{"id":3389,"date":"2022-02-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/news\/it-starts-with-engaging-stakeholders-rexus-pilots-advance-by-framing-nexus-challenges\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T15:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T14:36:16","slug":"it-starts-with-engaging-stakeholders-rexus-pilots-advance-by-framing-nexus-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/news\/it-starts-with-engaging-stakeholders-rexus-pilots-advance-by-framing-nexus-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;It starts with engaging stakeholders&#8217;: Rexus pilots advance by framing Nexus challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The REXUS Horizon 2020 project is advancing its 5 pilot demonstration projects in sites across Europe and Latin America. From the outset, REXUS is placing stakeholders centre stage, their input used to define the Nexus challenges and the pilots&#8217; specific goals, according to their needs, aspirations and the parameters of their shared system.<\/p>\n<p>In the Nima river watershed, in Cauca Valley, Colombia, REXUS partner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.etifor.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\">ETIFOR<\/a>, and REXUS local coordinating partner <a href=\"https:\/\/alliancebioversityciat.org\" target=\"_blank\">CIAT<\/a>, met on 11 January 2022 with the Municipality of Palmira, the area of application of the REXUS pilot. ETIFOR is a consultancy company specialised in ecosystem services economic valuation and it is one of the key partners supporting the project\u2019s Work Package on <em>Incorporating nature-based approaches into Nexus Solutions<\/em>. At their meeting with the Environment Secretary of the municipality of Palmira, the REXUS partners presented the REXUS approach and how it can help address the region\u2019s challenges, and most importantly, heard from the local stakeholders about their needs and expectations from the Nima-Cauca pilot.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/2-4-1.png\"><\/p>\n<p><em>REXUS partners ETIFOR and CIAT met with the Environment Secretary of the Municipality of Palmira on 11 January 2022 to discuss Nexus challenges in the REXUS Nima watershed pilot in Colombia.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_1_1643368569777_2394\" class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\">\n<div class=\"sqs-block-content\">\n<p class=\"preFade fadeIn\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap; transition-timing-function: ease; transition-duration: 0.6s; transition-delay: 0.3s;\">The Nima watershed faces a particular Nexus challenge to increase water use efficiency in the intensive sugar cane cropping system, which occupies nearly 40% of the area. It also faces considerable threats for Andean Forest and paramo (alpine tundra ecosystems) areas from intensive livestock breeding in the highlands. To address these threats, REXUS is proposing to explore the use of Nature based Solutions. Potential options for the Nima pilot will be tailored to the Nima watershed area, after being assessed for their technical feasibility and effectiveness, their socioeconomic impacts and their degree of compatibility with the existing policy framework.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"preFade fadeIn\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap; transition-timing-function: ease; transition-duration: 0.6s; transition-delay: 0.312s;\">In the REXUS Pinios pilot, in Greece\u2019s most productive agricultural area, REXUS pilot leader in Greece, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swri.gr\/index.php\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\">Soil and Water Resources Institute<\/a> (SWRI) recently concluded a critical round of face-to-face meetings\u202fwith a large number of local stakeholders. Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 January were devoted to consultations with rural municipal authorities, groups of farmers and farmers&#8217; cooperatives. Nexus challenges are acute in Pinios, where agriculture accounts for more than 90% of water demand, while recently there is increased competition for resources for photovoltaic parks, small hydropower plants, as well as expansion of tourist facilities. SWRI, who have been operating for many years in the region, are extremely well-placed to understand the history and background of Nexus challenges in the region. A very promising sign, which also raises expectations for REXUS, is that stakeholders are already expressing the need to participate in problem definition, as well as their anxiety to resolve long-standing issues.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"preFade fadeIn\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap; transition-timing-function: ease; transition-duration: 0.6s; transition-delay: 0.312s;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/3-3-1.png\" height=\"500\" width=\"891\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"preFade fadeIn\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap; transition-timing-function: ease; transition-duration: 0.6s; transition-delay: 0.312s;\"><em>REXUS partner SWRI meets with local stakeholders in the Pinios pilot, at the heartland of agricultural Greece, which faces intense Nexus challenges.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"preFade fadeIn\" style=\"white-space: pre-wrap; transition-timing-function: ease; transition-duration: 0.6s; transition-delay: 0.312s;\">In all REXUS pilots, stakeholder engagement from the outset is key to aligning the pilot\u2019s goals with the needs and aspirations of stakeholders. Establishing a common frame and language between REXUS and local stakeholders is a prerequisite for achieving impact, and so stakeholders are actively engaged in elaborating on their region\u2019s Nexus challenges from their own perspective. There can be no real pathways for change ahead, unless stakeholders are aware of them from the outset and gradually come to own them and finally apply them as part of their everyday decision-making.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GWP-Med is leading the communication and dissemination component of the Horizon 2020 REXUS project, which is applying innovative engagement and modeling tools to help the shift from Water-Energy-Food Nexus Thinking to Nexus Doing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6108,"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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is leading the communication and dissemination component of the Horizon 2020 REXUS project, which is applying innovative engagement and modeling tools to help the shift from Water-Energy-Food Nexus Thinking to Nexus Doing.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389","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=3389"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5728,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389\/revisions\/5728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}