The H2020 SUWANU EUROPE project comes at a critical moment for water management in Portugal, due to the confluence of several national and European strategies, all of them focused on the relevance and need to take advantage of urban reclaimed water. The reuse of water can only be extended if it is effectively included in management regional plans.
Thus, the first Regional Working Group (RWG) for the Alentejo region, Portugal, took place on February 17, 2020 in Lisbon and is the result of intense contact with actors from the water, agriculture and industry sectors to engage them in SUWANU EUROPE's activities. These contacts were initiated from the beginning of the project and, in a first stage, consisted in informing about the project objectives and planned activities.
In this event, the Portuguese cluster (CONSULAI and FENAREG) aimed to ensure the active participation of stakeholders in the development of action plans and to ensure effective knowledge transfer in the next stages of the project. The first RWG counted with several entities, including public entities of the sector, wastewater treatment companies, rural development groups, rural advisers, researchers and private companies (for example, water irrigation experts, engineers and advisory groups).