On 25 October 2024, MAR2PROTECT held its second Living Lab workshop in Frielas, Portugal. This event was successfully hosted online by NOVA as the leading entity for the Lisbon area demo site of the project.
This innovative initiative aims to enhance collaboration among local communities, businesses, and research institutions to improve groundwater conditions in the Frielas region. On this occasion, the workshop gathered various stakeholders to share their perspectives on the technologies and materials developed through the project, specifically those applied in Frielas. The meeting also focused on co-creation activities that will soon be implemented in the region. Participants worked together to select and plan these activities with the goal of involving local citizens.
This Living Lab represents a significant step toward enhancing our community’s resilience and sustainability. Through workshops like this, MAR2PROTECT is getting closer to finding new ways to protect groundwater from global contamination.
MAR2PROTECT has successful launched the Frielas LivingLab in Portugal during the last week. The event was proudly hosted by NOVA FCT, as the third demosite of the project.
This exciting event was achieved in collaboration with a wide range of partners and stakeholders, including the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), the Regulatory Authority for Water and Waste Services (ERSAR), the Municipality of Loures, the Municipality of Lisbon, the Municipality of Almada, Lisbon E-NOVA, the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC), the Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences (MARE), the Portuguese Association of Environmental Technologies Companies (Apemeta), Águas do Tejo Atlântico, and Aquapor, among others.
The first workshop brought together these prominent entities with the aim of discussing groundwater management both nationally and across Europe. The primary focus was on ensuring the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of the strategies proposed by the project. During the event, successful case studies were explored, key challenges were identified, and next steps were outlined to drive progress in this vital area.
The upcoming workshop of the LivingLab will focus on gathering stakeholders’ opinions on the technologies developed in the project, as well as co-creating awareness activities for civil society on this crucial topic.
MAR2PROTECT seeks tosave the world’s groundwater from contamination through an innovative and holistic approach. This research project brings together two main strategies, the M-AI-R tool and LivingLabs, to create new approaches for safeguarding groundwater as it becomes more vulnerable in the face of climate change.
The project kicked off in December 2022 and will run for four years. It is funded by the Horizon Europe programme with a total cost of €4.143.681,25. MAR2PROTECT will usher in a new generation of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) that engages stakeholders and enhances both groundwater quality and quantity.
MAR2PROTECT will help save the world’s groundwater from contamination through an innovative and holistic approach. This research project brings together two main strategies, the M-AI-R tool and LivingLabs, to create new approaches for safeguarding groundwater as it becomes more vulnerable in the face of climate change.
The tool M-AI-R will be placed in at-risk aquifers and receive real-time information from sensors, aiming at quantifying global change/climate change impacts on groundwater. At the same time, LivingLabs are being set up in each aquifer region, creating a space for interactions in which stakeholders are at the center of the innovation process.
There are seven demo-sites located across Africa and Europe; South Africa, Tunisia, Netherlands, and Spain are each home to one demo-site, while Portugal is home to two. These sites have been carefully chosen by their success in previous projects as well as the climatic conditions, water sources, types of pollution, Managed Aquifer Recharge schemes and socio-political contexts.
The project kicked off in December of 2022 and will run for four years. It is funded by the Horizon Europe programme with a total cost of €4.143.681,25. MAR2PROTECT will usher in a new generation of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) that engages stakeholders and enhances both groundwater quality and quantity.
Innovation experiments with stakeholders in real-life settings
A tailored methodology is currently being deployed in each demo-site to establish the LivingsLabs. These LivingLabs bring together stakeholders from citizens and civil society organizations to scientists, public sector agencies, and industry leaders. The LivingLabs consist of a series of workshops that allow stakeholders to provide feedback on the effectiveness, suitability and replication potential of the implemented technologies. Using this co-creative approach, stakeholders will also help the project identify the best ways for local societal engagement such as raising community awareness and preventing water contamination, beyond the mere implementation of the project technologies. In this way, MAR2PROTECT will carry out cutting-edge research and trigger changes in a real-life context. The first LivingLab will be launched in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy on 5 December 2023.
A multidisciplinary consortium
MAR2PROTECT brings together 11 partners from 7 countries to form a diverse and dynamic consortium. coordinated by FCT NOVA. It involves 7 Research and Technology Organisations (CIIMAR, CETAQUA, AQUATEC, IHE, IT, ISSBAT and SUWI), 3 universities (FCT NOVA, UNIBO and KTU), and 1 technology transfer entity (FEUGA). It also includes 3 large water utilities (AdTA, Dunea and HERA), 1 university (FHNW) and a public administration (City of Cape Town) as associated partners.
To ensure a high replication potential, M-AI-R Decision Support System will collect information from 7 demo sites in 4 Europeancountries(Portugal, Italy, Spain, Netherlands) and 2 in non-European countries(Tunisia, South Africa).
These demo sites were selected to be the representative of a wide panorama in terms of climatic conditions, type of groundwater pollution, water sources used for Managed Aquifer Recharge, political/societal context, and to maximize the potential replication of the MAR2PROTECT holistic approach and impact. All demo sites include a coastal aquifer affected by salinity intrusion. Demo sites were carefully chosen by their degree of maturity from previous successful projects developed by the partners.
