INTEGRATOR — Integrated Innovation Ecosystems for Transformative Nexus Governance towards Enhanced Water Resilience is a Horizon Europe Innovation Action (Call HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-01, duration: 36 months).

Across Europe, water tells two very different stories. In the south and centre, rivers run low, aquifers are depleted, and droughts return with alarming frequency. In the north, rainfall intensifies, floods swell, and new extremes emerge. These diverging realities share a common thread: climate change is reshaping Europe’s hydrological cycle, straining ecosystems, agriculture, cities, and the social fabric that depends on them. Despite ambitious policies, most European waters still fail to meet ecological standards, driving biodiversity loss and weakening ecosystem functions.

INTEGRATOR responds with a science-based, stakeholder-driven framework. At its core lies the Digital Water Intelligence System, a dynamic platform combining digital twins, multi-scale monitoring, advanced hydrological and allocation modelling, sector-specific water quality integration, and a natural language interface. It enables farmers, managers, and policymakers to test “what if” scenarios and assess impacts before decisions unfold. By integrating short-term forecasts with long-term climate projections, the system supports anticipatory, cross-sectoral water allocation and risk management. Coupled with socio-economic assessments and the participatory Decision Theatre Approach, INTEGRATOR ensures solutions are robust, inclusive, and co-created.

Demonstrations across six contrasting river basins, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, will validate solutions at TRL 6–7 under diverse hydro-climatic and socio-economic conditions, integrating nature-based solutions, technological innovation, governance reform, and tailored financial instruments. Through coordinated stakeholder engagement, INTEGRATOR delivers scalable pathways for climate adaptation and operationalises adaptive water governance under increasing uncertainty. Its ambition is to leave Europe better prepared, more equitable, and more resilient, with water as the foundation of thriving societies, economies, and ecosystems.

Consortium

Coordinated by Boğaziçi University (Türkiye), the consortium brings together universities, research centres and companies from across Europe: Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung – UFZ (DE), ELGO-DIMITRA (EL), University of Bergen (NO), Universitat Politècnica de València (ES), Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LV), CSIC (ES), Doktar Technologies (NL), Planet Srl (IT), Bioazul (ES), Neuralio (EE), Intergeo (EL), P-Agro Minerals (LV), University of Naples Federico II (IT), EcoAdapta (ES), University of Verona (IT), EUROHUB Consultancy Group (BE), CNRS (FR).

The University of Naples Federico II team, led by Prof. Salvatore Manfreda (HydroLAB), contributes expertise in hydrological modelling and multi-scale monitoring.

Keywords: climate change, water management, biodiversity, decision-support system, digital twin, multi-scale monitoring, stakeholder engagement

About the author

He is Full Professor of Hydrology and Hydraulic Constructions at the University of Naples Federico II. He is currently chair of the IAHS MOXXI working group. His research primarily centers on hydrological modeling and monitoring. Recognizing the challenges posed by the complexity and limitations of traditional hydrological observations, he actively explores advanced and alternative monitoring techniques, such as the utilization of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) coupled with image processing.