TiCCA4DANU at the EUSDR Workshop on Climate Change, Agriculture & Water – Strengthening Networks for Transformative Innovation in the Danube Region

© EUSDR Workshop on Climate Change, Agriculture & Water 

On 4 December 2025,  as a project awarded the Flagship Status by the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), TiCCA4DANU had the opportunity to participate in the online workshop “Climate Change: Challenges in Agriculture and Water Sectors”, organised under the EUSDR, Priority Area 4 – Water Quality.

The workshop gathered experts from agriculture, water management, research institutions, and public authorities across the Danube Region to discuss one of the most pressing cross-sectoral issues of our time: How climate change is reshaping water availability, food systems, and regional resilience.

Key insights

Several presentations illustrated the growing impacts of climate change across Europe — including increasing droughts, worsening water stress, and rising risks to agricultural productivity. Maps and projections shared during the workshop made it clear that water scarcity is becoming a structural challenge that requires coordinated action and long-term planning.

The workshop underlined several essential messages:

• Access to clean and affordable water is a human right.
• Consumers have an essential role to play in water resilience.
• Urban and spatial planning are key elements in guaranteeing water availability.
• Pricing policies need to create the right incentives for sustainable water use.
• Stronger awareness is critical for behavioural change.
• Enforcement of legislation must be improved across the region.
• Transboundary cooperation remains crucial for water security.
• All relevant actors need to be involved, from public authorities to civil society.
• Water-smart spatial planning should guide the green and digital transition.
• Research, innovation and training — including the Water Resilience R&D Strategy, the European Water Academy, and involvement of EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities — will play a key role in future adaptation efforts.

The roadmap ahead includes:

Why this workshop matters for TiCCA4DANU

Participation in today’s workshop was highly valuable for TiCCA4DANU because it:

✔ strengthens our network across the Danube Region,
✔ supports deeper engagement with actors interested in Transformative Innovation Policies,
✔ helps us follow policy developments and scientific insights relevant to climate adaptation and system-level transitions,
✔ and aligns with our project’s goal of fostering collaborative, mission-oriented innovation approaches.

The discussions confirmed once again that transformative challenges — especially those involving climate, agriculture, and water — cannot be solved in isolation. They require broad cooperation, shared learning, and coordinated action across institutions, sectors, and borders.

This is precisely the spirit in which TiCCA4DANU operates, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue with EUSDR stakeholders, in particular, colleagues from Priority Area 4 – Water Quality as well as Priority Area 5 – Environmental Risks and Priority Area 7 – Knowledge Society and exploring new cooperation opportunities with partners throughout the region.

© EUSDR Workshop on Climate Change, Agriculture & Water