Ponds and “pondscapes” (networks of ponds) are crucial for biodiversity conservation and their multiple societally beneficial ecosystem services (ES) provide the means to play a crucial role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. However, ponds are largely neglected in water- and nature-related policies and there is insufficient knowledge on how to manage and restore ponds to maximize their role as nature-based solutions (NBS) to increase resilience of ecosystems and society to climate change (CC). The overarching aim of PONDERFUL is to facilitate improved implementation of ponds NBS for CC mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation and delivery of ES through generating and integrating biodiversity, ecosystems, social, economic and policy knowledge and providing evidence-based guidance and tools for pond NBS implementation. To achieve this, PONDERFUL will: 1) evaluate the interactions and feedbacks between biodiversity, ES and climate in pondscapes at multiple spatial scales; 2) together with stakeholders, develop future scenarios for pondscapes in EU and CELAC in the context of CC, land use change, and changed policies; 3) develop and test the implementation of effective multifunctional NBS in close collaboration with the stakeholders using DEMOnstration sites in EU and CELAC countries; 4) develop a sustainable finance and investment guide for NBS, in collaboration with local stakeholders; 5) assess the potential for large-scale implementation of the proposed NBS in relation to existing barriers, enabling factors, financing and as economic viability, as well as social perceptions of benefits from pond NBS. Ultimately, the stakeholder-oriented approach adopted by PONDERFUL will ensure that the scientific knowledge produced on the benefits of using pondscapes as ecosystems delivering multiple ES is explicitly considered in decision making from local management to EU policies.

HEART’s integrated approach aims to significantly improve urban health and reduce health disparities through an innovative urban planning methodology that embraces and promotes the policy making of proper Blue-Green (BG)-based technologies with techniques for changing individual -citizens’- behaviour. HEART mainly targets to: (i) monitor and efficiently assess the impact of specific BG-based interventions on Public Health (PH) and Well-Being (WB) through studies to be carried out at both clinical and non-clinical settings, in three European cities, i.e. Belgrade (Serbia), Aarhus (Denmark) and Athens (Greece). This way HEART aims to create evidence-based policy making recommendations that will be addressed to the relevant health authorities of these countries (based on specific KPIs), (ii) change individual -citizens’- health related behaviour, by using emerging ICT-based techniques, (iii) develop robust plans for regenerating and rehabilitating urban ecosystems to improve PH and WB, while in parallel addressing key challenges such as low environmental quality and low biodiversity, resilience to Climate Change and extreme weather conditions, air pollution, undervalued use of space in deprived and residual-values areas leading to health inequalities; (iv) create inclusive and accessible urban environments by systematically implementing gender mainstreaming strategies and new participatory tools (ICT-based) in order to ensure that diverse groups’ needs are properly considered and embedded into urban-regeneration-planning; (v) design urban regenerating plans targeting to deliver cities-for-people: the proposed BG solutions will improve citizens’ quality of life, based on real evidence and co-design processes, as well as stimulating and supporting social inclusivity for all; and (vi) improve urban resilience (operational, social and economic) through interventions designed using a set of urban planning matrices based on stakeholders’ participation. ΗEART is part of the European Urban Health cluster.

EuPOLIS aims to: (a) replace the traditional perception in which engineering systems are built to protect the environment at significant costs. We aim to deploy natural systems to simultaneously enhance Public Health (PH) and Well-Being (WB), and create resilient urban ecosystems at lower Life-Cycle Costs; (b) propose a structured approach to activate the hidden possibilities and services of existing Natural and Engineered urban systems, integrate them and define their joint social, cultural and economic effects, as a main vehicle for Ecosystem Business Services and Investment; (c) regenerate and rehabilitate urban ecosystems, while in parallel addressing key challenges such as low environmental quality, fragmentation and low biodiversity in public spaces, water-stressed resources, undervalued use of space in deprived areas and therefore we improve urban livability; (d) improve urban resilience (operational, social and economic) through interventions designed using a set of proper urban planning matrices, which catalyse stakeholder participation, with a special attention to gender, age and disability perspectives within the process; (e) create inclusive and accessible urban spaces by systematically implementing gender mainstreaming strategies and novel participatory tools into all phases and processes of project development to ensure that the needs of diverse groups are considered. We aim to stimulate active communities’ participation throughout the process; (f) to improve citizens’ quality of life providing them with pleasant socializing open areas that stimulate social exchange and inclusivity; (g) monitor and validate the impact of all interventions to PH and WB of citizens. EuPOLIS solutions will be demonstrated in 4 European cities: Belgrade, Lodz, Piraeus and Gladsaxe. We have also included some follower cities (Bogota, Palermo, Limassol and Trebinje) in order to replicate and demonstrate the advantages of our innovations via mentoring and coaching.

RECONECT aims to contribute to European reference framework on Nature Based Solutions (NBS) by demonstrating, referencing and upscaling large scale NBS and by stimulating a new culture for 'land use planning' that links the reduction of risks with local and regional development objectives in a sustainable way. To do that, RECONECT draws upon the network of carefully selected Demonstrators and Collaborators that cover a range of local conditions, geographic characteristics, governance structures and social/cultural settings to successfully upscale NBS throughout Europe and Internationally. The RECONECT consortium is a transdisciplinary partnership between researchers, industry partners (SMEs and large consultancies) and responsible agencies at the local and watershed/regional level dedicated to achieve the desired outcomes of the project.

The main objectives of the BISON project are: ● To identify future research and innovation needs for a better integration of biodiversity with infrastructure planning, construction, operation and decommissioning. The project will develop a Strategic Research and Deployment Agenda (SRDA) which can be deployed at multiple scales, within the EU research framework programme, or by other regional, national or local programmes, in order to improve the knowledge-base on infrastructure and biodiversity. ● To make linear infrastructure more high performing and reliable while taking into account the specific needs of Western and Eastern Europe. In Western Europe, there is an increasing need to adapt existing long-lived infrastructure to new climate conditions, as well as finding innovative and sustainable solutions to reduce the impact of invasive species and support declining native species, while in Eastern Europe, there is significant land-use change and habitat fragmentation due to the surge in infrastructure developments to provide economic opportunities that are threatening the local, and very often endemic biodiversity. The project will identify the construction, maintenance and inspection methods and materials which are long-lasting and resilient and can be used by different transport modes to mitigate pressure on biodiversity. ● Support European Member States to fulfill their international commitments by engaging all stakeholders into biodiversity mainstreaming for infrastructure planning and development. It will do so by providing recommendations to minimise the impacts of infrastructure on biodiversity through supporting existing and developing projects. ● Support European Member States to become political leaders through collaboration and support of European research institutions and infrastructure operators, and providing more sustainability at the international level through jointly addressing biodiversity and infrastructure challenges.