News | MAR2PROTECT

MAR2PROTECT’s LivingLab Initiative Expands with Successful Launch of Second Meeting in Viana do Castelo

by admin | Apr 30, 2024 | Demosite 7, events, News

MAR2PROTECT, in collaboration with Centro Interdisciplinar De Investigacao Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR) and CMIA de Viana do Castelo, is thrilled to announce the successful launch of the second meeting of its LivingLab initiative at the Lima River estuary. The event took place on April 16, 2024, in Viana do Castelo, Portugal.

The workshop witnessed the enthusiastic participation of stakeholders from diverse sectors, including the public sector, academia, industry, and civil society. Employing a co-creative methodology, attendees engaged in fruitful discussions, identifying optimal strategies for local societal involvement, highlighting potential challenges within the case study, and fostering community awareness to prevent water contamination. Their invaluable feedback not only underscored the effectiveness of ongoing efforts but also illuminated the path forward for the LivingLab.

This LivingLab represents the inaugural venture of its kind in Portugal, marking a significant milestone in MAR2PROTECT’s broader mission. As part of a larger network spanning seven demo-sites across Africa and Europe, including South Africa, Tunisia, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and now two locations in Portugal, this LivingLab embodies meticulous site selection based on past successes, climatic conditions, water sources, pollution types, Managed Aquifer Recharge schemes, and socio-political context.

The implementation of this LivingLab (and all other MAR2PROTECT LivingLabs) is supported by the methodology and detailed guidance provided by our partners from IHE Delft Institute for Water Education.

MAR2PROTECT seeks to 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 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 Launches Cape Flats LivingLab in South Africa

by admin | Mar 11, 2024 | Demosite 5, events, News

MAR2PROTECT has successful launched the Cape Flats LivingLab in South Africa during the last week. The event was proudly hosted by the Stellenbosch University Water Institute in collaboration with the City of Cape Town.

The Cape Flats LivingLab event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including representatives from academia, the public sector, and the private sector. Participants included key figures public government, agronomists, farmers, and other relevant parties.

The discussions at the event revolved around the successes and challenges in groundwater management within the Cape Flats Aquifer. Additionally, the event highlighted the innovative technologies and activities developed by MAR2PROTECT. The focus extended to exploring the role and future prospects of a MAR2PROTECT LivingLab in the local context.

MAR2PROTECT seeks to 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 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.

Successful launch of MAR2PROTECT LivingLab in Viana do Castelo Welcomes Participation from Multifaceted Stakeholders

by admin | Feb 26, 2024 | Demosite 7, events, News

MAR2PROTECT, through its partner Centro Interdisciplinar De Investigacao Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR), and with the collaboration of CMIA de Viana do Castelo as a facilitator, held a successful workshop on February 21 to launch the project’s LivingLab in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, where the Lima River estuary is located.

Members of different sectors such as the public sector, academia, industry, and civil society attended the day. Using a co-creative approach, the stakeholders helped to identify the best ways for local societal engagement, detect possible challenges in the case study, raise community awareness prevent water contamination and provided feedback on the effectiveness and next steps.

This LivingLab is the first to be launched of the two located in Portugal. In total, there are seven demo-sites located across Africa and Europe; South Africa, Tunisia, Netherlands, Italy and Spain are each home to one demo-site, while Portugal is home to two. These sites have been carefully chosen for their success in previous projects as well as the climatic conditions, water sources, types of pollution, Managed Aquifer Recharge schemes and socio-political contexts.

MAR2PROTECT seeks to 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 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.

More than 150 people attended the MAR2PROTECT conference on wastewater treatment at the University of Bologna

by admin | Feb 19, 2024 | events, News

The MAR2PROTECT project was presented on February 8, 2024 at the University of Bologna, in the framework of a conference entitled “Innovative approaches to wastewater treatment and reuse in the era of climate change: the MAR2PROTECT, StopUP and WATERUN and projects”.

The conference, attended by 155 participants from academia, water utilities, public institutions and technology providers, was articulated in a first session dedicated to the management and treatment of urban runoff and combined sewer overflow, and a second session focused on the removal of micropollutants from wastewater and its reuse for managed aquifer recharge.

The event ended with a round table on the future perspectives of wastewater treatment taking into account the proposed revision of the EU wastewater directive. The conference included a large participation of members of the LivingLab relative to the Italian case study of MAR2PROTECT, and of the Community of Practice relative to the Italian case study of the StopUP project.

MAR2PROTECT Partners Convene with International Advisory Board for Strategic Collaboration

by admin | Jan 19, 2024 | events, News

In a significant milestone towards enhancing the prevention of groundwater contamination, the esteemed partners of MAR2PROTECT met this week the International Advisory Board in a collaborative effort to improve groundwater quality and quantity.

MAR2PROTECT is a pioneering initiative, funded by Horizon Europe programme, dedicated to provide a holistic approach to prevent groundwater contamination from the impacts of climate change and global change, through different innovative technologies.

The main idea consists in a tool supported by Artificial Intelligence that will receive real-time information from sensors placed in risk locations where the technologies will be implemented, among other vitally important information (innovative technologies, preferences of social agents, risk assessment…). 

The tool will allow a new generation of Managed Aquifer Recharge approach to improve groundwater quality and quantity. The core of the innovative Managed Aquifer Recharge is the M-AI-R Decision Support System which will incorporate technological and societal engagement information using an Artificial Intelligence-based evaluation to improve groundwater quality and quantity

The meeting was marked by engaging discussions and strategic planning sessions, with the primary goal of fostering a multidimensional approach to address the evolving challenges in groundwater contamination. The diverse expertise of the International Advisory Board members complemented the technical prowess of MAR2PROTECT partners, creating a synergistic environment conducive to innovation and strategic thinking.

🤝 Key Highlights from the Meeting:

Comprehensive Risk Assessment: Participants delved into a comprehensive analysis of current and emerging threats to groundwater, taking into account geopolitical dynamics, technological advancements, and environmental considerations.

Technology Integration: MAR2PROTECT partners showcased their latest advancements in sensoring, modelling and the societal engagement level for each of the demosites. The International Advisory Board provided valuable feedback on the practical implementation and scalability of these technologies.

Policy and Regulatory Frameworks: Discussions also centered around the necessity for collaborative efforts to shape effective policy frameworks that address groundwater pollution on a global scale. The meeting highlighted the importance of aligning technological innovations with regulatory requirements as well as societal engagement.

Capacity Building and Training: Recognizing the importance of human capital in ensuring those challenges, the partners explored the progress of the Living labs methodology implemented, where a series of interaction Events are being planned to cocreate innovative solutions.

🌊 Two days for a General Assembly

The week started with a two days internal meeting where partners shared their progress and next steps and discussed about different challenges faced such as Sensoring, Demosites situation, Life Cycle Assesment or societal engagement.

On 1 February, the project will also bring together the International Community of Practice made up of experts from different non-EU countries in the field of the impact of Climate or Global Change on Groundwater and international representatives of high-impact institutions. The objectives of these meetings are to promote the co-creation and exchange of experiences, challenges and solutions, to train actors in adaptation to their local contexts or to promote the replication of the opportunities discovered.

Stay tuned for further updates as MAR2PROTECT strives to prevent groundwater contamination.

First living lab launched at Emilia Romagna

by admin | Dec 13, 2023 | Demosite 4, events, News

Last week, on 5 December in Bologna (Emilia Romagna, Italy), the first LivingLab of the MAR2PROTECT project was publicly launched: The Emilia Romagna Living Lab!

30 external stakeholders, representatives of various organizations, including water utilities, technology providers in the water sector, local governments, environmental protection agencies, universities and civil society organizations met with 10 researchers from the University of Bologna (Italy) 1 from IHE Delft (The Netherlands), and 3 representatives of HERA, one of the major water utilities in Northern Italy and a partner of MAR2PROTECT. During the meeting, participants shared their views on the upcoming challenges with sustainable groundwater management in Emilia Romagna, and co-designed the objectives and planned activities of the Living Lab.

We thank all participants for attending this event and sharing their valuable insights and feedback, and we look forward to working together in this Living Lab!”