CRESCO Adria has delivered risk analyses, planning guidelines and adaptation plans. They show where heat, flooding and marine warming matter—but are neither construction orders nor guarantees of protection.

01

Project objectives have become concrete planning outputs

The Interreg project CRESCO Adria presented its final results in Rijeka on 15 September 2026. Since April 2024, seven Croatian and Italian partners have worked on climate-resilient coastal planning, led by the University of Rijeka’s Faculty of Economics and Business. The total budget is €1,928,010.59.

The outputs include risk and vulnerability analyses, shared resilience indicators, a digital visualisation tool, strategic guidelines, training and local adaptation plans for Crikvenica and Sali. The project formally continues until 30 September.

02

Crikvenica must consider river, sea and intense rain together

The publicly available Crikvenica report identifies the centre and the mouth of the Dubračina as particularly vulnerable to coastal, river and pluvial flooding. Heavily sealed surfaces heat up much more than green areas; mapped surface-temperature differences exceed ten degrees in places.

Other risks include extreme weather, wildfire and impacts on tourism. The analysis is explicitly a draft and relies mainly on existing studies and datasets. It is not a new area-wide CRESCO measurement campaign or a current flood warning.

03

Sali shows why two winter surveys cannot explain a full year

For Sali, the project examined the combined pressure of warming and aquaculture on the marine environment. Two field campaigns in January and February 2026 found no clear deterioration of the water column caused solely by the fish farm during the winter window.

Sediments close to the farm did, however, indicate organic enrichment. Risk near the seabed is rated moderate to elevated and may be greater in warmer seasons. The report therefore recommends surveys in late spring, summer and early autumn and more intensive investigation of sediment, benthos and currents.

04

The sea surface is warming—but a trend is not a local measurement

The satellite-based analysis for the Sali study area shows a seasonally adjusted sea-surface warming trend of about 0.26 degrees per decade. That is a long-term regional trend, not the water temperature at a particular beach on a particular day.

It would likewise be wrong to say the winter campaigns proved aquaculture harmless in general. They instead show where data remain too thin and which seasons must be added for a robust assessment.

05

The digital tool is meant to translate risk into spatial planning

Shared indicators and a visualisation tool are intended to help planners see heat, flooding, erosion and other pressures together in space. This can inform priorities for green space, removing hard surfaces, coastal protection, drainage or further studies.

No publicly usable address for the tool could be found by the editorial deadline. Nor were the final local adaptation plans linked as complete downloads in the project library. Their preparation and presentation are confirmed; general online availability is not.

06

An adaptation plan is not yet a municipal construction order

There is no public evidence that the City of Crikvenica and Municipality of Sali have formally adopted the plans. Individual measures also still lack funding, permits, procurement and schedules.

The project therefore guarantees neither protection from flooding and erosion nor that construction work is now under way in both places. Its results provide a technical basis. Whether and how they enter municipal spatial planning and investment will be decided in later steps.

07

For travellers this is preparedness, not a new closure

CRESCO Adria announces no current evacuation, beach closure or port closure. The analyses concern long-term planning and better preparation for risks that may become more frequent or intense on the Adriatic coast.

For a specific travel day, weather warnings, local traffic and bathing information and official instructions remain decisive. The project’s value lies behind them: towns and island municipalities gain a common language for aligning today’s building and land-use decisions with future conditions.

Faktatilanne

Lähteet ja päiväys

Lähteet tukevat faktoja. Suunnitteluohjeet ja suositukset ovat Golden Beachin toimituksellisia arvioita.

  1. CRESCO Adria – Climate RESilient COastal planning in AdriaticInterreg Italy–Croatia · project period 2024–2026; checked 26 September 2026Period, budget, partners, objectives and shared outputs
  2. CRESCO Adria Final ConferenceInterreg Italy–Croatia · 15 September 2026; checked 26 September 2026Final conference and presentation of outputs
  3. CRESCO Adria: klimatski rizici i jadranska obalaUniversity of Rijeka · 17 September 2026; checked 26 September 2026Results, adaptation plans, tool, guidelines and training
  4. Održana završna konferencija projekta CRESCO AdriaSpatial Planning Institute of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County · September 2026; checked 26 September 2026Official final account, digital tools, guidelines and local plans
  5. Reports on observed climate change impacts – CrikvenicaCRESCO Adria / Interreg Italy–Croatia · 2026; checked 26 September 2026Draft status, data basis and heat, flooding, coastal and extreme-weather risks
  6. Reports of observed climate change impacts – SaliCRESCO Adria / Interreg Italy–Croatia · 2026; checked 26 September 2026Winter surveys, sediment indications, marine warming, risk rating and recommended follow-up
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