Month: August 2026

The European project will have a space in the exhibition area of the event, which will bring together stakeholders from the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Brussels, 19 August 2026. LIFE COSTAdapta will participate in the Atlantic–WestMED Stakeholder Conference 2026, which will take place on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The event will bring together policymakers, public authorities, researchers, companies, entrepreneurs, investors, organizations, and European projects from the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean basins. The conference aims to strengthen cooperation, share experiences, and create new opportunities in the field of the blue economy.

LIFE COSTAdapta will have a space in the exhibition area

LIFE COSTAdapta has been invited to participate in the conference’s Exhibition Area, a space for projects and organizations to present their initiatives, solutions and results to participants.

The project will share an exhibition space with ONE-BLUE, a European initiative focused on studying emerging pollutants and their effects on aquatic ecosystems and marine biodiversity.

This participation will provide an opportunity to introduce LIFE COSTAdapta to new European stakeholders and showcase its contribution to adapting coastal areas to climate change.

Nature-inspired solutions

LIFE COSTAdapta is developing an innovative methodology to adapt the coast of Gran Canaria to rising sea levels.

The project proposes the design and testing of a progressive Tidal Pool-Reef system, inspired by the traditional tidal pools found in the Canary Islands. This solution combines traditional techniques with advanced solutions to strengthen coastal resilience and support the conservation of marine habitats.

The initiative also incorporates a participatory approach aimed at integrating the needs of the territory and coastal communities into the adaptation process.

A meeting to strengthen cooperation between basins

The Atlantic–WestMED Stakeholder Conference 2026 represents the first major joint conference of the Atlantic and WestMED maritime strategies. The program includes plenary sessions, thematic meetings, project presentations, and networking activities.

Topics addressed at the event will include coastal resilience, climate adaptation, sustainable tourism, decarbonization, and skills related to the blue economy. The conference will also feature a hackathon aimed at developing new ideas for cooperation and exploring future funding opportunities.

LIFE COSTAdapta’s presence will help strengthen the project’s European visibility and establish new contacts with initiatives and organizations working in marine ecosystem protection, climate adaptation, and the blue economy.

About LIFE COSTAdapta

LIFE COSTAdapta is coordinated by the Gran Canaria Island Energy Council (CIEGC), with the support of seven partner organizations, including the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the University of Cantabria, INGECID, Raley Estudios Costeros, ECOncrete AQUA, the Canary Foundation for Recycling and Sustainable Development, and Finnova Foundation. The project has a seven-year duration and is funded by the European Union’s LIFE Program.

Throughout July, a mobile community engagement initiative collected first-hand proposals from local residents and coastal users on the innovative Tidal Pool-Reef system.

The contributions, questions and suggestions gathered during this active listening campaign will now be analysed to provide direct feedback to the local community.

Brussels, 3 August 2026 – The European project LIFE COSTAdapta has concluded its community engagement campaign carried out throughout July in northern Gran Canaria. Through a mobile outreach initiative, the project team met directly with residents and coastal users to explain the project’s technical progress in an accessible way and, above all, to listen to the community’s views first-hand.

The initiative focused on two key locations along the coastline of Santa María de Guía: the neighbourhood of San Felipe and the El Circo surf break, one of the main gathering points for the local surfing community. Through information panels installed on-site, visitors were able to learn about the design of the innovative Tidal Pool-Reef system. Inspired by the traditional intertidal tidal pools of the Canary Islands, this nature-based solution aims to protect the coastline against sea level rise while combining coastal defence with the ecological restoration of marine flora and fauna.

Community participation and active listening

Beyond providing information, the main objective of the mobile outreach initiative was to give the local community a voice through a fully inclusive participation process. The campaign gathered questions, suggestions and feedback from residents, surfers and visitors who regularly use this stretch of coastline.

All the information, concerns and proposals collected during the campaign are currently being analysed by the LIFE COSTAdapta technical team. The results will be used to prepare detailed responses, which will soon be shared directly with the local community. The project consortium emphasises that co-designing adaptation measures with local stakeholders is essential to ensuring that coastal adaptation solutions are both sustainable and respectful of the area’s traditional coastal uses.

About the project

LIFE COSTAdapta has a total budget of €3,337,563, of which €2,002,538 is co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE Programme. The project has a duration of seven years and is coordinated by the Gran Canaria Island Energy Council (Consejo Insular de la Energía de Gran Canaria – CIEGC), part of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria.

The project consortium brings together a multidisciplinary team comprising CIEGC, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), the University of Cantabria (UC), INGECID, RALEY Estudios Costeros S.C.P., ECOncrete AQUA, the Canary Islands Foundation for Recycling and Sustainable Development (Canarias Recicla – FCR), and the Finnova Foundation. For more information, visit: https://costadapta.energiagrancanaria.com/