Boosting Environmental Sustainability and Tools in WATER Sports
▶Summary
Background Water sports benefit both the body and mind. Physical activity in the water engages more muscles than that done on land, since in water more force is required for each movement, and the relaxing quality of water reduces stress, anxiety and depression. Water sports positively contribute to human well-being, but can also concurrently stress aquatic ecosystems. According to the EEA, many rivers, lakes and coastal waters in the EU don't reach the standard outlined in the European directive on water Objectives -Identification of good practices about environmental sustainability in sport to adapt them to water sports-Definition of green recommendations aimed at promoting both physical activity with water sports and environmental sustainability-Implementation of the recommendations in the water sports organisations involved in the project-Dissemination of the recommendations and all results among other national and international water sports organisations and relevant stakeholders Implementation During the first phase of the project, all partners searched for good practices involving sport and environmental sustainability at global level. All practices were collected and collated in a deliverable accessible on the project website. Such good practices were used to define specific recommendations on environmental sustainability for water sports. The recommendations have been implemented in the organisations involved, uploaded on the website and disseminated among different stakeholders Achievements Based on the UN SDGs related to the project, all partners identified 90 practices which were collated in a specific document.POLIMI analysed these practices and defined the recommendations that have been translated in 5 EU languages, and displayed and implemented in partners' facilities.The recommendations were disseminated worldwide, especially through the wide global networks and databases of partners CROS and ESC.3 TPMs allowed partners to have knowledge and cultural exchanges too.