Mini-Sprint Project Acceleration
MCAP Regions in Action
After a three-month “Mini Sprint” to spur project acceleration and collaboration, nine cross-regional teams submitted project proposals to be considered for funding and added capacity support from the MCAP Secretariat, thanks to the generosity of the Hilton Foundation. Ultimately, three projects were selected to design and implement solutions to MCAP's Priority Actions—Extreme Heat, Wildfire, and Drought—with the ambitious goal of generating meaningful progress by and beyond COP30.
During the Annual Convening held in May of 2025 in the Western Cape, the three selected teams presented their projects and received expert feedback to refine their work plans and outcomes. Through this session, the MCAP Secretariat also identified opportunities for building a learning agenda across the partner regions. The session activated excitement and furthered opportunities for new cross-regional collaborations, partnerships, and additional funding streams for the projects. In the coming months, the MCAP Secretariat, in collaboration with regions that are not involved in the projects, will offer two themed webinars in alignment with MCAP's Priority Actions.
Learn more about the three projects below. Feel free to download the projects’ one-pagers and share them with potential technical partners and / or funders. For questions about the projects, please contact secretariat@medclimate.org.
The Selected Projects:
Increasing Awareness and Preparedness to Extreme Heat in Mediterranean Regions Through a Heat Island Monitoring & Prediction Tool
TEAM LEAD Santiago de Chile
PARTNER REGIONS Western Cape, California
PROJECT ADVISOR Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency
IMPLEMENTATION LEAD Universidad de Chile, Red por la equidad energética (REDPE)
IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape (UWC)
This project will create a Heat Island Monitoring & Prediction Tool, a GIS-based web tool to map heat islands within the urban and rural areas of Santiago de Chile and the Western Cape regions. Building on a successful model from California, this tool will help regional and local governments, scientists, and planners understand heat exposure
and inform adaptive strategies. Working with local university partners in Santiago and Western Cape, the project will deploy sensors to collect standardized temperature data across both regions. By integrating temperature data with census and health data, the tool will identify areas most at risk. This will enable stakeholders to make better-informed decisions on resource allocation and the development of adaptation strategies to keep communities safe, strengthening technical capacity and fostering data-driven decision-making to close the climate resilience gap.
Improving Mediterranean Coastal Wetland Resilience Through Biodiversity Protection and Sustainable Water Management Practices
TEAM LEAD Catalonia
PARTNER REGIONS Western Cape, Central Greece
IMPLEMENTATION LEAD Amics dels Aiguamolls i del, Patrimoni Natural de l’Empordà (AAPNE)
IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS Freshwater Research Center
This project will enhance the resilience of freshwater reservoirs by installing physical and nature-based barriers to reduce saline intrusion. In Catalonia, a sluice gate will be installed on the Fluvià River to physically limit saltwater intrusion from maritime storms and reduced freshwater flows, protecting local ecosystems and agricultural lands. Simultaneously, the Western Cape will construct a floating wetland to act as a natural filter in the Hartenbos estuary, absorbing excess water and managing salinization and erosion while improving overall ecosystem health. Both regions will monitor the performance of their interventions by tracing water loss and assessing infrastructure and riparian health.
Central Greece will act as a key knowledge partner, supporting implementation teams with best practices and research to prepare for a similar intervention in the future. Ultimately, the three regions will jointly develop a set of policy recommendations for long-term adaptive management of freshwater reservoirs under the increased threat of salinization.
Informing Mediterranean Managed Fire Practices Through a Geospatial Risk & Biodiversity Assessment Platform
TEAM LEAD Western Cape
PARTNER REGIONS Catalonia, California, New South Wales, Santiago de Chile
IMPLEMENTATION LEAD CapeNature, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF)
This project will create a comprehensive, map-based tool that integrates biodiversity and historical wildfire data from Catalonia and the Western Cape. Building on Catalonia’s existing methodology, the tool will identify high-priority areas for proactive, managed fire practices to reduce fuel loads from invasive species, helping to restore biodiversity and preserve water. A broader team of wildfire and biodiversity experts from California, New South Wales, and Santiago, Chile will collaborate to enhance this methodology and develop a system for predictive risk modeling and mitigation planning. The project will leverage remote-sensed imagery and other sources to establish indicators for evaluating the efficiency of these fire prevention actions. This comprehensive system will be designed to provide critical biodiversity and risk information for governance and a continuous service for a wide range of public and private users, enabling them to integrate managed fire practices in their mitigation actions.
