Interview with RaNTrans at Interreg Annual Programme Conference

On 9th November 2022, Interreg hosted the annual France (Channel) England programme conference to bring project partners together and share with each other about the various elements of their work and the collective solutions being pursued.

Project RaNTrans is in the spotlight because influencing behaviour and policies to restore water quality for nature and people is very important.

Check out our Interreg Annual Conference video showing our work about Nutrient Remediation solutions in France (Channel) England regions.
https://youtu.be/eQIN5Yt9OcM

The opportunity was provided to panel members from project RaNTrans to respond to some important questions about the project. Here we go!

Question: What are the key messages you would like to say about project RaNTrans?

Answer: The RaNTrans project has tested a range of solutions across multiple sites on both sides of the channel. It has tested the feasibility and efficacy of different techniques and is now at the stage of upscaling the potential of these solutions.
This project is reinforcing the importance of collective working with scientist to lead the way and gather evidence that when implemented can restore water quality and all life that depends on it.
We know that these habitats and species can do a good job to remove nutrients and restore water quality, and therefore the scaling up is so important.
Our detail analysis has the potential to identify who and where the nutrient pollution is coming from and supports our aim of cleaning up these waters for society and nature.

Question: What are you most proud of with project RaNTrans?

Answer: Project RaNTrans has not only allowed us to carry out innovative science to answer real world problems, but additionally, build new collaborations with partners in both France and the UK.
This project is revealing the potentials of using natural nature-based solutions to restore water quality and stimulate environmental and economic opportunities.

Question: What advice would you give to future applicants?

Answer: The Interreg funding allows for projects to address a wide range of problems at a large scale, and so we would advise future applicants to aim high in their ambitions and use the potential collaborators listed to build an effective team.
Always remember that if the work has never been done before it is because it is not and will not be easy.
It is essential to get onboard – government, policy advisory, investors, and other key participants at an early stage in order to achieve the ambitions and deliver the impacts of the project.

Question: What impact do you hope your project is able to sustain beyond closure?

Answer: The work from the RaNTrans project will allow the different project partners to continue working on this exciting area of research, using the collaborations built already to tackle the problem of nutrient pollution in transitional waters. The project has identified several tools which can be used to help create a more resilient coastal environment using nature-based solutions. In addition, the project website will remain online, sharing the reports and scientific articles produced for years to come.

Already new partnerships are being formed to explore further opportunities relating to nutrient neutrality and biodiversity net gain programmes.

Some of the collective works by Interreg and project partners can be seen in these 16 videos summaries (Final FCE Videos – Google Drive) including RaNTrans. Overall, the Interreg programme (https://www.channelmanche.com/) commitment of over 220million euros is shaping and influencing behaviours towards tackling a wide range of problems at a large scale and revealing the potentials of using nature-based solutions to stimulate environmental and economic opportunities.

Thank you Interreg and Partners

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