Research projects represent one of the main activities of the UNESCO Chair in Engineering for Human and Sustainable Development, and are structured through various international cooperation initiatives.

1) Enabled conditions for developing an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Plan in project municipalities;

2) Improved data management system at local level;

3) Increased knowledge and utilisation of unconventional water resources at local level.

Sep 2025 – Sep 2028

NAÂNE is an AICS-funded project that aims to strengthen the climate resilience of communities living along the banks of the Amazon River in the Colombian Amazon Trapezoid. Within this framework, the University of Trento, in collaboration with Oikos and the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, will conduct research into the hydrological regime and flood dynamics of the Amazon River. The aim is to understand and model these processes. The research will include detailed assessments of flood and drought hazards, vulnerability and risk in both the urban area of Leticia and riparian indigenous communities. Activities will include installing a hydrometric station to collect continuous data, analysing satellite imagery, conducting bathymetric and topographic surveys, and examining historical climate and hydrological records. Alongside technical analyses, socio-geomorphological dynamics will be investigated through engagement with the communities and environmental factors. These findings will inform the development of a Participatory Early Warning System and enable the evaluation of future climate change scenarios, providing a robust scientific basis for local community risk mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The project focuses on the monitoring and analysis of the river thermal regime in the Upper Noce Basin, within the framework of the Alto Noce River Park. The main objective is to support environmental protection and management actions by providing scientifically sound knowledge on the current and future thermal conditions of the river system, in a context of climate change.

Monitoring activities are designed with an anticipatory approach, aimed at collecting data to support future-oriented decision-making. This approach complements existing monitoring programs, including water quality monitoring conducted by the University of Bolzano, while the University of Trento focuses specifically on physical parameters, in particular water temperature and discharge.

The project addresses the following key questions:

• How much, and for how long, might the Noce River and its main tributaries warm up in the coming years under current climate change projections?
  
• Which mitigation strategies can be adopted to reduce potential thermal stress on aquatic biological communities?
  

1) Characterization of the current thermal conditions of the Noce River and its main tributaries;

2) Development of future thermal scenarios in relation to climate change;

3) Identification of potential critical situations for aquatic ecosystems;

4) Scientific support for adaptive water resource management strategies, with reference to ecological flows;

5) Strengthening of the participatory approach with stakeholders and experts involved in the project.

The project aims to deepen the understanding of the environmental dynamics of the Sarca River, in order to support management authorities in decision-making processes and contribute to improving the ecological quality of the river, while accounting for its multiple uses. The research activity focuses on two main directions:

1. The study of the river thermal regime, with particular attention to periods of water overheating and to possible mitigation strategies to reduce impacts on the river ecosystem;
   
   
2. The analysis of hydro-morphological conditions of the river channel, aimed at developing guidelines for river restoration interventions capable of improving the availability and quality of habitats.
   
   

The project integrates continuous monitoring, high-resolution field surveys and multidisciplinary analyses, and is framed within the sustainable management of the Sarca River Park, in the context of climate change adaptation.

1) Spatial and temporal characterization of the thermal regime of the Sarca River;

2) Identification of the main thermal criticalities and influencing factors (discharge, tributaries, morphology);

3) Assessment of the potential role of cold water tributaries in temperature mitigation;

4) Definition of scientifically based criteria for river morphological restoration interventions;

5) Technical and scientific support for the sustainable management of the Sarca River Park.

“MUDAR – Mozambique Integrated Urban Development by Actions and Relationships: Empowering Local Governance” funded by the European Union, aims at promoting good practices for local government and sustainable urban development by strengthening local partnerships.

The activities are divided into three main pillars: (1) Capacity building for local authorities (CCI-IFAPA); (2) Implementation of a pilot project for the regeneration of the informal neighbourhood of Macuti (UniTrento-UniZambeze); (3) Digitisation and creation of job opportunities (UniZambeze-CMB).

Within the second pillar, Unitrento investigates participatory approaches for urban planning in informal neighbourhoods with a special focus on (1) Nature-Based-Solutions for urban drainage systems and (2) urban waste management.

Susanna Ottaviani

Livia Serrao