Hello! My name is Emma, and I am from Italy. For the past two months, I have been an Interreg Project Partner for the Nursecoast-II project at the EUCC-D (Coastal Union Germany) as part of the Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY) programme.
The aim of the Nursecoast-II project is to reduce nutrient discharges to the Baltic Sea resulting from seasonal increase in wastewater production in tourist areas within the Baltic Sea region. This project particularly focuses on rural tourist areas affected by the large variability of wastewater flow caused by summer visitors. Improving wastewater management will benefit local residents, businesses that rely on summer tourism, and the tourists themselves. It is also essential to stop eutrophication, which is a significant threat to the Baltic Sea.
The project involves 17 partner organizations from eight countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden) and includes six pilot sites where new technologies are being tested.
As an Interreg Project Partner, I support the preparation of a report on the impacts of poorly managed wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) on local communities and tourism. The report will include results from a survey distributed among the project partners, which I contributed to.
I also had the opportunity to participate in a Project Partners Meeting held in Riga in May. This meeting included a field trip to two of the pilot sites and to one of the beautiful beaches this project aims to protect. It was an incredible opportunity to see up close who our project will benefit and to meet all the project partners in person.
Thanks to the IVY programme, I am having the chance to see how a European project works and witness cooperation between European countries in action!
– Emma, IVY Project Partner for the Nursecoast-II project at the EUCC-D
