Waste in humanitarian Operations: Reduction and Minimisation (WORM)'s overall objective is designing guidelines and support actions for circular economy in the humanitarian sector. WORM focuses on two selected settings: field hospital deployments, and humanitarian livelihood programmes with a waste picking component. Across these settings, the project focuses on several cross-cutting focus areas: • the integration of bio-based technological innovation solutions in the humanitarian context, • using procurement as a gatekeeper for waste avoidance, and gateway to integrate innovative solutions, • improvements in waste management, and the use of less polluting waste treatment methods, • a specific focus on the sustainable livelihoods of waste pickers, and • policy development, advocacy and a heightened local awareness of improved waste management in the relevant local contexts. Following a multi-actor approach, WORM brings together medical humanitarian organisations and humanitarian organisations with livelihood programmes with innovation and supplier clusters, procurement service providers, logistics service providers, waste management service providers and academic partners. WORM seeks to involve a myriad of different stakeholders in data collection and policy development, including but not limited to, humanitarian actors positioned in the field during an operation, local waste management companies, start-ups focusing on bio-based solutions, policymakers (both local and global), and research institutions. WORM includes partners from low- and middle-income countries (esp. Kenya, Viet Nam) since humanitarian operations are often implemented in these contexts. WORM will focus on these contexts in their local awareness campaigns for improved waste management.

WANASEA is a joint project between European, Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian institutions. By promoting a better academic integration and international cooperation, WANASEA aims to improve the quality of higher education and enhance its relevance for society in the area of Water and related Natural Resources Management (WNRM). Along with the booming economy of the Greater Mekong Subregion, many concerns relate to growing pressures from industrial activities, agricultural use, growing population and consequences of climate change. This calls for appropriate mechanisms of WNRM in terms of energy supply, irrigation or habitat. To reach these objectives, our strategy is to strengthen international multidisciplinary research cooperation. Interactions between HEIs, and with non-academic stakeholders will be promoted, mainly through capacity-building and networking activities. Starting with an in-depth analysis of the main stakeholders and existing university courses related to WNRM, the project includes biannual trainings for HEI support staff and an annual ASEAN Water Platform joining researchers, students and professionals involved with WNRM. Additionally, intense networking activities, such as webinars, virtual debates, information sharing and dissemination of opportunities will insure long lasting effect in terms of research output and appropriate policy recommendations. Both students from EU and Asian partners will be offered opportunities to attend and to create links for future collaborations. Experts and professors from EU will provide Asian HEIs with recommendations for syllabus development, innovative research methodologies or e-learning activities. WANASEA will offer an organised framework dedicated to professional interactions between academic and non-academic stakeholders involved in WNRM, thus improving the quality of HEIs’ curricula and research capacities at regional level.

Urban GreenUP aims at obtaining a tailored methodology (1) to support the co-development of Renaturing Urban Plans focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation and efficient water management, and (2) to assist in the implementation of NBS in an effective way. NBS classification and parametrization will be addressed and some resources to support decision making will be established as part of the project activities. A large scale and fully replicable demonstration action of NBS accompanied by innovative business models will provide evidences about the benefits of NBS contributing to the creation of new market opportunities for European companies, and fostering citizen insight and awareness about environmental problems. Three European cities will assume the demos as front-runners (Valladolid, Liverpool and Izmir), other set of two European cities will act as followers to strengthen the replication potential of the results (Ludwigsburg and Mantova) and finally three non-European cities (Medellín, Chengdu and Quy Nhon) will allow to identify the market opportunities for European companies out of Europe and fostering the European leadership in NBS implementation at global level. URBAN GreenUp also aims to: fostering the creation of a global market and EU international cooperation; deploy a wide Exploitation and Market deployment procedure for NBS solutions & deploy an Impact-based Communication and Dissemination strategy.