Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe, as a partner of the EU Horizon 2020 OPTAIN project, is opening the application process of the Summer School 2023 to accept 20 young specialists with a background in water management or environmental management and related programs, as well as those interested in enhancing water resource management and broader aspects of water security, with a specific interest in Natural Small Water Retention Measures (NSWRM).

Building on the new knowledge and findings of the OPTAIN project, the Summer School will enhance students’ knowledge, skills, and competencies to support better implementation of natural, small and underutilized water and nutrient retention measures. By showing under which climate, scale, location in the catchment, and combination of the NSWRM measures perform best, the Summer School focuses on enhancing both the environmental and socio-economic performance of the catchments. There is a need to increase the knowledge and understanding of the multiple benefits spatially targeted combinations of NSWRM have on the management of small agricultural catchments and on the conditions under which they perform most effectively.