Building climate resilience in mountainous communities: Gabrovo’s approach

Successful replication of the MountResilience solutions requires the engagement of municipal departments, citizens, experts and local stakeholders, mirroring the participatory approach used in Gabrovo. Municipal departments lead the development of strategies in cooperation with these groups through workshops, surveys, and co-creation sessions. Experts provide technical input on design details such as irrigation systems and monitoring technologies, while citizens contribute feedback through questionnaires and informal events. Engaging these stakeholders early is essential, as the Gabrovo experience demonstrates that such collaboration builds trust and support for the adaptation strategies and their implementation. 

The MountResilience project incorporates several replicable elements designed for transfer to other European mountainous regions. The green infrastructure strategy framework can be replicated because it relies on a structured methodology combining infrastructure mapping with participatory co-design through workshops, surveys and community events, which can be adapted to different local contexts. The rainwater harvesting pilot system is replicable as a modular physical intervention that uses readily available technology to collect water from building roofs for irrigating urban green spaces, reducing dependence on external water supplies. 

Similarly, tree planting and increased permeable surfaces are low-tech, adaptable measures that can be scaled across varying urban settings. The early-warning and monitoring system is designed for replication as it employs standard digital tools that can be configured to monitor site-specific hazards such as floods, forest fires and strong winds. Overall, the project explicitly aims to scale up these climate adaptation and nature-based solutions, indicating that their design prioritises transferability across diverse mountainous communities facing comparable climate risks