In April 2026, EcoDaLLi marked one of its final project milestones by hosting the Legacy Event “From Living Labs to Policy and Practice” in Ruse, Bulgaria. Held aboard the Ship Sophia on the Danube River, the gathering convened partners and stakeholders from across the Danube and Black Sea region to reflect on the project’s journey, exchange experiences and discuss future pathways for the Danube and Black Sea Lighthouse beyond the project’s lifetime. The agenda featured presentations and exchanges with related projects, including Danube4all, SWIM, iNNO SED and DaWetRest, fostering synergies and collaboration across projects working on river restoration, governance and water resilience in the region.

Key discussions during the event highlighted the growing challenges of the Danube and lessons learned throughout the project.

• Surrounding sediment transport in the Danube River and its implications for the long-term resilience of the Danube Delta keeps being a major challenge, reinforcing the need to understand the Danube as one interconnected macro-system (from its source in the Black Forest to the Black Sea).
• NbS can only succeed when local communities are involved from the beginning of a project and when restoration efforts are implemented through a connected, basin-wide approach capable of generating cascading environmental and social co-benefits. 
• Connectivity emerged as a central theme, not only between ecosystems and regions, but also across stakeholders, governance levels and disciplines.
• Innovation only creates impact when it is effectively linked to policy and implementation, highlighting the importance of translating project outcomes into practical river restoration measures and actionable policy recommendations.
• The importance of ensuring that project outcomes are not lost once funding it is a major priority. That reinforces the need for continuity, stakeholder ownership and long-term governance structures capable of carrying project results forward.

In this context, UrbanByNature aims to ensure that knowledge, tools, and results continue beyond the lifetime of EcoDaLLi, the CSA of the Lighthouse Danube and Black Sea. For this reason, the platform also hosts the project’s webinar series, where you can further explore the projects' efforts, experiences and key outputs in greater detail.