Innovating with nature for sustainable water management in the global south

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.