Driving climate action together: highlights from the LAND4CLIMATE Consortium Meeting in Košice
Košice & Tokaj Region, March 9–11, 2026
Consortium meetings are always about more than just presentations and schedules. They are moments where research, practice, and collaboration come together in a shared, open and safe space. The LAND4CLIMATE Consortium Meeting, hosted by ARR held in and around Košice and the Tokaj region in Slovakia, was exactly that: a blend of learning, reflection, and connection.
Day 1 – Arrival and a first taste of Tokaj
In the late afternoon, the group met in Košice before heading together to the Tokaj wine region. The transfer itself felt like a transition: leaving the city behind and entering a landscape shaped by vineyards, hills, starry dark skies and centuries of agricultural tradition. The evening rounded off with a shared dinner and a visit to a wine cellar, the property of one of LAND4CLIMATE’s engaged landowners testing Nature-based solutions on their land. The setting reminded everyone how closely land use, climate threats, and regional identity are connected.
Day 2 – Learning from the landscape, landowners and each other
The second day began outdoors with an excursion to the NbS site in the Tokaj area. Walking through vineyards, a ranch and rural landscapes offered a grounded perspective on the themes the LAND4CLIMATE explores. Seeing the land first-hand and being guided by the land’s custodians rather than only through data (e.g. water runoff simulations, precipitation rates), maps, or presentations helped bring the research questions to life. The excursion brought us in direct contact with plans for NbS implementation on three sites:
- Measures on the vineyard land will focus on natural rainfall capture. Plans for a drain block, rain garden excavation serving also bees, a fruit orchard, pond renovation and shallow terrain dents are underway. The challenge being to implement measures that enable machine harvesting of the grapes and, given current adversities, aim to future proof income from land for future generations.
- Measures on the ranch will focus on water catchment and reducing soil erosion as well as benefiting local biodiversity. Grass plantation for water retention has been implemented and plans for rechannelling water to the creek, planning a wind-breaking tree line, creating a small pond for horses with minimum maintenance, creating a clay-reinforced artificial stream and installing more rainwater collection tanks are proceeding.
- Measures on a future eco-centre with an educational focus will concentrate on a terraced terrain for planting a fruit orchard, rain garden excavation, windbreaks, water catchment in channels along the plot and roof water catchment. Again the main aim being water retention and catchment for the land.
After the excursion, the group returned to Košice for the formal meeting sessions. The afternoon opened with welcome remarks and an overview of progress within LAND4CLIMATE. Discussions on upscaling and replication led by partners ICLEI and TUDO highlighted one of the project’s central ambitions: how successful local climate solutions can be expanded or adapted to other regions. These conversations showed just how valuable the consortium’s diversity is bringing together perspectives from policy, academia, and regional practice. Later in the afternoon, the simulation game session, guided by partners UJEP, introduced a more interactive and playful way to explore land policy options and climate adaptation challenges. Through role playing and collaboration, participants were able to experiment with decision-making scenarios that mirror the complexities of current real-world regional planning and provide a flavour for more innovative options available in the not-too-distant future. The day concluded with a guided walk through the historic centre of Košice. Experiencing the city together and soaking up the sights added a cultural dimension to the meeting.
Day 3 – Dialogue, reflection, and next steps
After a warm welcome from the local replicating region, Košice Self-Governing Region, the final day commenced. It focused on parallel sessions, allowing different groups within the consortium to work more deeply on specific topics - from regional partners and replication regions to academic discussions and a PhD-focused exchange. DEN and ARR organised and facilitated a peer-to-peer learning discussion with the front-running regions and the replicating regions. The session was a structured discussion which encouraged practitioners to share their experiences and challenges in a safe and open space. Topics discussed included permits, sustainability, difficulties experienced by replicating regions, Afterwards, an overarching presentation on the Roňava river basin in eastern Slovakia provided an insightful case study of how climate water challenges and regional planning intersect. Before closing, the whole consortium reconvened for a quick check-in and agreed on next steps. These exchanges are often some of the most valuable moments of a meeting - an opportunity to step back, identify open questions, and (re)align on the path forward.
More than a meeting
What stood out most during these days was the sense of shared purpose. Projects like LAND4CLIMATE rely on collaboration across countries, disciplines, and institutions. Meetings like this strengthen those connections and remind us why this work matters.
This article was written by Sara Giorgi from LAND4CLIMATE consortium partner DEN
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