TRANSCEND (Transformational and Robust Adaptation to Water Scarcity and Climate Change under Deep Uncertainty) is a Horizon Europe research project that identifies ways of managing water when its availability is low, and the uncertainty of cascading effects is high.
The frequency, magnitude, and especially the cascading effects of scarcity and climate change on water management are often hard to estimate because there are many variables and effects that hinder planning. Conventional decision-making methods and policies are less useful to deal with such (deep) uncertainty.
The objective of TRANSCEND is to identify and catalyze the adoption of Transformational Adaptation Policies (TAP) to water scarcity, including innovative water allocation systems and economic instruments, that are robust and flexible to uncertainty and change, while simultaneously achieving equitable and sustainable economic growth and welfare. The project builds on three interactive pillars:
- a knowledge network for stakeholder engagement and knowledge sharing
- an actionable modeling suite that integrates interdisciplinary socio-ecological science and ensemble forecasting to guide TAP design
- an accounting and monitoring toolbox that supports the implementation and enforcement of TAP in practice.
A multidisciplinary consortium of 25 partners coordinated by the University of Salamanca will learn, research and contribute to ways of transforming water management policies over the course of 4 years. The team of Fresh Thoughts is mostly involved with activities related to knowledge sharing and governance (WP1 NETWORKS) and governance & policy mechanisms and opportunities for TAP adoption; synthesis and upscaling of key results and recommendations (WP5 KNOWLEDGE FOR POLICY). TRANSCEND is supported by the Horizon Europe program funded by the European Commission.