<< Objectives >>The main objective is to identify good practices and technologies related to rural activities, in order to raise awareness on sustainable management in agriculture, livestock and forestry activities, so that through an adequate use of natural resources, sustainable rural tourism is promoted, social, economic and environmental benefits are obtained to improve the infrastructure of services, stop depopulation and adaptation to climate change of the rural activities.<< Implementation >>Kick-off meeting. Assessment of the state of the artWorkshops:• Analysis of the environment of key aspects of rural economic activities, which develop rural tourism initiatives and potential.• Analysis of successful initiatives (also Digital) in rural tourism, identification of training needs and potential KA2 with future Intellectual outputs.Guide to good practices and results.Communication and dissemination.Share experiences and training to new organizations in the management of Erasmus+<< Results >>The main result of the project will be the identification of good practices of sustainable rural tourism related to agriculture, extensive livestock farming and other natural values, analysing the degree of existing digitalisation and the characterisation of the demand and supply of rural tourism, It will allow the identification of scenarios and will subsequently contribute to the design of proposals, initiatives and/or technological tools for their implementation in this field.

As climate disruptions become more frequent and intense, the resilience of Europe's infrastructure is crucial as it supports economic flows, human well-being, and social stability throughout the continent. However, this challenge provides a historic opportunity to revolutionise infrastructure by integrating it with nature. Hence, NATURE-DEMO creates, validates, and spreads nature-based solutions (NbS) for protecting infrastructure against climate threats. It covers critical sectors (e.g. transport and energy) and engages an alliance of infrastructure owners, scientists from industry and academia, and public authorities. NATURE-DEMO aims to shift decision management from reactive measures to proactively designing holistic systems that are resilient by design through four actions: Create, Validate, Scale, and Sustain. NATURE-DEMO will Create an advanced digital decision support platform that will integrate climate projections, asset exposure, NbS catalogue portfolios, and advanced simulations to optimise the efficiency of selected NbS implementations to enhance resilience and deliver co-benefits. NATURE-DEMO will Validate its methodology with real-world demonstrations of optimised NbS across 5 sites in the Alpine Biogeographic region. Successful NbS will then be Scaled as replicators in +4 other sites in the Alpine and other Biogeographic regions. NATURE-DEMO will Sustain its solutions beyond its timeframe by focusing on exploitation pathways that include tailored guidelines that disseminate NbS knowledge across infrastructure professions, a Task-Force available to provide technical expertise, and a financial observatory for NbS funds. By pioneering a scalable, digitally-enabled and validated framework for implementing NbS, NATURE-DEMO will help realise the EU’s vision for a climate-resilient and sustainable economy optimised for the realities and demands of the 21st century - a vision for posterity.

Restoring and protecting natural and semi-natural forest ecosystems can play a vital role in creating climate-neutral and sustainable societies. Using advanced technologies and methodologies, FORbEST will devise solutions that improve forest function and harness the potential for healthy forested ecosystems as a means of achieving EU biodiversity and climate objectives. We will work with management and conservation practices across five key EU biogeographical regions and one non-EU tropical region, to understand the impact of past and current governance and create shared roadmaps toward sustainable futures. Using a strong complement of technologies including advanced remote sensing, artificial intelligence, citizen science, participatory action research and ecoacoustic methods, we will unlock powerful, comprehensive monitoring regimes of forest habitats, which will enable a better understanding of their resilience and functionality. FORbBEST understands and embraces the complex nature of the socio-ecological systems that characterize forested landscapes. Integrated socio-ecological modelling will enable us to identify win-win forest management practices that support forest protection and restoration, and community co-migration. Our research is grounded in a transdisciplinary approach, using participatory Living Labs to steer our engaged, knowledge-intensive research workshops across the project. These platforms will empower diverse local stakeholders to collectively imagine, iterate, and co-design new paths and best practices for forest management. Robust stakeholder engagement will disseminate tailor-made information on project results, which will, for example, encourage better forest protection and restoration via economic incentives and legal mechanisms. FORbEST will therefore achieve multiple objectives, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, economic diversification, and citizen empowerment across multiple spatial scales.