NBS4Water

Like many cities in Africa, the city of Asmara, Eritrea, faces severe water security challenges that technical solutions alone cannot address. NBS4Water is an interdisciplinary research and innovation project funded by the autonomous province of South Tyrol. It aims to develop and apply a strategic planning approach for harnessing nature-based solutions (NBS) for water security in the Asmara metropolitan region, situated on the northwestern edge of the Eritrean Highlands. It comprises three objectives: i) to assess water security challenges and opportunities, ii) to co-develop spatial scenarios of NBS for water security, and iii) to evaluate potential impacts of NBS scenarios regarding the alleviation of water challenges and generation of co-benefits.

NBS4Water is led by the GLOMOS - Centre for Global Mountain Safeguard Research and the Institute for Alpine Environment at Eurac Research. Its work plan systematically combines quantitative and qualitative methods and interdisciplinary expertise. NBS4Water promises credible and salient knowledge to support NBS planning in Asmara, contributing to raising awareness, and transferability to other cities in mountain regions and beyond.

Contact person: Dr Blal Adem Esmail (blal.ademesmail@eurac.edu)

Like many cities in Africa, the city of Asmara, Eritrea, faces severe water security challenges that technical solutions alone cannot address. NBS4Water is an interdisciplinary research and innovation project funded by the autonomous province of South Tyrol. It aims to develop and apply a strategic planning approach for harnessing nature-based solutions (NBS) for water security in the Asmara metropolitan region, situated on the northwestern edge of the Eritrean Highlands. It comprises three objectives: i) to assess water security challenges and opportunities, ii) to co-develop spatial scenarios of NBS for water security, and iii) to evaluate potential impacts of NBS scenarios regarding the alleviation of water challenges and generation of co-benefits.

NBS4Water is led by the GLOMOS - Centre for Global Mountain Safeguard Research and the Institute for Alpine Environment at Eurac Research. Its work plan systematically combines quantitative and qualitative methods and interdisciplinary expertise from spatial modelling, remote sensing, and environmental planning. Firstly, water security challenges and NBS opportunities in Asmara will be assessed through geospatial analyses and landscape metrics. Hence, plausible storylines with NBS will be co-developed with stakeholders and translated into spatial scenarios through simulations. Thirdly, scenario impacts on ecosystem services will be evaluated, including trade-off analysis, to inform the refinement and decision-making of NBS strategies in Asmara. NBS4Water promises credible and salient knowledge to support NBS planning in Asmara, contributing to raising awareness, and transferability to other cities in mountain regions and beyond.