Nature-based solutions against emerging pollutants

Nowadays, ecosystems are facing high levels of pollution and alteration by anthropic activities, negatively affecting ecosystem services and human well-being. Due to the widespread use of medicines, for human and veterinary use, including antimicrobials, the concentration of pharmaceutical products (PP) has increased in many environmental compartments, such as soils, sediments and water bodies, in the latter especially due to the inability of the current water treatment plants to be able to remove them. One of the environmental objectives of the Ecological Transition is the protection and sustainable use of water resources. The main objective of this project is to protect water resources against PP contamination using innovative nature-based solutions (NBS). The increase in scientific and technological knowledge generated will allow an improvement in the effectiveness of the proposed NBS in the removal of the aforementioned emerging pollutants, thereby providing a better quality resource that can be used in a sustainable way for different purposes. In addition, the information collected during the project on the real emission levels of the different PP, as well as the analysis of the effect of changes in hydrological cycles caused by climate change, will provide key information for the development of strategies that make the NbS are more resilient to projected future situations. With information and training based on scientific evidence and demonstrations to the different stakeholders, awareness will be increased and the perception of citizens about the need to implement NbS for the necessary Ecological Transition will be improved. The different innovations will be evaluated on a microcosm scale and a pilot scale. Among the innovations proposed are the use of effective bacterial and microalgae consortia in the removal of PP, as well as the use of biofuels as effective materials in the removal of these products. The effectiveness in the PP removal with different innovative technologies will validate on the basis of floating treatment wetlands. These innovations will be tested separately and in combination. In the evaluation of the effectiveness of the different NBS, not only the chemical analysis but also an ecotoxicological evaluation will be used, which allows increasing the information on the effective reduction of the impact on the aquatic ecosystems of each NBS. Cost-benefit analysis will be carried out on the different NbS. The negative perception of the public in the face of a certain change is commonly considered a potential
barrier to the acceptance of SbNs. To achieve citizen acceptance, barriers to the implementation of these solutions will be identified through strategies and activities with a participatory approach. In this way, gaps in knowledge indicated in the "Strategy on pharmaceuticals in the environment" by the European Parliament (EU 2020) are filled. The knowledge of consortia and biomixes and effective biofuels in the withdrawal of PP will lead to scientific evidence to back up the benefit provided. Furthermore, the cost-benefit analysis is essential for the future development and implementation of SbN, fills one of the knowledge gaps mentioned and necessary for the advancement of SbN for sustainable development. FUNDED BY THE SCIENCE AND INNOVATION SPANISH MINISTRY. ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION PROGRAMME 2021.