MUDCAP – Strengthening resilience to muddy floods in North-West Europe
Sudden muddy floods can inflict severe damage across vast areas. In response, the Institute of Geography has joined the new Interreg research project „MUDCAP“, dedicated to fostering constructive collaboration between affected communities in four different pilot regions. The project addresses critical challenges ranging from flood prevention to minimizing impacts on the tourism sector and aims to limit damage while simultaneously enhancing resilience. The FAU-Team (AG Walker) consisting of PD Dr. Klaus Geiselhart, M.A. Leah Burgard und B.A. Eva Müller is contributing to the second and third of three Work Packages, collaborating closely with partners in the pilot area (ruwer valley, Trier-Saarburg).
MUDCAP (MUDdy flood mitigation through transnational action-oriented CAPacity building) is a three-year Interreg North-West Europe project running from 2026 to 2029. This transnational project addresses the growing challenge of pluvial muddy floods (PMFs), which are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change, causing soil erosion, runoff, damage to infrastructure, agricultural land and local communities across North-West Europe.
Bringing together researchers, public authorities, water management organisations and local stakeholders from Belgium, France and Germany, MUDCAP develops practical and scalable solutions adapted to territorial realities to improve muddy flood prevention, runoff management and soil erosion mitigation. Through pilot sites, digital tools, field actions and local governance approaches, MUDCAP supports the practical implementation of these solutions.
MUDCAP pursues three main objectives, implemented through three work packages:
- WP1: Enhance PMF risk prediction and decision-support for regional and municipal authorities under present and future climatic conditions, by developing PMF registration and documentation protocols, along with digital tools (databases, risk maps, prioritization schemes).
- WP2: Strengthen local co-governance of PMF management in NWE and support scalable dissemination across varied national and regional contexts, by developing co-design tools, methods, and policy recommendations through transdisciplinary pilot actions in small runoff sub-watersheds.
- WP3: Facilitate transnational knowledge exchange at NWE level, assess common challenges and opportunities in PMF risk management, and ensure the effective transfer, uptake, and long-term use of project outcomes – tools, data, and governance models – through joint benchmarking, open-access resources, and targeted communication and training activities.
Supported by the Interreg North-West Europe programme, the project is carried out by the following partners:
UCLouvain, ADSCIAN, DOMG, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, VMM, BRGM, Ghent University, Lille University, CRAGE, Trier University, RWTH Aachen University
The Interreg-Project MUDCAP has a duration time of three years, from 2026 to 2029. The project receives EU funding of 3.585.618,57€ and has a total budget of 5.976.030,95€.
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