Freshwater ecosystems are heavily impacted by human activities and climate change. Overall, at least 37% of Europe's freshwater fishes are threatened at a continental scale, and 39% are threatened at the EU level. This is one of the highest threat levels of any major taxonomic group (DG. Environment, 2011). Many species of river fish are in a very poor conservation status and even those that are protected by eg. the Habitats Directive, are not regularly monitored and documentation of the population trend and status is often lacking. A recent great increase in predation pressure has further increased pressure on river fish, even in healthy, restored or least-impacted areas. In the EU, predation may be the main reason for widespread loss of populations of Habitats Directive listed grayling (Thymallus thymallus). There is a genuine and widespread concern among managers and stakeholders regarding protection of wild populations of river fish, as grayling, from unsustainable predation pressure. The conflicts involving fish protection and predation have been intense in most member states for decades and despite protective measures, including culling (Birds Directive article 9-derogations), the conflicts have remained intense. ProtectFish aim to investigate the monitoring and protective measures of Habitat Directive-listed river fish species, answering Area A of the call. We will develop and test protective actions, using cormorants (Phalocorax carbo sinensis) and grayling as a case. Small- and large scale field experiments will be conducted to measure the effect of relieving cormorant predation pressure on fish populations. We will examine the background for the conflicts, by estimating the current population status of cormorants and grayling in EU as well as quantify the culling of cormorants. The results of ProtectFish will directly aid to achievement of EU Biodiversity Strategy, Natura 2000 and the WFD as well as improved adaptive nature management on local levels.

"The Agrof-MM project in Agroforestry Education, Mediterranean & Mountains ereas, is aimed at farmers, future farmers, advisors and stakeholders in Agroforestry. This agricultural system has experienced a strong abandonment in the 20th century, to count today only a few million ha in Europe. Following the work of scientific research, development structures-agencies, and the experiments of some professionals, in recent years, agroforestry has met a true national and European recognition. Depending on the country, states or professional organizations and training actors reintroduce Agroforestry in the course of training and qualification in initial education (VET) and in adult training. Based on the results of scientific research, development structures and those of the ""farmer-researchers"", experimental courses were conducted in different countries, including FR, in the UK or in IT, on a small scale, as resources, trainers and available skills are scarce. It is on these four components: the results of scientific research, professional practice formalized training based on business situations, innovative teaching resources, the transfer from past AgroFE ToI project, the AgroF-MM project is based. In the partnership countries, the need for conversion and development is between 25 000 and 30 000 farms in the next 5 to7 years, which means training 25,000 to 30,000 farming managers (L4 to L6 by country) as well as the same number of workers and ‘’small farmers’’, L2-L3-L4 by country. But in order to achieve, to support these conversions, these profound changes in modes of practical production, we need counsellors-advisors, trainers, specialists and the level of human resources is low! The partners have identified training needs in the short term: These needs are on the one hand farmers and future farmers, adults and pupils - students, on the other hand, middle managers and teachers-counsellors-specialists. These requirements therefore relate to two levels of qualification L2-L3-L4 L5+/L6 and 3 types of learners (target groups): - Students (in VET) and adults, small farmers, future farmers and workers in farming on the one hand, mainly L2-L3, sometimes L4,- the farmers and future farmers (in larger farms) and middle management, mainly L3-L4-L5, sometimes L5,- the advisors-teachers-specialists, mainly level L5+L6,and the stakeholders of the oriention-pretraining tools and support systems, to attract learners, future farmers or to inform farmers and farming workers..In the short term, the project will address these 4 needs / three publics through a AgroF-MM training system established by the partners, partly based on the AgroFE Leonardo ToI project, the development of the EU AgForward RTD 7th research, the EURAF EU research association and its working groups, and the outcomes from the French RMT and Casdar programme. The project would be build on innovative teaching and training practices,( FR, GR BG), for instance on professional situations providing training and certification at the workplace (like SPS in France), access to recognized qualifications (NQF, EQF, ECVET, ECTS when possible), a process based on ‘’russian dolls’’, the certified and accredited inferior level giving access to the superior one, the certification at L4 giving access to L5 in the same domain.The training paths at the two planned levels have been developed with a common professional reference system, called the European Professional Referential in Agroforestry, EPRA, a common content, training framework for agroforestry called Core Content. In order to reduce the differences in knowledge and skills between the partners It has been necessary to develop a common professional vocabulary, the Theaurus, which did not exist, which required an important work with trainers- teacher-researchers, professionals, Thesaurus which represents an additional production of the project. A training framework adaptable to the specificities and training modalities of each of the partner countries has been designed and successfully implemented in six partner countries to train more than 150 operators and professionals in training 5j, more than 300 in training 1j and 70 trainers and advisors."

The negative environmental impacts results from the linear ‘take, make, dispose’ and dominant economic models of our time, traditionally adopted by decision-making of main stakeholders around mobility are changing thank to EV's irruption, but Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) are not yet green enough to reduce mobility footprint to lowest levels. Thus, recycling has to be developed to achieve higher efficiencies and recovery rates to reintroduce Critical Raw Materials from End-of-Life (EOL) LIBs. Recycling technology is still at the lab-scale due to the complex structure of EOL LIBs. Currently, pyro-metallurgy is the most applied method in the industry. Although this process does not need pre-treatment, its energy-wasting, the equipment investment is large and it will cause serious pollution. In response to these problems, many companies have developed hydrometallurgical processes, that can recover Li and Al with low energy consumption. However, it requires pre-treatment, leaching, purification and other steps, and it could be a long way. FREE4LIB aims to develop at TRL 5-6 technologies to achieve 6 new sustainable and efficient processes to recycle EOL LIBs (dismantling, pre-treatment and 4 materials recovery processes) delivering innovative recycling solutions to reach highly efficient materials recovery (metal oxides, metals and polymers) improving the supply of secondary resources at EU level. FREE4LIB also will deliver 3 processes aiming at metals and polymers re-using and electrode synthesis for re-manufacturing new LIBs, and it will study options to harness non-reusable elements. It will also deliver a Battery Passport (BP) methodology to improve processes traceability. Besides, 2 Open Platforms will be deployed: BP and Data-driven models for the process’s optimisation. At end, to validate and spread FREE4LIB: new LIBs will be assembled on battery packs and engagement activities with citizens, policymakers and battery stakeholder will be carried out, respectively.