Water heritage in the Mediterranean region reflects the way rural and urban populations coped with the scarcity of water and how they organised local structures around water management. Today, most of this vernacular heritage is unprotected and recent developments, both societal and economic, including the mechanisation of agriculture, migrations from rural areas, and unruly urban expansion, threaten its survival. Legal protection runs short of meeting current needs and an awareness campaign targeting decision makers as well as the general public is necessary. This project aims to promote the preservation of vernacular heritage linked to water management in the Euro-Mediterranean region; intensify public awareness, particularly among the youth, of the value of this heritage and the need to protect it; promote water management techniques linked to this heritage; and promote, together with local populations, local development projects based on the principle of valorising this heritage. This project is based on the development of a common methodology for the protection and management of water heritage reosurces. It involves seven partners who are active in the field of mobilising civil society towards heritage preservation. It includes eight interrelated activities where the participation of local populations, particularly youth, is elemental.
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