Outcomes of RED ROSES project: A Comprehensive Approach to Cross-Border Natural Disaster Resilience

Climate change challenges our communities to build resilience in the face of natural disasters that do not stop at frontiers. In this context, the European RED ROSES project appear as an initiative of cooperation between France and Italy in the cross border region to strengthen prevention, monitoring and response capabilities of civil society actors in addressing specific natural disasters (floods, landslides and wild fires) in the context of climate crises. Multiple actors are involved on this effort providing essential information and collaboratively creating a data ecosystem where local and national authorities, natural hazard risk experts, humanitarian workers and crisis management operators interact and exchange data to respond to emergencies.

For sharing these data, we designed and implemented the RED ROSES Digital Geospatial Ecosystem (DGE) prototype, in first instance as a tool for quick response of French and Italian Red Crosses. The DGE was built orchestrating multiple geospatial open source software (including the GIS3W suite) and storing  data  at local and central nodes, which can be remotely administrated by authorized users.

We selected relevant data on this scope: catalogues of past landslides, floods and wildfires, as well as their respective hazard maps. Part of these data were translated and harmonised to facilitate their use on the cross border region. Near real-time data are also available, such as weather from meteorological agencies and satellite images from Copernicus European agency. The platform also include data on exposed elements (such as population distribution, roads, rail maps, etc.) and data collected by volunteers in the field using an orchestrated Kobo Toolbox instance. Additionally, a Decision Support Systems (DSS) devoted to support the Red Cross operative procedures before during and in the aftermath of a natural disaster has been designed and deployed .

We conducted a initial test of the RED ROSES DGE in October 2024 during a joint exercise organized by the Red Cross, incorporating  COVALEX and RED ROSES projects, in Bresso (Italy). The exercise featured a simulated emergency triggered by a Medicane (Mediterranean hurricane) impacting the cross border region, and presented to the Red Cross volunteers. The scenario was designed to replicate real-world crisis conditions and evolved dynamically through its phases, requiring participants to analyze risks, anticipate impacts, and respond to complex challenges in real time. The initiative underscored the importance of territorial risk prevention, seamless coordination, and evidence-based decision-making across borders.

The RED ROSES DGE prototype is currently in the engineering phase and will soon be ready for deployment in real-world conditions within the territory for which it was designed (the cross-border area between France and Italy). Furthermore, it can be adapted for implementation in other relevant border or international contexts.