Cross-border cooperation for climate-resilient mountain areas in France, Spain and Andorra

Key Learnings

• Resilient Natural Area Management: Innovative information tools support continuous monitoring and understanding of the water cycle, enabling improved water resource management in the Pyrenees. Specific case studies illustrate concrete actions in priority sectors.
• Mountain Economy Adaptation: Strategies and models help ski resorts and mountain tourism areas adapt to climate change. An innovation hub encourages circular economy solutions and cross-border tourism offers, which are tied to sustainable mobility in Pyrenean tourism.
• Multilevel Governance: Multilevel governance adapted to the new needs of the Pyrenean Climate Change Strategy ensures vertical and horizontal coordination with local, regional, national, and European climate adaptation policies.
• Knowledge Transfer and Replicability: The strategy promotes synergies between mitigation sectors, integrating climate change into broader policy areas. The Pyrenean Climate Change Strategy (2018-2024) raises European and international awareness of the unique climate challenges mountain regions face and highlights the cross-border character of the Pyrenees. Demonstrative pilot cases successfully connect technical knowledge with concrete action on the ground and effective communication engages local actors.

Summary

Strengthening water resilience, natural ecosystem management, and sustainable land use in a mountainous cross-border context requires several adaptation measures and a comprehensive strategy. Key actions in the Pyrenean Climate Change Strategy (EPiCC) include adaptive wet and peatland management to preserve their water storage and carbon sink functions, developing early warning systems for floods and droughts, restoring riverbanks and riparian zones to protect aquatic ecosystems, and participatory local-scale water governance to ensure fair distribution of resources. Additional pilot measures involve modelling future water availability under climate scenarios, adjusting agriculture and irrigation practices, and assessing tourism’s impact on groundwater, particularly in limestone areas. The OPCC Geoportal data supports these interventions, providing climate indicators, hydrological models, and biodiversity monitoring tools. Together, these measures promote informed, locally tailored, and replicable solutions to the evolving climate challenges in the Pyrenees, leading to the project’s success. Strong cross-border collaboration between Spain, France, and Andorra, the active involvement of a broad strategic partner network with expertise in environmental management, territorial planning, and climate science, and a clear commitment to applied science, with data, indicators, and tools support decision-making. Integrating regional governments as active stakeholders in the project, enabling the alignment of climate action with public policies and strengthening each territory’s response capacity has been a fundamental element.

Contact

Eva García Balaguer
e [dot] garciactp [dot] org (e[dot]garcia[at]ctp[dot]org)