• The partners in this cross-border cooperation project are the ARH-Norte of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto and the Water Campus of the University of Vigo.

José Antonio Quiroga, president of the Miño-Sil River Basin Authority (CHMS), chaired the RISC_PLUS project launch day at the Marcos Valcárcel Cultural Centre in Ourense. The project, supported by the Interreg VINE-A Spain-Portugal Programme (POCTEP) 2021-2027, represents a fundamental step to implement the advances promoted by this basin organisation through other European projects.

At the presentation, Quiroga was accompanied by representatives of the project partners, Inés Andrade, director of the ARH-NORTE, Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), Javier Rodríguez Rajo, Vice-Rector of the Ourense Campus of the University of Vigo; and Tiago Ferradosa, from the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Porto.

With a specific focus on the international basins of the Miño and Limia rivers, the RISC_PLUS project aims to establish measures that will help mitigate the consequences of climate change on rivers; in this sense, the project seeks to improve the hydrological knowledge of the international demarcation, the decision support systems in the face of prolonged drought events, and to improve the decision support systems in the face of flood events.

With a budget of more than €1,600,000 and a completion date of December 2025, the RISC_PLUS project represents a significant advance in water management in the international district. The project will also work on the development of advanced decision-making systems to optimise processes in the face of droughts and floods, allowing to effectively address climate change and support socio-economic activities.

“This project is a continuation of the previous RISC MIÑO_LIMIA, which represented an important advance in the knowledge of the basin,” Quiroga said. “Through it, it was possible to carry out an exhaustive analysis of the basin by reviewing the hydrographic network, as well as obtaining a new digital terrain model of the Portuguese part from a LIDIAR flight. A new early warning system for floods was also created, through which the forecast of flows and the extent of the flood stain is obtained, which allows to anticipate extreme phenomena, among other advances,” explained the president.

The partners expressed their satisfaction with the cross-border coordination and cooperation that encourages them to continue working in unison towards a joint hydrological plan between territories with similar characteristics and common interests. “Prevention, protection and preparation in the face of extreme phenomena, floods and droughts, is the key to avoiding damage to people and their property,” concluded Quiroga.