3D Initiative

The Decarbonisation of Danube Delta (3D) Multidisciplinary Initiative goal is to integrate new and existing solutions in decarbonising challenging regions and natural reservation areas. This large initiative is addressing the Mission Ocean objective on carbon neutrality and circularity, while also addressing topics of Missions Climate and Cities. The ambition is to identify the best steps towards a successful implementation of the European Green Deal principles for wetlands and inland waters.
Starting like an expert based initiative in May 2021, 3D has transformed into a research & innovation programme, being pesent in international events. Its vision is focusing mainly on Danube Delta and Danube floodplain transformations, related to all economic and societal components, towards a well-preserved biodiverse region with net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (and significantly reduced carbon footprint by 2030). The identification, assessment, scaling up and implementation of several innovation actions represent the pathway(s) to decarbonise this region. Combining nature & science based solutions with local knowledge and citizens’ engagement will lead to complex results that are expected to enrich local economy, create green jobs and increase the quality of life, particularly of the isolated communities from Delta.
The 3D initiative proposes a pilot bottom-up systematic approach translated in several sectoral projects that will support the Mission Ocean goals, covering research and innovation area of actions.
A large variety of stakeholders have met in this network since the summer of 2021, to work together towards local needs and develop best practices that can be later replicated in other (similar) regions. They represent research and technology organisations (DDNI, COMOTI), academia (UPB, USAMV, ASE), SME (GEOSTUD, BEIA), professional NGOs (Mila23), administrations (Tulcea and Sulina), association of local fishermen (FLAG), etc. and are tackling several sectors: mobility, energy, agriculture, climate (mitigation and adaptation), circular economy, sustainable tourism, environmental impact, biodiversity and social innovations & inclusion, all being considering ‘water’ as a background topic. The 12 isolated villages, 2 cities and over 5000 citizens are placed in the centre of this programme.
The strategy follows 5 main pillars (Mobility, Agri-environment and food security, Energy, Climate Mitigation and adaptation, Circular Economy) and 6 interdisciplinary application areas (biodiversity and water, Tourism, Environmental impact, Digitalisation and AI, Exploitation and networking and social innovation), keeping the water-Food- Energy- Biodiversity Nexus and innovation ecosystems as cross-cutting ambition. In this context, the partnership have proposed and found solutions for the implementation of innovations supporting the regional decarbonization goal, correlating to the Mission Ocean objectives and other missions (Climate & Cities). The initial activities have started from analyzing different needs, gaps and barriers in the implementation of innovative solutions in wetlands regional decarbonization, focusing on the need for the functioning of the hydro-geo-morphological (HGM) and socio-ecological (SSE) systems.
The time-scale is 2030, with short-term results by 2024, aiming at testing solutions from already designed pilots.