Blue and Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities
Climate change adaptation is one of the greatest challenges that EU regional and local authorities will face in the 21st century. We cannot address climate change without addressing biodiversity loss since healthy ecosystems will be able to better maintain the supply of ecosystem services on which our prosperity and wellbeing depend. Ecosystem-based approaches should, therefore, be an integral part of the overall climate change adaptation and mitigation effort. It is in this context that Nature Connect City will focus on improving policies that promote the value of green and blue infrastructure (GBI) as an integral part of local or regional climate change adaptation strategies that are relevant to any European region.

In this regard, the project will: 

1. Assess current Policy instruments and explore/evaluate the potential barriers to, and drivers for, adopting GBI for climate change adaptation in the participating cities/regions. 
2. Improve GBI strategies for climate change adaptation for each participating city/region, including an assessment of climate change vulnerabilities and mapping of existing GBI provision, in order to create functional ecological connectivity between cities and peri-urban protected areas (PUPAs).
The overall objective of the Nature Connect City is to improve policies that promote the value of green and blue infrastructure (GBI) as an integral part of local or regional climate change adaptation strategies. 

How will this be achieved? The project will increase individual, organizational, stakeholder and external knowledge of the concept of ecosystem services and of the value of GBI through project events, workshops and training. This will be done through interregional Policy learning process and collaboration in finding common solutions to common challenges posed by climate change adaptation, and by sharing experience and exchanging good practices.