Water and Food in the upcoming EU research activities

3rd Euro-Mediterranean Expert Group Meeting

Malta, 30 September 2015

Panagiotis Balabanis European Commission DG Research & Innovation Deputy Head of the ‘Eco-Innovation’ Unit

Research and Innovation

The World in 2030

• Large-scale exploitation of natural resources will

remain concentrated in a small number of dominant countries and regions;

• Food and water supply will be about managing scarcity — a problem made worse by climate change;

• By 2030, 93 % of the rise in energy consumption will be in non-OECD countries.

Research and Innovation

Water and Food Major components of successive EU

RTD programmes

Major societal challenges Key elements of several EU policies

(environmental, agriculture, climate change, international and development cooperation policies)

Sectors of key economic importance and ready for innovation

13th European Forum on Eco-innovation

FP7 – The importance of water related research

INFRA 5,0%

ERC 4,6%

SSH 0,7%Transport 2,0%

SME 9,4%

Regions KN/CAP 0,7%

Securities 0,7%

Environment 38,5%

Energy 6,1%Space 9,2%

INCO 0,3%ICT 6,7%

Health 0,3%

People 8,2%

KBBE 4,3%

NMP 2,9%

Science in Society 0,2%

CIP-EIP 0,2%

€130million per year in FP7 900 projects on Water from a multidisciplinary sectorial approach in FP7 to a transdiciplinary and cross-sectorial approach in HORIZON 2020

EU major policy drivers for research and innovation in the water sector in the

context of Horizon 2020

Innovation Union Flagship Initiative - European Innovation Partnership on Water

Resource Efficiency Flagship Initiative

Eco-Innovation Action Plan

EU water related policies (Blueprint to safeguard Europe’s waters)

Joint Programming Initiative "'Water challenges in a Changing World“

Water related ETPs (WssTP, SusChem) and PPPs (SPIRE)

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Joint Programming Initiative 'Achieving Sustainable Water Systems for a Sustainable

Economy in Europe and Abroad' Vision

o Reaching effective, sustainable coordination of European water RDI o Harmonizing national water RDI agendas and activities in Partner

Countries o Attaining critical mass of research programmes o Supporting European leadership in science and technology o Involving water end-users for effective RDI results uptake

Thematic Areas o Maintaining ecosystem sustainability; o Developing safe water systems for the citizens; o Promoting competitiveness in the water industry; o Implementing a water-wise bio-based economy; o Closing the water cycle gap

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EIP Water - Strategic Implementation Plan

EIP Water www.eip-water.eu

EIP Water - Opportunities

EU major policy drivers for research and innovation in the food sector in the

context of Horizon 2020

The Common Agricultural, Fisheries and Health and consumer policies

Resource Efficiency Flagship Initiative

Innovation Union Flagship Initiative - European Innovation Partnership for Agriculture productivity and sustainability

The Bioeconomy strategy

The EU environmental policy (Soil thematic strategy – Biodiversity)

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• EIP - Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (COM (2012)79) Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative "Innovation Union" specifies European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) as a new tool for fostering innovation through linking existing policies and instruments

• Based on interactive innovation model: linking up multiple actors for creation and diffusion of knowledge.

• Key entities: Operational Groups

• EU wide EIP network: communication, partnering, dissemination, knowledge flows and collecting practice needs http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/eip/documents/eip-opportunities_en.htm#eip-origins-of-eip-agri

The EIP-AGRI in short

Rural Development Horizon 2020 • Setting up

"operational groups" involving farmers, advisor, agribusiness, research, and NGOs to work on innovation projects

• Project funding for activities of operational groups, possibly combined with other measures (investment, knowledge transfer, advisory services)

• Supporting innovation support services

• Research projects, including on-farm experiments to provide the knowledge base for innovative actions

• Interactive innovation formats such as multi-actor projects and thematic networks genuinely involving farmers, advisors, entreprises,…."all along the project"

eip-agri

European Innovation Partnership Overarching concept – funding in:

(Focus groups form part of the networking function of the EIP: up to 20 experts - typically: scientists, farmers, advisors)

Focus on practical knowledge in a particular field, and where to get that knowledge, organised in 4 strands:

1. Take stock of the state of the art of practice (list of best practices), listing problems and opportunities

2. Take stock of the state of the art of research, summarizing possible solutions to the problems listed (incl. list of useful projects with the contacts)

3. Identify needs from practice: dissemination and propose further research where needed

4. Propose priorities for innovative actions, e.g. list of ideas for future interactive OG projects

EIP - Focus groups

Report available: FG: Soil organic matter content in

Mediterranean regions How can we improve soil organic

matter content in the Mediterranean region in a cost-effective way? What new solutions for securing soil functionality and soil fertility can be proposed in this regard?

On going: FG: Water & agriculture: adaptive strategies at farm level What farm level adaptation strategies exist or can be developed to deal with water scarcity? https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/co

ntent/focus-groups

About 20 Focus Groups during 2013/2015

Horizon 2020: addressing Europe's challenges

• Investing in research and innovation 2014-2020

• Budget of €77 billion

• Contributing to the Juncker Commission's policy agenda as a core component of Europe 2020, Innovation Union & European Research Area Investing in jobs and growth

Addressing people’s concerns ('societal challenges')

Strengthening the EU’s global position in R&I

• Coupling research to innovation to maximise impact

Health, demographic change and wellbeing 7 472 Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research and the Bioeconomy

3 851

Secure, clean and efficient energy 5 931 Smart, green and integrated transport 6 339 Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials

3 081

Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies 1 310

Secure societies 1 695 Science with and for society 462 Spreading excellence and widening participation 816

Funding of Societal Challenges (in € million, 2014-2020)

Water in Horizon 2020 A key component of Societal Challenge 5: Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw

materials

•Objective of Societal Challenge 5: •"to achieve a resource – and water – efficient and climate change resilient economy and society, the protection and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems, and a sustainable supply and use of raw materials, in order to meet the needs of a growing global population within the sustainable limits of the planet's natural resources and eco-systems."

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Research and Innovation

SC5 Work Programme 2014-2015 Focus Area

Water innovation: Boosting its value for Europe

Reinforcing water innovation capacity and market uptake of

successful research results Boost the competitiveness and growth of European water

sector Create leadership in water resources management and

positioning Europe as a global market leader in water related innovative solutions

Support the needs of relevant EU water, innovation and resource efficient policies, international commitments and related initiatives.

Climate action - Climate services - Low-carbon

Europe - Arctic dimension

Systemic eco-innovation for a circular economy

Raw materials

Sustainable growth by harnessing: - Earth observation data - Cultural heritage

Mainstreaming water R&I

Societal Challenge 5: key objectives for 2016-2017 Nature-based solutions:

- for territorial resilience

- for sustainable cities

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Prospects for water R&I in the 2016-2017 Horizon Work Programme

Maintain the momentum of the Water Innovation FA promoting investment of innovative solutions

Putting water in the center of a systemic approach for eco-innovation and circular economy, natural based solutions and climate services

Help unlock public and private investments in the water sector

Make wider use various Horizon 2020 financial instruments and create opportunities for synergies with other EU funds (Cohesion funds, LIFE+, etc.)

Large-scale demonstration projects with replication potential

SC5 2016-2017: Structure of the calls

• SC5 call 'Greening the economy'

• Contribution to cross-cutting calls: 'Industry 2020 in the Circular Economy' 'Smart and Sustainable Cities'

• Contribution to calls in other WP parts:

'Blue growth – demonstrating an ocean of opportunities' (SC2)

'Sustainable Food Security – Resilient and resource-efficient value chains' (SC2)

'Competitive low-carbon energy' (SC3; cross-challenge topic) SME Instrument call

Water: 2016 topics

Call 'Greening the economy':

SC5-11-2016: Supporting international cooperation

activities on water (CSA – deadline 8 March 2016)

SC5-12:2016: Food systems and water resources for the development of inclusive, sustainable and health Euro-Mediterranean societies (CSA – deadline 26 January 2016)

• Total indicative budget for these topics in 2016: €4M

Policy Research and Innovation

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Specific Challenge:

SC5-12-2016 Food systems and water resources for the development of inclusive, sustainable and healthy Euro-Mediterranean societies

Integrating various related on-going joint programming activities on food and water into a large scale coherent programme with well- defined objectives and implementation actions. Scope (see call text):

Bring together the main national research funding owners and/or managers involved in the PRIMA joint programming process (EU/ non-EU) around a jointly designed Strategic Research Agenda with appropriate governance and implementation structures Critical Mass of players Ensure appropriate flexibility

Policy Research and Innovation

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SC5-12-2016

Expected impact (see call text): • Reinforced coordination of food systems and water research

programmes within a long term partnership

• Reducing fragmentation of efforts;

• Facilitating consultation, awareness and commitment;

• Supporting sustainable economic and social development in the Mediterranean;

• Unlocking the innovation potential in water management and use for food security;

• Optimising the launch and implementation of a long term partnership, ensuring appropriate funding from the participating countries and leverage effect.

Food systems and water resources for the development of inclusive, sustainable and healthy Euro-Mediterranean societies

Other SC5 topics with relevance to water: SC5-01-2016-2017: Exploring the added value of climate services SC5-02-2017: Integrated European regional modelling

and climate prediction system SC5-03-2016: Climate services market research SC5-08-2017: Large-scale demonstrators on nature-based

solutions for hydro-meteorological risk reduction CIRC-02-2016-2017: Water in the context of the circular

economy SCC-02-2016-2017: Demonstrating innovative nature-

based solutions in cities LCE-26-2016: Cross-thematic ERA-NET on Applied

Geosciences

See also water-related topics in other calls of Horizon 2020 WP 2016-2017 (e.g. SPIRE-01-2016: Systematic approaches for resource-efficient water management systems in process industries)

Main priorities "Securing sufficient supplies of safe, healthy and high quality food and other bio-based

products, by developing productive, sustainable and resource-efficient primary production

systems, fostering related ecosystem services and the recovery of biological diversity,

alongside competitive and low-carbon supply, processing and marketing chains"

Societal Challenge 2 "Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the

bioeconomy"

Four Societal Challenge 2 Calls

Sustainable food security

Blue Growth

Rural Renaissance

Bio-based innovation

for sustainable goods and services

SC2 – Water and food related topics SFS-1-2016: Dealing with multiple and combined

stresses: approaches to improve water and nutrient use efficiency in crop production

SFS-47-2017: Management of soil water resources in the EU and China and its impact on agro-ecosystem functions

SFS-48-2017: Resource-efficient urban agriculture for multiple benefits – contribution to the EU-China Urbanisation Partnership

BG-07-2017: Blue green innovation for clean coasts and seas

RUR-03-2017: Towards 2030 - policies and decision tools for an integrated management of natural resources

RUR-04-2016: Water farms – improving farming and its impact on the supply of drinking water

Research and Innovation

As a way of conclusion….

There is growing recognition that feeding people, fighting poverty, addressing climate change impacts on water resources and producing energy for all, requires a more integrated approach that considers the water/energy/food nexus

Commissioner Moedas has recently underlined the importance of the energy/health/food/water nexus and the importance of bringing together the physical and digital world for the next generation of innovation in the water sector

Future EU R&I activities should give more emphasis to this nexus

Research and Innovation

Thank you for your attention!

Find out more:

www.ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020