Rijeka Development Agency Porin d.o.o. is a partner in the project Blue and Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities, abbreviated Blue Green City, from the Interreg Europe Programme (PGI05836) and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund with a total value of 1.348.909,00 EUR, and the grant amounts to 1.146.572,65 EUR. The duration of the first phase of the project ran from 01.01.2019 to 31.01.2022, and the second phase of the project from 01.02.2022 to no later than 31.01.2023 when all activities are to be completed and the final report submitted.
The project promoter is Metropolis Nice Côte d’Azur – Euromed Cities Network (France) and the other partners are: Univeristy of Greenwich (UK), Piedmont Region (Italy), Southern Regional Assembly (Ireland), Bucharest-Ilfov Regional Development Agency (Romania), City of Ingolstadt (Germany), Rijeka Development Agency Porin Ltd. – RDA Porin (Croatia), Municipality of Växjö (Sweden).
The aim of the project is to promote green and blue infrastructure as an integral part of the local/regional strategy for the preservation of natural heritage. Blue Green City strives to increase awareness and knowledge of the concept of ecosystem services and the value of green and blue infrastructure through project events and workshops with the purpose of interregional learning, exchanging experiences and good practices, and creating strong cooperation in finding common solutions to common climate change challenges.
One of the main results of the project was the development of Action Plans relating to the implementation policy of green infrastructure in the territory of each partner. Thus, the Rijeka Development Agency Porin d.o.o. has developed an Action Plan for the City of Rijeka and will monitor the implementation of this document as part of the second phase of the project. The action plan includes the follow-up of the following documents/activities:
- Monitoring the development of the new strategic document Green Infrastructure Development Strategy of the City of Rijeka 2022-2027, initiated by the Department for Development, Urbanism, Ecology and Land Management of the City of Rijeka.
- The Rijeka Development Agency Porin d.o.o. will provide local stakeholders with training related to mutual cooperation with the following topics: Scenario for the planning of the strategy on adaptation to climate change; Green and Blue Infrastructure and Evaluation of Ecosystem Services.
- Monitoring of the implementation of the Rijeka Local Partnership Programme 2022 tender published by the Department of Municipal Self-Government and Administration of the City of Rijeka.
The role of the City of Rijeka and its aforementioned departments is very important, not only for monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan, but also for cooperation with all local stakeholders who will participate in the development of a new strategic document related to green infrastructure, which is an important topic in the implementation of European goals and the European Green Deal, as well as national, county and local strategic documents.
