Pau, in France, and Braga, a captivating city in Portugal, each bring their own unique charm and challenges to this twinning on adaptation. Pau, with its green initiatives, aims to promote local agriculture and environmentally-friendly projects. As for Braga, Portugal's wettest city, it faces the complex balancing act of water management in the face of climate change.
In our last podcast episode on Adaptation, we talked to Mélanie Pedeutour, Carbon Neutrality Project Manager at Pau Béarn Pyrénées and Cristina Costa, Environmental Education Technician at the City of Braga about their experiences as part of the Covenant of Mayors twinning program, visiting their respective cities to gather good ideas on adaptation, from urban farming to community ownership.
Twinning for Climate resilience: sharing experiences across borders
The twinning program between Pau and Braga has proved invaluable for both cities. It has facilitated the exchange of knowledge and experiences, forging a connection that transcends geographical boundaries.
Pau and Braga had the opportunity to discover how both municipalities are tackling climate change and implementing adaptation measures. Mélanie, from Pau, was inspired by Braga's approach to involving citizens in the preservation of its river. From Pau's perspective, this is one of the most fascinating aspects of Braga, the way the city harnesses the power of its river to involve citizens in preserving their environment. Citizens actively care for their riverbanks, monitoring water quality, flow and biodiversity. Inspired by this approach, Pau is eager to implement similar strategies to involve its own citizens in environmental projects.
However, for Cristina, originally from Braga, it was Pau's commitment to green initiatives that left a lasting impression. Cristina was particularly impressed by Pau's commitment to environmentally-friendly projects, especially vegetable gardens. Pau has launched major initiatives such as "Ceinture Verte", a national project that promotes local agriculture in collaboration with various stakeholders. This approach encouraged Braga to consider similar initiatives in Portual
Teaming up to adapt
The twinning programme has provided Braga and Pau with a unique opportunity to connect, share experiences, and learn from each other. This exchange of knowledge, as expressed by Cristina, reflects the essence of the Covenant's 2-year pilot programme on Adaptation, which offer diverse perspectives and fresh ideas for city development. Pau, in its journey towards climate adaptation planning, seeks to incorporate Braga's insights and benchmarks into its own strategy, emphasising the importance of learning and collaboration between cities.
Tune into our podcast for more!
Listen to the full podcast episode to discover how Pau and Braga learned from each other’s during this twinning programme, and how the two municipalities will implement adaptation to face climate change.
Leírás
- Közzététel dátuma
- 12 October 2023