Partners: Tartu County Development Association (Tartumaa Arendusselts), Sea Land (Biedrība “Jūras Zeme”)
Duration of project: 36 months
Project summary:
The River Networks project aims to address common cross-border challenges related to the management and utilization of rivers crossing the communities within the program area. These challenges are relevant to both LAGs, Tartu County Development Association (Estonia) and Sea Land (Latvia) as they offer the opportunity to bring rural areas together to share resources, knowledge, and best practices.
The project’s overall objective is to develop and implement a joint strategy and action plan for the integrated, synchronized, and complementary development of the River Gauja and River Emajõgi, with a focus on better use of natural resources, heritage, and attractions for economic activities while respecting environmental protection regulations.
The project’s main outputs will include a joint strategy and action plan, as well as 2 joint solutions that will be derived from at least 8 pilot actions. Local governments, member organizations of both LAGs, and the wider community will benefit from these outputs. The project will take a cross-border approach as it recognizes the importance of collaboration and cooperation in addressing these common challenges.
The new and original aspect of the project is its integrated and synchronized approach to the development of the targeted rivers, taking into account economic, environmental, and heritage aspects to promote sustainable development and better management of the river banks.
Budget: The budget for the project of Tartu County Development Association is 200 993.75€, of which ERDF support constitutes 160 795€. Project partner’s Sea Land’s budget is 174 000€, of which ERDF support constitutes 139 200€. The total budget of the cooperation project is 374 993.75€.