The fourth webinar of the MountResilience Community of Practice took place on 16 September 2026. Forty participants joined the webinar to learn more about ecosystem-based approaches to help mountain regions adapt to climate change.
The session focused on two projects working in mountain areas facing similar challenges: LIFE MIDMACC in Spain and the MountResilience Râu Sadului demonstrator in Romania. Both projects show how restoring and managing mountain ecosystems can improve climate resilience, while also supporting biodiversity and local livelihoods.
Restoring mountainous landscapes in the North-East of Spain
LIFE MIDMACC, a project running from 2019 to 2024 in the Spanish regions of La Rioja, Aragón and Catalonia, focused on building resilience in marginal mid-mountain areas affected by climate change, land abandonment and the decline of traditional agricultural and forestry activities.
The project tested three main approaches:
- Pasture recovery through scrubland clearing and introduction of extensive livestock.
- Forest management for fire risk prevention with the support of extensive livestock grazing.
- Optimisation of vineyards in mountain areas by testing different agricultural practices to make vineyards more sustainable under changing climatic conditions.
The aim was to restore a diverse agro-silvo-pastoral landscape, where forests, pastures and agricultural areas can coexist. These landscape mosaics can provide several benefits at the same time, including habitats for biodiversity, better soil and water management, reduced wildfire risk and continued opportunities for rural economic activity.
Râu Sadului: bringing degraded grasslands in the Cindrel Mountains back to life
Râu Sadului, in central Romania, is an area that has traditionally been used for grazing and is known for its pastoral activities and dairy production. However, changing rainfall patterns and longer periods of drought have contributed to the degradation of grasslands: valuable plant species have declined, and now lower-quality vegetation has become more dominant.
Against this backdrop, the MountResilience demonstrator aims to restore this ecosystem and strengthen its capacity to cope with climate change, while maintaining the pastoral activities that are important to local communities.
To this end, the adaptation solution implemented by MountResilience follows four main steps: first, the team assessed the condition of the grasslands through field surveys, drone observations and soil analysis. The next step was to prepare the soil by clearing unwanted vegetation (such as invasive species). This was followed by overseeding and fertilisation, using suitable (mainly native) plant mixtures to improve the quality and resilience of the grasslands.
At this stage of the project, the results are being monitored over time, looking at forage quality, biodiversity and the overall sustainability of the solution.
How can these solutions support climate adaptation?
Healthy and well-managed ecosystems can provide several benefits at once. They can:
- reduce wildfire risk by creating more diverse landscapes;
- improve soil and water management;
- support biodiversity;
- maintain productive agricultural landscapes; and
- help rural communities continue traditional activities.
Importantly, the webinar also showed that successful adaptation is not only about technical solutions. Stakeholder involvement, funding, policy support and knowledge sharing are also essential for turning local experiments into long-term solutions.
The experiences shared during this webinar show why knowledge exchange between mountain regions is important. Different regions may face similar climate risks, but the solutions need to reflect their specific ecosystems, communities and local economies.
Join our CoP!
The MountResilience Community of Practice brings together researchers, public authorities, NGOs, businesses and other organisations working on climate adaptation in mountain areas. It provides a space to share experiences, discuss practical solutions and learn from what is happening on the ground.
Are you working on climate adaptation in mountain areas? Join our Community of Practice and get in touch with alicia.moreno@euromontana.org if you would like to showcase your solution, project or lessons learned.
