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It establishes a series of co-ordinated actions directed in particular to water resources agents and users to endow Madeira, Canaries and Cape Verde with the tools necessary to ensure resilience and prevent situations of natural risk associated with droughts. The actions defined aim to be synergic between them and are based on ambitious actions of awareness, information and qualification towards the population with emphasis on certain collectives, such as education and agriculture, to achieve their active participation in crisis situations. Furthermore, they undertake technological actions in treatment systems, study, network monitorisation and experimentation on plots showing their adaptation capacity to climate change via reuse, efficient irrigation, contamination prevention and reduction, overcoming: regulatory, social, economic and technological barriers. All the actions of the objectives are inter-related and executed co-operatively comprising the different stages. During the first development stage they will be organised and the different tools to be used designed: contents of awareness and training material; specification of App information systems for farmers; design of actions in systems associated with resilient Eco-zones; online deployment of monitorisation network on grids; design of follow-up plans and desin of demonstrative irrigation plots and study plans. Stage two will be execution of the design establishing synergies among the actions; and in stage three carry out experimentation, technical follow-up and obtaining results. These will be assessed jointly to ensure their feasibility beyond the project with instruments to foster resilience and manage water demand during droughts.
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The ‘BIOSOST – BLUE BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIAL-TECHNOLOGICAL DEVEOPMENT AREA WITHIN A SUSTAINABILITY AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY FRAMEWORK’ Projects is part of the BIOASIS Platform common strategy, whose specific purpose is to create a hub which boosts and facilitates development of the Blue Biotechnology sector in the Canaries. This project covers mulitple aspects aimed at identifying and driving excellence projects and offering different technological services covering the needs of emerging companies and/or those wishing to diversity and develop new research lines. The activity performed by the chosen operation is explicitly planned in the Canaries 2014-2020 Intelligent Specialisation Strategy (RIS3) under priority 3 (Socio-economic assessment of R+D, specialisation and strengthening in astrophysics and space, marine-maritime sciences, biotechnology and biomedicine associated with biodiversity and tropical diseases), since it fits in with Canaries as an international reference in the marine area of science and technology and biodiversity; and under priority 5 (Green growth and sustainability: a. Low carbon economy, industrial development and energy efficiency; b. Eco-innovation, agriculture, fishing and environment protection; c. Bioeconomy based on Canary biodiversity; and d- Canaries the natural laboratory), the operation fits as the Canaries is a reference in sustainable development and starting to stand out in circular economy (particularly linked to low carbon economy, eco-innovation and Bioeconomy associated with biodiversity). Furthermore, as an added value BIOSOST will enable immediate implantation of companies (regional, national and international), resulting in the generation of investment and skilled employment.
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The extraordinary beauty, cultural wealth and great diversity of Macaronesia and West African coastal areas, have endowed them with importance or potential where appropriate as a holiday destination. Hence coastal and maritime tourism is an important development hub. The coastal and maritime tourist sector is part of the EU ‘blue growth’ strategy and has been defined as an area of particular potential to boost an intelligent, integrative and sustainable Europe. On our Canary coasts, there are places with great tourist potential where the focus on tourist activities should favour sustainability, preservation, and appreciation of the environment (natural and cultural) which receives visitors and creates awareness, would encourage better use of resources, giving them a value besides favouring their preservation and knowledge. This kind of tourist activity is known as eco-tourism, and is beginning to gain importance despite the as yet insufficient diffusion, to become a dynamizing activity of the coastal areas and is environment friendly, evidencing the attractiveness of cultural and natural heritages of the areas where implemented. Through this initiative ECOTOUR seeks to encourage ecotourism as an economic activity, carefully planned and implemented with the capacity to contribute to the preservation of ecosystems and maintenance of the environmental services these generate likewise contributing to the financial sustainability of these areas and the population which inhabits many of them. Ecotourism consists of visits to relatively unaltered geographical areas to enjoy and appreciate their cultural or natural attractions via a process which fosters preservation, has a low environmental impact and the activities adapt to the characteristics of each place. Thus, to adapt it to the idiosyncrasies and needs of each location, an analysis of the areas is required in each of the participating regions, for the subsequent promotion of different ecotourist activities according to the previously identified characteristics and involvement of local agents. The ECOTOUR project aim is to place value on the cultural and natural heritage of our coastal areas, in those areas protected by the Canaries, Azores, Cape Verde, Mauritania and Senegal, by promoting ecotourism activities. This initiative led by the Gran Canaria Council, with ITC being one of the 10 project partners, will work to achieve the expected results around 3 main hubs, which include the study of the heritage of these protected coastal areas chosen to analyse their weaknesses, strengths and competences in the face of the possible development of sustainable environment friendly tourist activities; improvement in conditions and services of these areas as a reason to develop ecotourist activities; and last but not least, the promotion itself of ecotourism as a sustainable tourist alternative which adds value to the existing cultural and natural heritage of our territories. To carry out all these activities ECOTOUR has a team of partners with different profiles comprising a multidisciplinary team which has worked together since the formulation ensuring the project adapts to the reality of each participating territory.
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CLIMARISK technology transfer Modular power, water and cooling system as a resilience response to humanitarian crisis and emergency situations This integrated, mobile and easy-to-implement solution has been developed within the framework of CLIMARISK project, funded by the INTERREG MAC 2014-2020 programme; consisting of 4 modules to ensure quick response for the supply of water, energy and cooling in humanitarian aid situations. Learn more about this initiative by clicking on the following: DOSSIER (EN) VIDEO (EN) TWITCH Online session with Rocío Vidal 'La gata de Schrödinger' PÍLDORA Gonzalo Piernavieja, R+D+i coordinator at ITC PÍLDORA Baltasar Peñate, Head of Water Dpt. at ITC PÍLDORA Carlos Hernández, Project Office at ITC PODCAST ¿What is CLIMARISK? CLIMARISK channels: TWITCH , IVOOX , SPOTIFY , GOOGLE Podcast, MEETUP Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias CLIMA-RISK is a transversal project which brings together one of the bodies with most knowledge about risk management and prevention worldwide (Red Cross with HQ in the Canaries, Mauritania and Senegal); and 2 Canary bodies with the most experience and technical capacity to develop technology and studies enabling the guarantee of resilience against climate change effects and improve response capacity in the event of natural catastrophes (ITC & ULPGC). CLIMA-RISK will focus its actions on developing ICT studies and tools to strategically plan the territory, ensuring resilience against the effects of climate change in the co-operation space likewise development of technological solutions (prototypes) to ensure the supply of Food, Energy and Water during natural catastrophes. The geographic scope of actions under the CLIMA-RISK project cover the Co-operation space between the Canaries, Cape Verde, Mauritania and Senegal. Technological actions, studies and developments, some of the patentable for Canary companies so they can have the possibility of exploiting these technologies will be extrapolatable to any region in the world with risk impacts and situations in the face of natural catastrophes due to climate change effects. CLIMA-RISK Project technical activity will focus on technology development in the following sectors: Renewable Energies, Water, Scientific Computation & Technology (ICT Tools), Architecture and Territorial Planning. The technical actions are: Develop ICT software to control storage and provision of technology and humanitarian aid in general. Development of Methodologies for territorial planning for resilience and adaptation in the face of natural catastrophes due to climate change effects. Development of specific architectural modules for emergency situations (Prototype). Development of Energy and Water supply units powered by Renewable Energies for isolated areas on the electric grid in emergency situations due to natural catastrophes (Prototype). Development of an expert calculation and dimensions system (ICT). ODS Virtual Gallery (open with Firefox or Google Chrome)
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Desal + is a project to create and consolidate a joint R+D+i platform in Macaronesia (Canaries, Madeira, Cape Verde and Mauritania) with high research capacities and infrastructure of international excellence in water desalination, knowledge of the desalinated water-energy nexus and exclusive use of renewable energies. Undoubtedly water desalination in the Co-operation Space is the activity associated with blue economy and most directly related to social and economic stability. We have over 500 operating desalination plants, the greatest density of operating desalination plants worldwide (700,000 m3/day - over 1% worldwide). The Canaries and Cape Verde have the largest installed capacity followed by Mauritania and Madeira. Despite having this enormous number of desalination plants, unique in the world due to variety and dimension, the Co-operation Space does not have a cohesive group of researchers to respond to the sector needs and shortages. Commitment to desalination R+D+I is required to have detailed knowledge of the water-energy nexus and co-ordinately assign resources to develop innovative demonstrative solutions and projects related to water desalination technologies (using renewable energies), as per RIS3 and Blue Growth-EU priorities. DESAL+ proposes... Creating a joint research platform in the Co-operation Space; Modernising, rationalising, strengthening and making visible the desalination infrastructure associated with R+D; Developing innovative solutions and demonstrative projects; and increasing the researchers’ training and joint participation in European projects likewise international co-operation. It is, therefore, an important challenge to create a multidisciplinary group focused on desalination, strongly interconnected and with optimum research infrastructures enabling us to deepen our knowledge and advance in solutions adapted to insular or decentralised territories, likewise benefiting from the potential of existing renewable energies (wind, sun, waves) associated with desalination. In this sense, Open Living Lab (OLL) configuration is pursued as associated R+D+i infrastructure.
Departments
Numerous examples show the fragility of the water-energy binomial in the Atlantic Space. Investments to increase contribution to renewable energies (RES) have not managed to reduce either costs or emissions. EERES4WATER focuses on making visible the best binomial inter-relation and provides sustainable intelligent integrating measures towards direct RES use and energy efficiency in the integral water cycle, with an integrator vision of the EU2020 strategy. EERES4WATER improves the institutional social and technical framework to promote direct use of renewable energy sources (RES) and energy efficiency in the water cycle to influence related policies and the introduction of new processes and technologies. These improvements will place the Atlantic Area in the avant-garde of RES policies, strategies, energy efficiency, likewise sustainability. These are essential for resource efficiency in the Energy-Water nexus.
Departments
This project tackles the development, transfer, private investment and global commercialisation of medical technology. With this premise, the project studies transfer models which might offer options to medical technology receiver companies, moreover investment and international commercialisation strategies are contemplated, where bodies specialised in their promotion take part with the interested companies.