About
OBJECTIVES
The challenge:
The presence of pollutants (such as heavy metals, mineral oil, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, and Volatile Aromatic Hydrocarbons) in our environment poses a serious threat to human health, causing multiple mental and physical diseases and premature deaths. Environmental pollution is also a major factor in the decline of biodiversity, reducing the ecosystems’ capacity to deliver services like carbon sequestration and contaminant removal.
To tackle this problem and support the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan, SYMBIOREM will:
1
Develop innovative strategies to remove pollution from soils, sediments, surface water and groundwater thanks to revitalization and bioremediation solutions.
2
Develop new circular business models to turn residues and contaminants from polluted environments into valuable resources.
3
Increase the safety of bioremediation and revitalization strategies, mitigating the risks of pollutants’ remobilization.
4
Increase the acceptance of bioremediation solutions by engaging citizens in participatory research, collaborative modelling, and co-design and collaborative management of bioremediation technologies.
What is
bioremediation?
Bioremediation is the use of either naturally occurring or deliberately introduced biological organisms (e.g., microorganisms, microbiomes, proteins, plants and animals) to consume and break down environmental pollutants, in order to clean a polluted site.
12 innovative nature-based bioremediation solutions:
SYMBIOREM will develop 12 innovative bioremediation solutions, to be used alone or in combination with each other, to remove pollution:
ADVISORY BOARD
Cristina Calheiros
CIIMAR-Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (PT)
Calheiros is Research scientist at CIIMAR, European Climate Pact Ambassador, Coordinator of the Centre for Monitoring and Environmental Interpretation (CMIA), Vila do Conde, Adjunct Professor at University of Saint Joseph, SAR Macao, China, Invited Professor at University of Porto and Vice-President of the Portuguese National Association of Green Roofs. Her expertise focuses on the development of nature-based solutions towards sustainability of territories, phytoremediation, treatment and valorization of water, soil and solid waste, development of integrative productive practices and environmental education.
Steven Loiselle
Associate Professor at the University of Siena (Italy) and Senior Scientist at Earthwatch Europe (Oxford, UK)
Steven Loiselle works as Associate Professor at the University of Siena (Italy) and Senior Scientist at Earthwatch Europe (Oxford, UK). His research focused on the dynamics of ecosystems in the context of global megatrends, including the impacts related to microplastics, organic matter and eutrophication, leading major international projects on the African Great Lakes, Paraná wetlands, in major Italian rivers (Piave, Arno) and in Yangtze valley lakes (China). Over the last decade, he has been working with citizen scientists in more than 80 projects across the globe, to empower communities to monitor and improve their local environments using robust and consistent analytical and knowledge sharing approaches. These projects are based on local and global partnerships of NGOs, local communities, business, regulatory and research stakeholders. In addition, he teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in Analytical and Environmental Chemistry and have supported young researchers in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America for two decades.
Asit Mandal
Indian Institute of Soil Science (IISS), Division of Soil Biology, Bengaluru, India
Dr Asit Mandal is Senior Scientist at ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, India in the field of soil health and bioremediation. His research primarily focused on soil bio-geochemical processes addressing the soil health, bioremediation and soil biodiversity issues. He is currently engaged in remediation of contaminated environments by using biological agents and soil amendments for sustainable soil health management. His expertise focuses on development of sustainable tools for the remediation of contaminated site and risk assessment, biodiversity conservation, waste management, organic and natural farming. His research work prioritizes the local problem linked with global issues. He received external research grants in the field of biodiversity and bioremediation and he is also associated with several research project funded by various scientific organization
Hui Zhu
IGA CAS (China)
Professor Hui Zhu is an Environmental Scientist in the field of water pollution and remediation. She specialized in biogeochemical processes of contaminants in surface water, restoration of degraded wetlands, and ecological engineering for wastewater treatment. In 2011, She obtained her Ph Degree from Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, CAS. She currently serves as the Deputy Head of Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment in Chinese Academy of Sciences.
PARTNERS
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