Last December due to depressions Elsa and Fabien, intense rainfall occurred in the northern and central Portugal. Existing reservoirs and dykes in the main artificialized rivers didn’t avoid large floods leading to the destruction of crops and infrastructures. River Paiva catchment was affected as well.
There is an imperative need to identify effective approaches to deal with increasingly regular floods, that go beyond mitigation measures. For this reason, the contribution of ALICE project in promoting Blue and Green Infrastructure Networks (BGINs) is crucial, since they are capable to simultaneously respond to multiple challenges providing climate resilience, health and well-being, quality of life, among other benefits.
These approaches decrease the need of heavy infrastructures and, on the other hand, promote vegetation natural grow, allowing natural rivers flow and associated wetlands and decrease the danger of peak flows on riverine urban areas.
@PHOTOS by Clube do Paiva and Diana Oliveira, Bar recanto do Paiva
