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Innovating with nature for sustainable water management in the global south

Project description

Nature-inspired solutions to save water

Access to clean drinking water is a growing global challenge. By 2040, 1 in 4 children will live in regions of extreme water stress due to overuse, population growth, and climate change, especially in the Global South. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the NEUTRAL4GS project tackles this crisis by fostering collaboration between six academic institutions, one SME, and one water utility. The project’s goal is to co-create nature-inspired solutions for urban water management, combining innovative technologies like membranes and graphene-based nanocomposites. By involving local communities and authorities, NEUTRAL4GS aims for long-term sustainability and significant social, environmental, and public health benefits.

Objective

Water, particularly access to safe drinking water and sanitation remains a worldwide challenge. By 2040, it is estimated that 1 in 4 children will be living in regions of extremely high-water stress because of overuse, population growth, and climate change. One of the regions most affected by these issues is the Global South. An inclusive approach for managing water resources circularly is needed to address the clean water crisis. Here, the expertise from the European Union countries can support the research needs and knowledge gaps from the Global South, while simultaneously leading to an assessment of current challenges and best practises in the Global North. For that, 6 academic institutions, 1 SME and 1 water utility join efforts through NEUTRAL4GS.
By implementing co-creation and co-design strategies between partners from the Global South and EU, the project aims to develop and test solutions inspired by nature for urban water management. This includes jointly working with i) different types of urban water (stormwater, greywater and wastewater), as well as with ii) a range of different treatment technologies combining nature-based solutions with supporting technological units (e.g. membranes, nanofiber biomass carriers, graphene-based nanocomposites, lightweight porous media or photocatalysis) that can be innovated for more sustainable or close to nature performance to deliver treated water and water for reuse. Holistic sustainability and economic assessments will guide the development and prioritization of technologies. Thus, NEUTRAL4GS will pioneer innovative solutions in water treatment, ensure social acceptance and adoption of technologies, and generate significant impacts in terms of societal, environmental, and public-health benefits. By garnering awareness and involving the local authorities and local community in the process, NEUTRAL4GS strive to ensure sustainability and long-term success of the project’s outcomes beyond its lifetime.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-SE - HORIZON TMA MSCA Staff Exchanges

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-SE-01

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Coordinator

AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 202 400,00
Address
NORDRE RINGGADE 1
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Midtjylland Østjylland
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Participants (4)

Partners (3)

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