IDRON-Innovative Dual sustainable solutions for Rural water scarcity and use OptimizatioN

The project IDRON – Innovative Dual Sustainable Solutions for Rural Water Scarcity and Use OptimizatioN aims to ensure sustainable water resource management in rural Mediterranean areas through the development of new water sources and the optimization of their use via a Decision Support System, providing a holistic response to the issue of water scarcity.

The Decision Support System integrates near real-time satellite data, enabling pilot projects to adapt to extreme weather conditions and deliver scalable solutions.

A rainwater harvesting system for sustainable irrigation as a pilot project on a farm in Montenegro. Primary beneficiaries, local farmers and greenhouse owners, will directly benefit from reduced water costs and improved reliability of water supply. In addition to promoting efficient rainwater harvesting techniques, the project also encourages their adoption on other farms, thereby fostering sustainability on a broader scale.

The associated partner of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management is the Agricultural Cluster of Montenegro.

The Lead Partner of the project is the University of Patras (Greece), and the other project partners are: the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace (Greece); the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (Bosnia and Herzegovina); the University of Cyprus (Cyprus); the Scientific Research Centre Bistra Ptuj (Slovenia); the Varna Economic Development Agency (Bulgaria); the Balkan Foundation for Sustainable Development – BFSD (North Macedonia); the Zadar County Development Agency – ZADRA NOVA (Croatia); the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (France); the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (Montenegro); the Management Body for Parks and Biodiversity of Western Emilia (Italy); and M3R – Microbial Resource Research and Management S.r.l. (Italy).

The total project value amounts to EUR 3,999,323.00, of which EUR 211,883.00 is allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.

The project duration is 45 months.