Completed pilot projects

WATER SUSTAINABILITY AUDIT TOOL- P2O PROJECT

This project aimed to support farmers achieve a better on-farm water management, in terms of both qualitative and quantitive usage. The project piloted the European Water Stewardship standard.

Please check out the project summary and final report.

The Coastal Bay Design in Norfolk, England.

This research pilot project aim is to stabilise an eroding beach for 21 km and protect 7 villages from flooding and/or erosion with a population of some 4,500 people together with several historic buildings, 4,200 ha farmland and fresh water habitat including Natura 2000 sites.

This research is ongoing and an implementation report can be consulted here.

Following the publication of this report, Lucinda Deneys from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs explained the benefits of private funding for local flood defences such as this one. "There is much to learn from the way that Internal Drainage Boards can directly levy the beneficiaries of their services. The Environment Agency has been increasingly encouraging local contributions towards the costs of new or improved flood defences that will benefit communities and local businesses. Such contributions mean that public funding can be spread more widely so that more parts of the country can benefit. It also means that communities and local businesses have more of a say in what happens in their area, and obviously reflect the significant private benefits that follow from defences being built.

The Cereal Steppes of rivers Jarama and Henares, north of Madrid.

This innovative management project is the result of the framework agreement between the Community of Madrid and the forestry engineering department of Polytechnic University of Madrid and a collaboration agreement between these departments and the private company PROCOSANZ ÁRI DOS S.A. RISE provided additional funding.

The aim of the project was to research the use of the “Lodos Secos” system, a new sludge treatment process for rural land reclamation. The system improves the composition of agricultural soil by treating different types of sludge (from quarries, mining, construction, phosphate industries, sugar refining) and consists in separating the solid and liquid phases of sludge management. This was done with 80-90% water saving and minor maintenance costs compared to currently available systems. Moreover, the project has set in motion a series of actions for steppe species’ habitat improvement, specifically the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) in that zone of Madrid. It continues monitoring the actions and its influence on the bustard’s population.

In other words the main objectives were to improve the quality of arable lands through the use of sludge recovered from dry sludge treatments; to establish an adequate management of the territory and to start actions led to improve natural habitats. As such, this project is a model of sustainable development for Madrid’s agrosystem. Please access the final report here. For more information, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .