Month: June 2026

• Researcher Patricia del Mar Caro (ULPGC) represented the consortium last Wednesday, June 10^th, at the roundtable held at the CIMM
• The meeting gathered experts to identify regulatory bottlenecks and propose legal frameworks that streamline coastal innovation

Monday, 22 June 2026, Gran Canaria. LIFE COSTAdapta participated in the second roundtable of the “Permitting Challenges & Opportunities” series organized by PHAROS, held on 10 June at the Centro de Innovación Marino Marítima (CIMM). The event provided a space for dialogue bringing together representatives of European blue economy projects to analyze the main regulatory and administrative barriers affecting the implementation of innovative initiatives in marine and coastal environments.

Representing the project, Patricia del Mar Caro, climate adaptation specialist at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), presented the work developed by LIFE COSTAdapta to improve the resilience of island coastlines against sea level rise and coastal erosion.

Coastal adaptation facing administrative challenges

The session highlighted a shared reality among many European projects: difficulties arising from authorization processes, fragmented responsibilities across public administrations, and the complexity of procedures required to deploy innovative solutions.

During her intervention, Patricia del Mar Caro emphasized the role of LIFE COSTAdapta as a nature-based coastal adaptation demonstrator project. Its goal is to develop solutions inspired by traditional natural seawater pools in the Canary Islands to protect coastlines from climate change impacts, while also promoting environmental restoration and biodiversity conservation.

She also shared the project’s experience in implementing pilot actions in highly vulnerable coastal areas, stressing the importance of regulatory frameworks that allow faster validation and deployment of innovative solutions.

A European debate to boost blue innovation

The roundtable also included contributions from DesaLIFE (Ocean Oasis), Ocean Gardens (MacroCarbon), and the Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias (ITC), each offering different perspectives on marine innovation, water management, sustainability, and the blue economy.

The conclusions of the meeting showed that many innovative projects are not primarily limited by technical or scientific constraints, but rather by the complexity of administrative procedures. Key recommendations included identifying required permits early in the process, improving coordination between responsible authorities, adapting regulatory requirements to pilot project scales, and promoting mechanisms that facilitate experimentation and innovation in the marine sector.

The outcomes of this session will contribute to a policy recommendations document led by PHAROS, aimed at providing public administrations with concrete proposals to improve authorization systems and accelerate the deployment of innovative solutions in the blue economy.

About the project

LIFE COSTAdapta has a budget of €3.4 million and is co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE Programme. The project consortium includes the Insular Energy Council of Gran Canaria, the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Universidad de Cantabria, Ingecid, RALEY, ECOncrete, the Canary Islands Sustainable Development Foundation Canarias Recicla, and the Finnova Foundation.

Its objective is to develop an innovative coastal adaptation solution inspired by traditional natural seawater pools in the Canary Islands, combining coastal protection, environmental restoration, and biodiversity conservation.

More information: https://lifecostadapta.com/

On World Oceans Day, the project highlights its commitment to the protection and adaptation of coastal areas.

Pilar Santamaría represented the consortium at the preparatory meeting for the European Week of Regions and Cities 2026, coinciding with World Environment Day.

Monday, 8 June, Brussels. LIFE COSTAdapta has reinforced its European dimension following the participation of Pilar Santamaría, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Finnova, in the preparatory meeting for the European Week of Regions and Cities 2026, held on Friday, 5 June, in Brussels.

The attendance of Finnova’s representative, on behalf of the entire consortium, helped advance preparations for the project’s official participation in this major European event, which will take place next October. This important milestone comes during a significant institutional week marked by the coincidence of World Environment Day (5 June) and World Oceans Day (8 June). These two international observances underscore the importance of the actions promoted by LIFE COSTAdapta to improve coastal resilience through Nature-Based Solutions.

Coordinated by the Gran Canaria Island Energy Council (Consejo Insular de la Energía de Gran Canaria), LIFE COSTAdapta brings together scientific, technical, and communication partners committed to developing innovative solutions for adapting coastlines to sea-level rise.

Towards EURegionsWeek 2026

The European Week of Regions and Cities is one of the European Union’s leading forums dedicated to regional development and territorial cohesion. In this context, participation in the preparatory meeting provided an opportunity to contribute to the planning of the next edition of the event and to strengthen LIFE COSTAdapta’s visibility at the European level.

In addition, Pilar Santamaría, Head of Communications and Institutional Relations at Finnova Foundation, carried out networking activities on behalf of the consortium with EURegionsWeek organisers and representatives of the European Commission, including Alexander Ferstl and Klavdija Černilogar, Head of Unit at the European Commission. These meetings provided an opportunity to explore potential collaborations and present the project’s objectives and progress to key European stakeholders.

From the Environment to the Oceans: Protecting Coastlines to Protect the Future

The objectives of LIFE COSTAdapta are fully aligned with the global commitment promoted by the United Nations. The project works to develop solutions capable of reducing the impacts of climate change while simultaneously contributing to the conservation of marine ecosystems and the protection of the communities that depend on them.

On a day dedicated to recognising the fundamental role of the oceans in climate regulation, LIFE COSTAdapta highlights the urgent need to act in coastal areas, which are among the most vulnerable environments facing sea-level rise and extreme weather events. Through an innovative infrastructure inspired by the traditional Canary Islands tidal pools (“charcos de marea”), the project seeks to combine coastal protection, environmental regeneration, and climate adaptation, creating a hybrid model that can be replicated in other European territories.

About LIFE COSTAdapta

LIFE COSTAdapta is co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE Programme and has a total budget of €3,409,864. The project is coordinated by the Gran Canaria Island Energy Council and involves the participation of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the University of Cantabria, INGECID, Raley Coastal Studies, ECOncrete AQUA, the Canary Islands Foundation for Recycling and Sustainable Development, and Finnova Foundation.

With a duration of seven years, the initiative is working to develop innovative nature-based coastal adaptation solutions that can be replicated across other European regions.

More information: https://costadapta.energiagrancanaria.com/

• LIFE COSTAdapta will feature an official stand at the Networking Village of the 2026 Macro-regional & Sea Basin Strategies Days
• Finnova will participate in Brussels with the European projects LIFE COSTAdapta and One Blue
• Juanma Revuelta, CEO of Finnova, and Pilar Santamaría, Director of Communication and International Relations at Finnova, will attend the event on behalf of the project

Brussels, Monday 6 June 2026. The European project LIFE COSTAdapta will participate with an official stand at the Networking Village of the 2026 Macro-regional & Sea Basin Strategies Days, one of the leading European events focused on maritime cooperation, macro-regional strategies, territorial sustainability and governance, organised by the European Commission through the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE). The event will take place on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 July at the SQUARE Brussels Meeting Centre in Brussels.

The European Commission has officially confirmed the allocation of the exhibition space to LIFE COSTAdapta, which will be represented by Juanma Revuelta, CEO of the Finnova Foundation, and Pilar Santamaría, Director of Communication and International Relations at Finnova. The stand will be active during the Networking Village and the institutional activities scheduled between 17:00 and 22:00 on Wednesday 8 July, as part of a programme that will include working sessions, strategic meetings and an official dinner organised by the European Commission.

In addition, Finnova will share exhibition space with the European project One Blue, an initiative focused on protecting marine ecosystems and promoting a sustainable blue economy in Europe, thereby strengthening European synergies between climate innovation, coastal resilience and maritime sustainability.

Brussels brings together Europe’s leading maritime and macro-regional strategies

The Macro-regional & Sea Basin Strategies Days celebrate their third consecutive edition in 2026 as one of the main European forums dedicated to territorial, maritime and regional cooperation. Over the course of two days, representatives from the eight European macro-regional and maritime strategies — Alpine, Danube, Adriatic-Ionian, Baltic Sea, Atlantic, WestMED, Black Sea and Greater North Sea — will share projects, experiences and innovative solutions linked to sustainability, territorial cohesion and climate resilience.

The participation of LIFE COSTAdapta represents important European recognition of the work carried out by the project consortium in the field of nature-based adaptation and the protection of coastal areas against climate change. The exhibition space will provide an opportunity to showcase the solutions developed in Gran Canaria to institutional representatives, policymakers, experts, researchers and European organisations involved in climate action and coastal governance.

Finnova strengthens the project’s European dimension

The Finnova Foundation, the entity responsible for the communication and dissemination of LIFE COSTAdapta, will coordinate the institutional participation and networking activities planned during the event. The presence of Juanma Revuelta and Pilar Santamaría will reinforce the project’s European visibility, foster new opportunities for international cooperation and help build strategic alliances with key stakeholders from the European maritime, climate and territorial sectors.

In addition to the exhibition area, the event will feature high-level sessions on maritime cooperation, regional innovation, territorial sustainability and multilevel governance, consolidating its position as one of the leading European platforms for dialogue on maritime and macro-regional strategies.

LIFE COSTAdapta has a total budget of €3,337,563 and is co-funded by the European Union through the LIFE Programme. The project is coordinated by the Gran Canaria Island Energy Council and includes the participation of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), the University of Cantabria, INGECID, Raley Coastal Studies, ECOncrete AQUA, the Canary Foundation for Recycling and Sustainable Development, and the Finnova Foundation.

More information: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/whats-new/conferences/EU-strategies-days-2026_en