AMR, CEC and ARG. If you haven’t heard these abbreviations before, you definitively missed the final meeting of the AquaticPollutants ERA-NET Cofund on 22-23 October 2024 at DECHEMA in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Researchers and stakeholders of the 18 funded research and innovation projects met under the heading under the heading "For a Healthy Aquatic Environment".
The projects focused on measuring, evaluating, and taking action to address pollution in aquatic ecosystems. They discussed aquatic pollutants, including antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), pathogens and other contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), related effects such as the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and strategies for pollution reduction. The "Funded Project Booklet" provides a good summary of the aims, outcomes, and expected impacts of all these projects.
Click here to download the Funded Project Booklet
The conference highlighted the successful collaboration between JPI Oceans, JPI AMR, and Water JPI. The Cofund had marked the first time these three JPIs have joined forces in a transnational call, as noted by Simon Frank, coordinator of the Cofund at Projektträger Karlsruhe, Germany.
The projects innovative approaches resulted in a significant number of scientific articles, but also new guidelines and standards, an early warning tool called Nanopore, a decision support system (DSS) using machine learning to predict risks in wastewater treatment plants, cost-effective technologies to reduce CECs, pathogens, and AMR bacteria in aquatic environments.
A special commendable feature of AquaticPollutants was its attention to facilitating knowledge transfer across sectors, with a specific project, “TransNet”, resourced to lead the efforts. As their central product, they developed a tool called TransNetViewer: Bridging the Knowledge Gap to facilitate a wider dissemination of results to the public and administrative sectors, policy, and industry. You can find the TransNetViewer tool below. Other knowledge transfer products include podcasts, games, and infographics targeted at non-specialists.
Giulio Pattanaro, from the European Research Executive Agency (REA), emphasised the importance of long-term sustainability for these projects, with discussions on future funding opportunities through the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025-2027 and initiatives like the Mission to Restore our Ocean and Waters.
Larissa Vargas, Water JPI, presented funding opportunities within the Water4All Consortium, while Thorsten Kiefer, Executive Director of JPI Oceans, highlighted JPI Oceans’ own Joint Actions, the EIT KIC, and the Ocean Decade as further opportunities to continue research in this area. He encouraged funded partners to collaborate with individuals who can amplify impact and use their expertise to identify gaps in regulations, which can then be raised with policymakers at a joint event. JPI Oceans generally reaffirmed its commitment to advancing innovation in aquatic pollution management, aligning with the broader goals of the EU Green Deal and the UN Ocean Decade.