{"id":3144,"date":"2025-06-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/news\/sponge-measures-to-mitigate-climate-change-gaining-ground-across-europe\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T15:35:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T14:35:48","slug":"sponge-measures-to-mitigate-climate-change-gaining-ground-across-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/news\/sponge-measures-to-mitigate-climate-change-gaining-ground-across-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Sponge measures to mitigate climate change gaining ground across Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The SpongeWorks project is entering a dynamic phase, with recent months bringing visible demonstrations, strong local engagement, and growing interest across Europe.<\/p>\n<p>In Greece, a first-of-its-kind demonstration took place in the Thessaly region, where the TOEV Tavropou irrigation association\u2014supported by SpongeWorks\u2014introduced <strong>strip tillage<\/strong> using a specialized machine never before deployed in the country. The technique promises to reduce crop installation costs by up to two-thirds, and early feedback from farmers points to both curiosity and optimism.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/45y3BQ89spM?si=91Rj9GnEE7pgrutK\" frameborder=\"0\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile in France, SpongeWorks partner SMIVAL shared their upcoming plans for the L\u00e8ze basin. Local farmers and authorities are preparing to implement a diverse set of <strong data-start=\"1417\" data-end=\"1436\">sponge measures<\/strong>, from hedgerow planting and infiltration basins to low-till farming and livestock grazing\u2014all aimed at tackling chronic issues like soil erosion and flooding, worsened by decades of landscape simplification.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/picture3-1-1.jpg\" height=\"431\" width=\"624\"><\/p>\n<p><em>Measures like swales have already been implemented in the L\u00e8ze&nbsp;valley, with good results.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the Netherlands, urban resilience is taking shape in the Vecht basin, where Hardenberg Municipality is launching a <strong>\u201cgreen bicycle route\u201d<\/strong>. The route will integrate depaved surfaces, permeable parking spots, and greenery to boost sponge functioning in the city\u2014offering a more natural experience for cyclists while contributing to SpongeWorks&#8217; landscape-scale goals.<\/p>\n<p>Across the board, efforts are backed by data. Teams in Greece have begun extensive <strong>soil and water sampling<\/strong> to establish a baseline for measuring the long-term impact of sponge interventions.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/picture2-3-1.jpg\" height=\"445\" width=\"624\"><\/p>\n<p><em>The SWRI team collecting water samples from the Thessaly basin.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>And new digital tools, like the <strong data-start=\"2246\" data-end=\"2262\">Aquality app<\/strong> for nitrate testing, are making it easier for citizens to engage directly with the science.<\/p>\n<p>These developments were featured in the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/5877ec3fc130\/the-sponge-is-spreading-9195297?e=ed6f7bad31\" target=\"_blank\">SpongeWorks newsletter, <\/a>curated by <strong>GWP-Med<\/strong>, the project partner leading communication and dissemination. GWP-Med works closely with all implementing partners to ensure that progress on the ground translates into shared knowledge, policy dialogue, and public awareness.<\/p>\n<p>The momentum continues to grow: SpongeWorks will soon welcome <strong>eight new Associated Regions<\/strong>, selected from over 70 applicants, who will join the network and bring sponge measures to new local contexts across Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From agricultural fields in Thessaly to the urban streets of the Netherlands, Nature-based Solutions for water retention are gaining ground. As the partner leading Communication &#038; Dissemination for the EU-funded SpongeWorks project, GWP-Med is documenting and disseminating the latest developments taking shape across its demonstration sites in Greece, France, the Netherlands &#038; Germany, and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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agricultural fields in Thessaly to the urban streets of the Netherlands, Nature-based Solutions for water retention are gaining ground. As the partner leading Communication & Dissemination for the EU-funded SpongeWorks project, GWP-Med is documenting and disseminating the latest developments taking shape across its demonstration sites in Greece, France, the Netherlands & Germany, and beyond.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3144"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5576,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions\/5576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}