforming the traditional technique of stone terraces into a feasible, evidence-based and funded public policy.
The aim is to establish minimum specifications and the incorporation of Nature-based Solutions in the Technical Programmes of the island local authorities, with the prospect of creating a pilot project funding programme through the Sectoral Development Programme of the Ministry of National Development and the General Secretariat for National Development for the period 2026-2030.
Thematic axes of the workshop:
- The role of stone terraces in the management of water resources and the enhancement of ecosystem services
- Traditional practices and modern zoning tools: specifications for good construction
- Good practices and applied examples from the Aegean islands
- Institutional and policy framework: protection, recognition and integration into policies and financial instruments
See here the analytical program.
The workshop is expected to contribute to the documentation of the environmental and social benefits that stone terraces can have, as well as to the dissemination of good practices from the Aegean islands, enhancing institutional readiness for the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions (NbS).
To attend the conference, please make the Registration your here.
The conference is taking place in the framework of the project “Mediterranean REsilient inSular Ephemeral sTreams (Med-RESET)”, which takes place with the support of DIMFE - Donors’ Initiative for Mediterranean Freshwater Ecosystems and co-financed by the Municipality of Ieon. The project is coordinated by MedINA and implemented in collaboration with the Boulouki, the Save Ios and the WWF Hellas.
