AIVP: Turning Port Resilience from Strategy into Action

Ports are at the front line of climate change. Rising sea levels, floods, and extreme weather events are putting infrastructures and communities under growing pressure. But building resilience requires more than technology, it demands governance, planning, and cooperation. That’s where AIVP, the worldwide network of port cities, plays a central role within the SAFARI project.

With over 200 members across the globe, AIVP brings together port authorities, local governments, researchers, and industry actors to strengthen dialogue between ports and their territories. For more than 30 years, the organisation has been promoting sustainable port-city relationships through its Agenda 2030, a framework aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Within SAFARI Ports, AIVP helps bridge the gap between policy and practice, ensuring that strategies for climate resilience can be translated into effective local actions. Its contribution combines analytical work, stakeholder engagement, and strategic dissemination to anchor SAFARI’s findings in real-world decision-making.

AIVP’s involvement includes:

Reviewing international frameworks and UN guidance related to port resilience and adaptation to climate change, to align SAFARI’s work with global sustainability goals.

Analysing best practices implemented by ports and port cities worldwide to identify what works in building climate-ready infrastructures.

‍Developing governance frameworks that support collaboration between ports and municipalities in managing climate risks and emergency responses.

Connecting partners with experts across AIVP’s network to exchange on climate financing, maritime innovation, and port-city cooperation.

Supporting pilot port activities, notably in Dunkirk, where resilience strategies are being tested on the ground.

Leading the exploitation strategy within SAFARI, ensuring that the project’s outcomes are shared, adopted, and scaled beyond the consortium.

Through these efforts, AIVP ensures that resilience is not treated as a technical add-on, but as a core principle of sustainable port governance. Its work highlights that achieving a green transition also requires a robust adaptation strategy, because sustainability is only meaningful when infrastructures can withstand the impacts of climate change.

By engaging decision-makers, facilitating knowledge exchange, and connecting local actions to global frameworks, AIVP turns resilience from an abstract goal into a shared reality for ports and their surrounding communities.

🎥 Watch the interview with José Manuel Pagés Sánchez, Director of Agenda 2030 at AIVP, and discover how AIVP is helping ports worldwide prepare and adapt for a resilient future.

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