North Sea Conference: Study Visits

Theme: Environmental and climate resilience

On this excursion, representatives from OOWV, Jade University of Applied Sciences and the city of Oldenburg will take you on a guided walk through the city. At several stations on topics such as adaptation to climate change, water management and resilient inner-city development, you will have the opportunity to get to know the city from a unique perspective. 

OOWV and Jade University have been involved in several Interreg North Sea projects, which will be presented during the tour.

Connecting Interreg Projects:

Involved in the visit:  CATCH, DISCO, other OOWV projects with national and international funding.

Involved local partners: OOWV, Jade Hochschule, City of Oldenburg, Office for Regional Development Weser-Ems.

Theme: Economic, environmental and social resilience

The area of former airbase is currently transformed into an energy-efficient and socially inclusive city quarter as a part of the project “Energy-efficient neighbourhood Quarter Fliegerhorst Oldenburg (ENAQ). Environmental quality, sustainable mobility and energy production on site are important parts of the overall concept of a smart city. You will also learn how citizen participation and co-creation make this innovative housing project successful.

Connecting Interreg Projects:

Involved in the visit:  Speak UP, ENAQ-project with national funding.

Involved local partners:  OFFICE e.V., City of Oldenburg, Office for Regional Development Weser-Ems.

Theme: Economic, environmental & climate resilience

3N stands for Lower Saxony Network for Renewable Resources and Bioeconomy. The association has 40 members and sponsors from the fields of raw material production, trade, processing and primary processing through to plant engineering and end product production. In addition to the founding members, companies, institutions from the fields of research, training and qualification as well as municipal administrations are represented in the network. The members represent the diversity of the material and energy value chains of renewable raw materials in Lower Saxony.

The mission of 3N is to make a sustainable contribution to the development and use of renewable raw materials and biomass for material and energy use. Through its activities it wants to make a contribution to climate protection and also supports the national and European goals of establishing a sustainable bio-based economy. 3N currently participates in 14 Interreg projects in Interreg A Germany-Netherlands, Interreg B North Sea and Interreg B North West Europe (e.g. EMPHATI, BBoBB, ReNu2Cycle). The 3N information and education center located in Werlte has exhibition areas on bioenergy and sustainable/bio-based building materials.

At around 4.700 hectares, the Esterweger Dose is by far the largest nature reserve in the Weser-Ems region and is intended to preserve a large area of peatlands for posterity and enable long-term regeneration in those areas where peat extraction is still prevalent today. The importance of the area will be explained by experts and the area can be visited on a short tour by foot.

Connecting Interreg Projects:

Involved in the visit:  BBoBB amongst others  

Involved local partners:3N, Office for Regional Development Weser-Ems

Theme: Economic, environmental & climate resilience

The projects BioDeSeal and BDSALgreen H2 are developing methods and strategies for the desalination of seawater using algaes. The aim is to make seawater usable for drinking water production as well as for the production of hydrogen. Currently the production is being prepared for the use on an industrial level.

Both projects are funded by the Metropolitan Region Northwest Germany which is supported by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and Lower Saxony. The AWI - Alfred-Wegner-Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research and Economic Development Wesermarsch GmbH are partners in both projects and have been taking part in Interreg projects as well.

Furthermore a representatitve of the department for strategic asset management from the regional water board (Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischer Wasserverband, OOWV) will give information on the relevance of water reuse and related project activities of the OOWV (e.g. Interreg).

Theme: Economic resilience

NiedersachsenPorts (NPorts) has been taking part at several Interreg NSRP projects regarding green transition in ports.  NPorts will guide us through the port of Emden and show its potential and challenges it is facing. In addition, results of a few Interreg North Sea projects (including a newly installed floating wind turbine with various other functions) will be presented and explored on site. 

Connecting Interreg Projects:

Involved in the visit: ReadII Ports, NON STOP, Dual Ports.

Involved local partners: NiedersachsenPorts GmbH, Office for Regional Development Weser-Ems.

Theme: Environmental resilience

This excursion will lead you to the UNESCO-Wadden Sea Visitor Center in Wilhelmshaven. Participants will learn more about the natural and cultural history of the Jade Bay and the dynamics and ecology of the National Park and the World Heritage Site Wadden Sea. Topics related to the challenges facing the Wadden Sea such as climate change, environmental pollution and competing land-uses will also be addressed. All local partners have been involved in several Interreg projects which will be addressed during the excursion.

Connecting Interreg Projects:

Involved in the visit:  DARKER SKY, TREASURE, MANABAS COAST.

Involved local partners:  UNESCO Wadden Sea Visitor Center Wilhelmshaven, Wadden Sea National Park Authority, Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, University of Oldenburg, Office for Regional Development Weser-Ems, The Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Protection, and Nature Conservation Agency.

Theme: Economic resilience

On this visit we will go to the charming harbour town Elsfleth and explore activities of the Maritime Competence Centre Elsfleth and Jade University of Applied Sciences in the field of maritime education and research. Maritime Competence Center provides education and training for the future blue economy labour such as sea survival, security on ship, firefighting, medical care etc. Respective training sites where training takes place can be visited and equipment tested. The Center is located on the Maritime Campus of the Jade University which offers courses in maritime shipping and nautical sciences. In addition, the university runs a planetarium, a ship handling simulator and a manoeuvre pool. The Jade University is involved in several research projects related to maritime topics which will be presented as a part of the study visit. The trip will also include a walk showing the maritime heritage of the town.

Connecting Interreg Projects:

Involved in the visit: None, projects with national and international funding will be presented. 

Involved local partners: Maritime Competence Centre Elsfleth and Jade University of Applied Sciences, Office for Regional Development Weser-Ems.

Theme: Integrated urban transformation, climate adaptation, urban green infrastructure, sustainable urban mobility, affordable housing

 During the excursion you will experience different sites in Bremen where different aspects of urban transformation are currently taking place.

1) The excursion starts in the City Center of Bremen. Following the „Centrum Bremen 2030+ Strategy“ the city aims to increase the diversity of uses and to improve the attractiveness of public spaces, thus transform the city center towards a renewed heart for the urban commons. During the city center walk you will observe current projects under development as well as visit historical monuments including:  resilient public spaces adapted to the impacts of climate change (climate street Dechanatstraße, Domshof square), the World Heritage historical 'Townhall with Roland' and finally the Bremen Town Musicians.

2) At the site Quartier 45 in Falkenstraße you will get to know, how the municipality cooperates with the housing company GEWOBA to integrate shared mobility/ electric mobility into a real estate and neighborhood development and thus to contribute to sustainable urban mobility.

3) The final stage leads you to Bürgermeister-Ehlers-Platz and the Torhaus Nord in Gröpelingen in the middle of an urban refurbishment area, where you can experience how urban green infrastructure and natur based solutions are implemented in an densely built city district and which tools are applied to involve local communities.

Connecting Interreg Projects:

Involved in the visit: Biodiverse Cities, Green Dense (NWE), Share North Squared, COPPER, Super Smart Charging Hubs.

Involved local partners: Project Office City Center Bremen, Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Science, Ministry for Building, Mobility and Urban Development, Bremen Environmental Consulting (NGO).