Romania, 11 June 2026. The European project MOUNTADAPT held a working meeting in Romania to advance the replication of adaptation solutions aimed at reducing the impacts of climate change on health and strengthening the climate resilience of health systems in mountain areas. The meeting brought together 36 representatives of partner organisations from Andorra, Romania, France, Germany, Greece, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia and Austria.
During the meeting, the partners worked on the next steps to transform the lessons learned from the demonstration sites into guidelines, replication studies and practical tools that can be applied in other territories.

MOUNTADAPT is a project funded by the Horizon Europe programme, with a total cost of 6,458,180 euros. The initiative, which runs from 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2027, brings together 27 European partners and works on the development of 11 climate adaptation solutions linked to health. Its aim is to improve the capacity to anticipate, prepare for and respond to the risks that climate change poses to people’s health, safety and well-being.

“Climate change is not only an environmental challenge: it is also a public health challenge. Heatwaves, air pollution, allergens, disease vectors and extreme events can affect people’s health and increase pressure on healthcare services,” says Paty Nakhle, MOUNTADAPT project officer.

Within this framework, the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) is involved in four of the eleven solutions planned by MOUNTADAPT, whose implementation will begin in September 2026. These solutions include:

• training on the effects of climate change on health, aimed at 50 healthcare professionals in Andorra
• a public awareness campaign on the effects and risks of climate change for human health
• a checklist to assess the preparedness of healthcare and care facilities for disasters
• recommendations on outdoor physical activity, taking into account actual exposure to air pollution and heatwaves, especially when cycling

During the meeting in Romania, the OPCC presented progress on the two replication guides, one of its main responsibilities within the project. These consist of a specific guide to replicate the four solutions in which it is directly involved, and a broader guide to support the transfer of the eleven MOUNTADAPT solutions to other European regions. “We work at the intersection between health and climate change to transform solutions tested in pilot territories into replicable tools capable of helping other mountain territories to anticipate risks, protect the population and strengthen the resilience of their healthcare systems,” adds Paty Nakhle.

The meeting in Romania marked a key step for MOUNTADAPT: transforming the lessons learned from the demonstration sites into guides, replication studies and practical tools. Through participatory workshops, the demonstration sites, replicating territories and solution providers identified feasibility conditions, barriers, adaptation needs and practical recommendations to facilitate the application of the solutions in new contexts.

In parallel, the OPCC is promoting a community of practice within the territory of the Pyrenean Working Community (CTP), aimed at organisations and stakeholders interested in learning about or applying these solutions in their own contexts. Interested organisations can register via this link: enlace.

Through this work, the OPCC contributes to strengthening knowledge transfer and cooperation between territories within the framework of MOUNTADAPT, helping ensure that the solutions developed by the project can be applied in new European contexts.

Únete a la comunidad de prácticas

Organisations interested in learning about MOUNTADAPT solutions, sharing experiences or exploring their possible application in the Pyrenean territory can join the community of practice promoted by the OPCC.