LIFE COSTAdapta presented its Tidal Pool-Reef solution in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and explored new synergies to advance coastal resilience
Brussels, 17 September 2026. The European project LIFE COSTAdapta participated on Tuesday, 15 September, and Wednesday, 16 September, in the Atlantic–WestMED Stakeholder Conference 2026, held in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The event brought together representatives from public institutions, research organisations, companies, investors, organisations and European projects working in the fields of sustainability and the blue economy.
Throughout the two-day event, LIFE COSTAdapta had its own stand in the exhibition area, where it presented the project’s progress and showcased its approach to adapting coastal areas to climate change. Rocío Armada Gallego, Project Officer at Fundación Finnova, represented the project and took part in the networking activities held during the event.
The stand also featured Patricia del Mar Caro Ruiz, LIFE COSTAdapta’s Technical Coordinator and researcher at the University Institute of Oceanography and Global Change (IOCAG) of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), and Nareme Herrera López, researcher and geographer at the University of Cantabria. Their participation helped bring the project’s scientific and technical dimension closer to visitors and provided an opportunity to share information on the diagnostic and adaptation work being carried out in Gran Canaria.
One of the main elements presented was the Tidal Pool-Reef system, a solution inspired by the Canary Islands’ tradition of building tidal pools. The project aims to develop and test this methodology as a gradual solution to contribute to the adaptation of Gran Canaria’s coastline to sea-level rise, combining coastal protection with biodiversity conservation.
The conference also provided LIFE COSTAdapta with an opportunity to exchange experiences and explore new collaboration opportunities with stakeholders from the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean regions. In this context, the project shared exhibition space with ONE-BLUE, fostering dialogue between European initiatives focused on the protection of marine ecosystems and the development of a sustainable blue economy.
The participation also contributed to strengthening the project’s European dimension and establishing contacts with representatives of cooperation programmes and initiatives. Meetings held during the event included Vincent Ernoux, Coordinator of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme Branch Office for the Western Mediterranean, and Axel Rodríguez Garrote, Project and Programme Development Officer at the Interreg MED Programme.
About LIFE COSTAdapta
LIFE COSTAdapta is a seven-year European project coordinated by the Gran Canaria Island Energy Council (CIEGC). Its objective is to develop and test an innovative and gradual Tidal Pool-Reef system to adapt Gran Canaria’s coastline to climate change and sea-level rise. The project has a total budget of €3,337,563, of which €2,002,538 is co-financed by the European Union through the LIFE Programme. Its consortium comprises CIEGC, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), the University of Cantabria, INGECID, Raley Estudios Costeros, ECOncrete AQUA, Fundación Canaria para el Reciclaje y Desarrollo Sostenible (FCR), and Fundación Finnova.