Sustainable Governance of Aquatic Resources (AKVA) … · Sustainable Governance of Aquatic Resources (AKVA) Academy Programme 2012 ... Programme on Sustainable Governance of Aquatic

Sustainable Governance of Aquatic Resources

(AKVA) Academy Programme

2012 - 2016

Project Descriptions and Highlights

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Academy Programme on Sustainable Governance of Aquatic

Resources (AKVA) supports interdisciplinary scientific research

The Academy of Finland’s Academy Programme on Sustainable Governance of Aquatic

Resources (AKVA, 2012-2016) was launched to strengthen high-quality, interdisciplinary

water research. The programme also devotes special attention to questions of practical

application and potential for application. The aim is to support scientific research that

contributes to the sustainable management, adequacy and future safety of water and aquatic

resources. Among aims is to enhance the social impact of the research results.

AKVA programme includes twelve national projects two of which are individual projects and

ten larger consortia composed of 36 sub-projects. In addition four international projects (EU

Joint Programming Initiative, Water-JPI and New Indigo ERA-NET) and four development

research projects funded by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Academy of

Finland are included in the programme. The AKVA projects were funded with a total of 12.5

million euros.

The project covers widely disciplines under the three thematic areas of the programme:

Pressure of change on aquatic environments and their governance, Ecosystem services in

aquatic environments safeguarding those services, Sustainable use of aquatic resources in

the future.

Lisätietoja

www.aka.fi/AKVA

Ohjelmapäällikkö Tuula Aarnio ([email protected])

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Contents

The Function and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems in the Changing Environment: the Effects of

Paradigm Shifts. Jukka Horppila, University of Helsinki, Petri Tapio, University of Turku, Ilmo Massa, University

of Helsinki

Impacts of Terrestrial Organic Matter Loading on Lake Food Webs and Human Health - Challenges for Environmental Regulation. Paula Kankaala, University of Eastern Finland, Ismo Pölönen, University of Eastern Finland, Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen, University of Eastern Finland, Sirpa Piirainen, Natural Resource Institute Finland, Marko Järvinen, Finnish Environment Institute Integrated Management of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems. Björn Klöve, University of Oulu,

Timo Muotka, University of Oulu, Timo P. Karjalainen, University of Oulu

Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles Need to Be Acknowledged in Optimal Eutrophication Management. Pirkko Kortelainen,Finnish Environment Institute, Kari Hyytiäinen, Natural Resource Institute Finland, Advanced Oxidation Processes in Industrial Wastewater Treatment. Ulla Lassi, University of Oulu, Kirsi Vähäkangas, University of Eastern Finland, Riitta Keiski, University of Oulu Economics of Aquatic Foodwebs. Marko Lindroos, University of Helsinki, Heikki Peltonen, Finnish Environment Institute, Eija Pouta, Natural Resource Institute Finland, Marita Laukkanen, Government Institute for Economic Research Aquatic Contaminants – Pathways, Health Risks and Management. Ilkka Miettinen, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Timo Huttula, Finnish Environment Institute, Juha Honkatukia VTT Technical Research Centre of Ltd Assessing Restoration of Sediment-stressed Forest Streams: Biodiversity Meets Hydrology.Timo Muotka, University of Oulu, Jukka Aroviita, Finnish Environment Institute, Björn Klöve, University of Oulu Water Management and Peat Production: From the Relevant Facts to Effective Norms. Tapio Määttä, University of Eastern Finland Environmental Justice and Ecosystem Services: Access, Equity and Participation in the Use and Management of Aquatic Environments in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Riikka Paloniemi, Finnish Environment Institute, Jari K. Niemelä, University of Helsinki, Tuomas Kuokkanen, University of Eastern Finland, Anna Marketta Kyttä, Aalto University Water as Social and Cultural Space Arja Rosenholm, University of Tampere The Quality and Quantity of Runoff Water in Relation to Land Use in Urbanized Catchments. Heikki Setälä, University of Helsinki, Teemu Kokkonen, Aalto University, Dimitri Moisseev, University of Helsinki, Olli Ruth, University of Helsinki

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EU Joint Programming Initiative Emerging Water Contaminants (JPI Water) (2015-1017)

Integrated Processes for Monitoring and Treatment of Emerging Contaminants for Water Reuse (MOTREM). Jukka Pellinen, University of Helsinki Stopping Antibiotic Resistance Evolution (StARE). Marko Virta, University of Helsinki

Development research projects funded by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Academy of Finland (2013-2015) Design of Adsorption Materials and Units for Water Treatment for Rural Peruvian Areas – Use of Activated Carbon Obtained from Domestic Agricultural Materials. Riitta Keiski, University of Oulu Legal Framework to Promote Water Security. Tuomas Kuokkanen, University of Eastern Finland Climate Change Impacts on Water Quality in the Himalayas. Mika Sillanpää, Lappeenranta University of Technology Water-Energy-Food Nexus: a Cross-Sectorial Analysis of Large Asian River Basins. Olli Varis, Aalto University

New Indigo ERA-NET joint call, projects funded by the Academy of Finland

(2012-2013) The Application of Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Purification and Reuse. Riitta Keiski, University of Oulu

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The Function and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems in the Changing Environment: the

Effects of Paradigm Shifts. Jukka Horppila, University of Helsinki, Petri Tapio, University of Turku,

Ilmo Massa, University of Helsinki

The AQUADIGM consortium studies the validity of the scientific basis supporting the strong paradigms on the functioning and management of lake ecosystems. It consists of four subprojects. The objectives are to evaluate the paradigms on the important role of oxygen deficits in regulating internal phosphorus (P) loading and water quality of lakes (subproject 1) and the effectiveness of artificial aeration as a management tool (subproject 2). Additionally, the barriers of possible paradigm shifts (subproject 3) and consequences of paradigm shifts for management and decision-making in the future (subproject 4) are studied. In subproject 1, data set of 56 lakes worldwide (24 of the lakes in Finland) was compiled and analyzed. The total internal loading of P (IPtot) for each lake has been calculated as the difference of modelled (incoming and outflowing P) and observed (sediment cores) P retention. Internal P loading due to anoxia (IPanox) was differentiated from the IPtot. The results showed significant contribution of IPtot to the water quality regulation. IPanox contributed significantly to the IPtot, while this contribution was insufficient to have implications for the phytoplankton biomass in stratifying lakes, the major priority of lake water management. The significant effects of IPtot on the water quality of the lakes studied appeared to be associated with the sedimentary P originating from the shallow areas. These findings support very careful selection of the lakes where aeration is used. For these purposes, a model was developed that predicts IPanox on the basis of the combination of lake characteristics. In subproject 2, the effectiveness of artificial aeration as a management tool was studied by detailed studies in Lake Vesijärvi and Lake Tuusulanjärvi. Results on the effects of aeration on the sedimentation of organic matter, turbulence and nitrogen cycling in Vesijärvi were published in 2016. The results showed that aeration can increase the sedimentation of organic matter by increasing turbulence and hypolimnetic temperature. Nitrogen removal by denitrification was enhanced by aeration. In Tuusulanjärvi, IPtot had not decreased although aeration has decreased IPanox.

Subproject 3 investigated the aeration of inland waters from a historical perspective. The investigation of the history of different aeration techniques back to the 18th century has revealed the historically changing human perceptions of the meaning and value of aquatic environments. During different times aeration has been based on the perception of lakes as a fishery resource, an organic machine for the purification of wastewaters, and a vulnerable patient that has suffered from human exploitative actions and needs to be cured to a historical state. A case study from Lake Tuusulanjärvi shows that the long-standing preference for aeration at the lake is based on the unproblematic applicability of aeration in regard to changing targets and emphasis of restoration. Additionally it has been influenced by the role of the lake as a traditional research and experimental lake, the practical and emotional attachment of locals to the restoration, and especially aeration, of the lake and finally, the problems and contradicting interests related to alternative restoration methods. Subproject 4 has been studying alternative futures for lake management and restoration. International two-rounded Delphi-study was conducted to reveal expert insights of the role of oxygen in lake eutrophication process and effectiveness of oxygenation as a restoration method. In addition, a series of futures workshops were arranged to form scenarios for the future of lake restoration. The results show that the lake experts trust rather strongly in remarkable role of oxygen in regulating internal loading of lakes. They believe that oxygenation will be used as lake restoration method in the future as well, but acknowledge that it might have harmful side-effects and it is not suitable in all lakes. The paradigms seem persistent and no radical changes appear in horizon, although some weak signals of change can be discerned. The experts believe that efforts to reduce external loading will succeed and status of lakes will improve by the year 2030.

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Impacts of Terrestrial Organic Matter Loading on Lake Food Webs and Human Health - Challenges for Environmental Regulation. Paula Kankaala, University of Eastern Finland, Ismo Pölönen, University of Eastern Finland, Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen, University of Eastern Finland, Sirpa Piirainen, Natural Resource Institute Finland, Marko Järvinen, Finnish Environment Institute The objectives of the research consortium were examine the impacts caused by terrestrial organic matter loading on lake food webs and human health and to analyze the needs for improving legislation on organic matter loading. The multidisciplinary research was mainly carried out in a same research area in the eastern Finland. It included loading of organic matter from the catchments, lake food webs and people fishing and commonly eating fish from the lakes. In addition, the studies evaluated environmental impact assessments of peat mining projects throughout the country. The loading of organic humic matter from the catchment area has a great impact on lake water quality and food webs. The variation of lake water quality was best explained by the area of peatlands in the catchment. The areas of annual forestry operations (cuttings, ditch network maintenance) and peat mining were small relative to the whole drainage area. Thus, the influence of these treatments was small, however detectable in the study lakes. Perch from humic lakes contained more toxic mercury than those grown in clear-water lakes. This could be seen as more than 3-fold higher total mercury concentration in the blood samples of people eating fish from humic lakes compared with those using clear-water lake fish in their diets. We found that the increase in the concentrations of brown-colored terrestrial humic matter and eutrophying phosphorus change phytoplankton community composition of the lakes. These both phenomena also influence the quality of fish used in human diets. The whole lake food web is dependent on omega-3 fatty acids produced by phytoplankton. The most important fatty acids for health benefits are EPA and DHA, which in human diets are usually obtained from fish. Phytoplankton taxa which are unable to produce EPA and DHA predominate in eutrophied and humic lakes. As a consequence, this was observed as decreased EPA and DHA contents of predatory perch muscle in these lakes. The D-vitamin content of clear-water lake fish was higher than that of humic lake fish. The concentration of fatty acids originating from fish varied in the blood samples of fish-eating people. This was mainly due to differences in fish species and quantities consumed and less by the growth environment of fish. The regulatory studies revealed that the current policy instruments for forest ditching do not take cumulative environmental effects coherently into account. In addition, water impact assessments of peat mining projects suffered from poor quality. The studies provided concrete amendments for improving the effectiveness of environmental impact assessment legislation. For more information and publications see http://www.uef.fi/web/terla/home

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Integrated Management of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems. Björn Klöve, University

of Oulu, Timo Muotka, University of Oulu, Timo P. Karjalainen, University of Oulu

In the boreal landscape, aquifers are often connected to ecosystems which are either partially or completely dependent on groundwater. These groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) host many ecosystem services and, in many cases, threatened biota with high conservation value. Land use, climate change and groundwater abstraction impair groundwater quality and quantity, which in turn may cause significant adverse effects on GDEs. Knowledge on the connection between GDEs and aquifer hydrology has hitherto been insufficient and the AQVI-project aims to fill this information gap. The primary goal of the project is to provide a holistic understanding of the hydrological processes of groundwater and their variability and their role in determining biodiversity and functioning of GDEs. Our results show that groundwater can have a significant contribution in the water balance of lakes, streams and wetlands surrounding esker aquifers. Groundwater seepages have been confirmed with an ensemble of supplementary methods – tracers, mechanical seepage meters, thermal imaging and numerical modelling. In particular, stable isotope signature of water provides a cost-efficient approach to indicate and quantify the role of groundwater in springs, lakes and in wetlands. Forestry can severely affect GDEs. For instance, forest ditching can markedly alter spring hydrology by enabling an entrance of surface water. During the past decade, spring habitats have been restored e.g. by blocking the connected forest ditches. The results of the project showed that even with small-scale spring restoration the hydrological conditions of spring habitat can be returned to the natural state. This should facilitate the re-occurrence of native spring biota - a prediction which was indeed supported by our data. Human actions impair not only the quantity of the groundwater but also its quality. Groundwater quality is, however, invariably assessed in the basis of water usability usable as e.g. as drinking water rather than from the ecological perspective. The most recent results from the project from chemically deteriorated springs in Southern Finland show that massively increased chloride and nitrogen concentrations due to human activity can have a negative impact to the biodiversity of the spring ecosystems. Besides land use, also climate change threatens GDEs. Our temperature time-series indicated a significant warming of spring water during the last forty years and we predicted that ongoing climate change is likely to continue and even intensify this warming pattern in the near future. This is likely to reduce spring biodiversity and lead to biological homogenization of head waters. The hydrological and ecological complexity was taken into account in decision making using methods such as multi-criteria decision analysis. In the AQVI-project, the researchers evaluated the alternative solutions for securing the water abstraction to the city of Oulu by using the multi-criteria decision analysis. Through the analysis they supported the decision making by involving the local politicians to the assessment of the alternative solutions.

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Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles Need to Be Acknowledged in Optimal Eutrophication Management. Pirkko Kortelainen,Finnish Environment Institute, Kari Hyytiäinen, Natural Resource Institute Finland, Background: Water protection measures have focused on the reduction of phosphorus loading and have largely ignored the effects of measures on the fluxes of terminal electron acceptors1 despite their impact on the cycling of phosphorus. For example, iron in bottom sediments plays a major role in binding of mobile inorganic phosphorus. Yet, the cycling of iron is linked to other electron acceptors and compounds formed in their reduction. Therefore, the cycles of both iron and phosphorus are intimately coupled to the electron acceptors. The coupling may have a marked influence on the design of water protection measures, those targeting agricultural phosphorus load, in particular. Objective: The main aim of TEAQUILA project was to analyze how the agricultural water protection measures can be implemented cost-efficiently when we take into account the effects of measures on different phosphorus forms and iron in a phosphorus limited system. Simultaneously, we took into account the coupled biogeochemical cycles in the receiving system and focused on the optimal weighting between reduction of dissolved phosphorus and particulate phosphorus. Results and discussion: In our study we have shown that land use controls the fluxes of electron acceptors, the import of which to water courses is much higher from the fields than the other land-cover classes. Based on our laboratory experiments, the release of soil-bound P in anaerobic conditions was linked to the electron acceptors and the trophic status of the system; more soil-bound phosphorus is released in a eutrophic sulfate-rich system than in an oligotrophic one. Optimization highlighted that water protection measures should be chosen so that the binding capacity for phosphorus transported from the fields is maintained in the bottom sediments of the receiving system. It is always more effective to reduce the load of dissolved inorganic phosphorus than particulate phosphorus when combatting eutrophication. In other words, the optimal eutrophication management allows markedly higher unit costs for the reduction of dissolved phosphorus than for the particulate phosphorus. Weighting between these two phosphorus forms are yet dependent on the characteristics and trophic state of the recipient system. We should put even more weight in reducing dissolved phosphorus in a eutrophic than in an oligotrophic lake. The bottoms of an oligotrophic system retain phosphorus well due to the high pool of reactive iron in the sediments. Hereby the additional iron carried by the eroded soil is not that important in binding of phosphorus. The sediment of a eutrophic lake retains poorly phosphorus and therefore the reactive iron coming with eroded soil is more “scarce” compared to sediment in good condition in oligotrophy. Therefore, the entry of dissolved phosphorus into the system needs to further limited, whereas the fluxes of particulate matter carrying iron can be loosened. TEAQUILA-Consortium webpages are found from: www.syke.fi/hankkeet/teaquila

1 The compounds consumed in respiration are named terminal electron acceptors. The term comes from that in respiration

reaction organic matter is oxidized to carbon dioxide and it donates an electron to the electron acceptor which is thus reduced. The electron acceptors commonly present in the nature are oxygen, nitrate, manganese and iron oxides and sulfate. Terminal electron acceptors regulate the mineralization of organic nutrients back to the biogeochemical cycles in nature.

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Advanced Oxidation Processes in Industrial Wastewater Treatment. Ulla Lassi, University of Oulu, Kirsi Vähäkangas, University of Eastern Finland, Riitta Keiski, University of Oulu

Wastewaters contain often organic solvents and degradation products which are harmful and toxic. This has led to stricter regulations related to wastewater releases. Therefore, efficient abatement methods are required. In addition, more information on long-term health effects, e.g. toxicity and biodegradability should be developed. The AOPI project aims at studying and providing novel information on the advanced oxidation processes in the treatment of wastewaters in pharmaceutical and food industry. For these waters no economic and technically viable solutions exist. The idea is to develop a hybrid process that first decomposes large organic molecules and then mineralizes the remaining compounds. Photocatalysis and catalytic wet air oxidation are applied in ambient conditions and at high temperatures and pressures, respectively. One task is to find a suitable bifunctional catalyst for both reaction stages. Furthermore, economic, societal, environmental and putative toxic effects of organic emissions are evaluated. The efficient wastewater treatment is a step towards closing the water cycles in industry and enhancing sustainable water use. The success of the project requires a multidisciplinary approach. Industrial wastewaters and corresponding model solutions have been studied and the effect of the catalytic oxidation treatments on the biodegradability and toxicity of these waters have been examined. Selected model compounds, bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalic anhydride, p-coumaric acid, diuron, and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), were used in the catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) and photocatalytic experiments. Several supported oxidation catalysts were prepared and characterized in order to found a suitable catalyst for both catalytic reactions. Further, the effect of the treatment on the toxicity and biodegradability of the model compounds was evaluated. According to the results, the oxidation treatments decrease the amount of organic compounds in industrial wastewaters and model solutions. The degree of biodegradation of organic compounds in waters was also increased after treatments. Developed bifunctional Pt/Ce0.2Ti0.8O2 catalyst was able to decompose organic pollutants in wastewater. It was also an active catalyst both in CWAO and photocatalytic reactions with the BPA removal efficiency of 99 and 89%, respectively. Simplified model solutions were easier to oxidize compared to real solutions, as expected. Although the total oxidation of organic compounds was not observed, the oxidative treatment enhanced the biodegradability. The formed intermediates, such as carboxylic acids, were biodegradable which enabled the conventional biological wastewater treatment. Therefore, these treatment technologies can be considered as a pre-treatment method for these demanding effluents. For comparison, toxicity of model compounds was first studied and only BPA and diuron were toxic to cells, while PFOA and phthalic anhydride were no acutely toxic. The toxicity of the model solution containing BPA decreased by the treatments. While the untreated aqueous BPA solution clearly decreased cell viability in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells, the two stage treatment (CWAO and photocatalysis) of BPA solution, returned cell viability to control level. Our results clearly indicate that a multidisciplinary approach is needed to understand the effects of (catalytic) treatments on the removal of selected organic compounds from wastewaters. Several scientific articles have been published based on the results of the project and three doctoral dissertations and eight master´s theses have been completed. Results of the project have been presented in many international conferences. Research has also enhanced international co-operation in means of visiting researchers and new joint projects.

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Economics of Aquatic Foodwebs. Marko Lindroos, University of Helsinki, Heikki Peltonen, Finnish Environment Institute, Eija Pouta, Natural Resource Institute Finland, Marita Laukkanen, Government Institute for Economic Research In recent decades, point sources have been able to curtail their nutrient loading to surface waters. Success in cutting down non-point pollution loading has been meagre. Eutrophication due to excessive nutrient loading is a persistent problem in agriculture dominated watersheds. In Finland, particularly the Archipelago Sea suffers from eutrophication. Due to insufficient achievements in external nutrient abatement, more focus has been posed on actions targeting water bodies directly. One option is to use fisheries to remove nutrients from water ecosystems. Many countries have promoted fisheries designated to this particular purpose. So far, however, there have been no frameworks to evaluate whether and to what extend such activities belong to cost-effective eutrophication management. Our research shows that efficient eutrophication management includes both measures done on land and harvesting fish from the water body. The ECA-project postulated a dynamic, bioeconomic optimization model of managing phosphorus mediated eutrophication. In the model, the concentration of phosphorus was driven by the external load, internal processes and fish landings removing phosphorus from the system. The economic problem was defined as minimizing the sum of discounted abatement costs and environmental damages over time. The damage was evaluated in monetary terms. The damage was determined not only by phosphorus concentration; also the size of the fish stock was allowed to have an influence on the eutrophic status. This effect may be positive or negative, depending on the fish species. We applied the model on a semi-closed coastal bay in South-West Finland, Mynälahti. The external load to the bay originates from agriculture. We two options for eutrophication control were phosphorus abatement from agriculture and targeting fishing efforts on cyprinid fish species. The water quality model was calibrated using long term measurement data from the bay. The main results were: 1) Substantial quantities of nutrients can be annually removed by fisheries; it has an important role to play in eutrophication management. 2) Optimal fisheries policy must take into account both the nutrients removed from the system as well as the associated steady state fish stocks and their effects of water quality. If large stocks of cyprinid fish weaken the water quality – as they presumably do – it is optimal to keep the stock low by targeted harvesting even though this means less annual nutrient removal and higher costs. 3) The price of fish determines the market based intensity of fishing efforts. Traditionally the market failure has been overfishing and the regulation has been designed to limit fishing efforts. Our research shows that the opposite might be true for certain fish species: if the market value of the fish is low and its landings should be elevated, society may need to promote fishing efforts. Other publications in the ECA project: http://www.helsinki.fi/economics-management/research/yle/ECA/publications.html

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Aquatic Contaminants – Pathways, Health Risks and Management. Ilkka Miettinen, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Timo Huttula, Finnish Environment Institute, Juha Honkatukia VTT Technical Research Centre of Ltd The river water in Finland contains a number of microbes and chemicals originating from the human activities. The amounts are low, but the water flow can transport the contaminants far away from their origin in a watershed. Advanced water treatment ensures that the drinking water derived health risks are very low. The research project studying the sources, transport and health effects of the microbial and chemical pollutants in the Kokemäenjoki water course and during the artificial groundwater production at Virttaankangas focused on sustainable use of water resources and on water safety. The microbial numbers and concentrations of chemicals measured from wastewater, surface water and artificially produced groundwater were evaluated using the transport models and the results obtained served as a starting point for the health risk assessment models. The aim was to investigate the health risks of the microbes and chemical contaminants entering to the drinking water production process from various sources. Computable general equilibrium models were utilized to evaluate the economic effects of the different risk management options. Further information about the risk definitions and risk communication related to the artificial groundwater production was gained using conceptual research and by collecting empirical data of the risk perceptions among media, experts and stakeholders. It was found that fecal microbes, pathogens and consumer chemicals like pharmaceuticals and artificial sweeteners are being disharged to the watersheds through the wastewater treatment plants. The multi-compound analytical method developed for the project was able to detect several target compounds from all wastewater and surface water samples. Also agriculture and other scattered pollutant sources affect the river water quality. The novel source tracking technology was used to identify the microbial contaminant sources in the Kokemäenjoki watershed. All surface water samples contained microbes originating from human intestine and bacteria from gull feces. The fecal bacteria originating from cattle and swine were detected especially from river water samples downstream from Keikyä. The results obtained were consistently in line with the sewage discharge load and the animal head counts in the catchment. The transport of microbes and chemicals along the Kokemäenjoki watershed and in the Virttaankangas artificial groundwater production process were simulated using catchment, lake, river and groundwater models. The simulations were conducted using different scenarios ranging from heavy rainfall and flooging to treatment process malfunctions. The modelling was relatively successful in the heavily regulated and complex watershed and in its catchments. Also the groundwater model proved to be reliable, especially for the persistent chemical contaminants. The transport modelling was supported by laboratory-scale survival experiments which confirmed the persistence of certain consumer chemicals in the water environment. The low temperature and dark conditions of the river water were identified as factors significantly improving the survival of viruses and bacteria.

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The research confirmed that under the normal situations the multi-barrier artificial groundwater process of the Turku Region Water produces drinking water of safe and good quality and causes no health risks to the water consumers. Although the microbes and chemicals do persist in the watershed and may be transported over long distances, the contaminant amounts in the raw water originating from the watershed are low and are being further reduced in the artificial groundwater production thanks to the efficient pre-treatment and during the absorption in soil. The Virttaankangas artificial groundwater process producing drinking water to the Turku Region was especially efficient in removing microbes of the river water. The removal efficiency of the consumer chemicals was variable – a part of the chemicals were efficiently removed during the soil absorption but the concentrations of others like the artificial sweetener acesulfame-K decreased only slightly. However, the chemical amounts remaining in the artificial groundwater of Virttaankangas were low. The health risk assessment and the regional economic analysis showed that only an extreme contamination situation that has very low probability could cause measurable adverse health effects or economic impacts. The microbes and chemicals in water do not pose health risks to the consumers in the area supplied by Turku region drinking water distribution system. However, the public debate on risks, benefits and uncertainties of the management options related to the artificial groundwater have been polarized. Lately, after the Virttaankangas waterworks started its operation, the public debate around the artificial recharge technique has faded. Read more about the aquatic contaminants from the consortium website: http://en.opasnet.org/w/CONPAT.

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Assessing Restoration of Sediment-stressed Forest Streams: Biodiversity Meets Hydrology.Timo Muotka, University of Oulu, Jukka Aroviita, Finnish Environment Institute, Björn Klöve, University of Oulu Headwater streams are an endangered habitat type in most of Finland and also globally. One of the most detrimental human stressors in streams is land-use induced sedimentation. In Finland, peatland drainage has been practiced to enhance forest growth, but it has also caused severe impairment of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of headwater streams. In mesocosm experiments, we have shown that bed sedimentation is more harmful a stressor than the loss of in-stream heterogeneity or natural flow variability. Restoration of sediment-stressed forest streams has proved challenging. While riparian restoration reduces the input of fine sediments into streams, removal of sediments already present in the channel by in-stream restoration measures is mostly ineffective. However, adding enhancement structures does increase habitat diversity, with potentially positive effects on stream biodiversity already within a few years post restoration. Furthermore, adding large wood into streams enhances hydraulic retention and re-establishes natural flood dynamics, thereby helping restore natural riparian plant assemblages. Our results thus emphasize the importance of taking the strong interdependence between stream and forest ecosystems into account in the restoration, conservation and management of headwater streams and their riparian forests. We also conducted a survey about the attitudes of land owners and other stakeholders towards forest streams and their restoration. More than 50% of respondents were willing to support financially a proposed restoration program and about 20% of them were willing to participate in restoration activities in the field. ReFFECT-project is based on collaboration between two laboratories (ecology, water engineering) of the University of Oulu and Finnish Environment Institute. We have also participated in an EU 7th Framework project (REFORM) which uses data from several European countries in a meta-analytical attempt to identify factors that limit restoration success in lowland streams.

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Water Management and Peat Production: From the Relevant Facts to Effective Norms. Tapio Määttä, University of Eastern Finland The main aim of the project is to analyze and improve the water management of peat production. The research objective has been implemented by 1) studying the effect of peat mining on organic loading and sedimentation in waters, 2) analyzing the contents of the current environmental regulation on peat production and its implementation practices, 3) examining the local community involvement and public participation as means for achieving sustainability in peat mining, and 4) designing alternative regulatory strategies for improvement. The study has combined research approaches and expertise from environmental law, biology, human geography and policy research. Project´s research shows that regulatory framework on the peat production has been significantly influenced by changes in the climate, nature conservation and water policies during the recent years. EU water law and international climate law have remarkably affected the preconditions of the peat production. Especially the water impacts of peat production, which are reflexed against the river basin management plans (RBMP), have been crucial factor when deciding on the permissibility of the peat production. Although RBMP is not a legally binding document, but something authorities should “take into account”, it has been effectively integrated in the discretion of peat production permits. Water body specific environmental objectives set by the plan, such as “good status” or “good ecological potential”, are perceived as binding water quality standards. This means that if peat production is a risk for achieving environmental objectives in the RBMP, permit is not issued. Somewhat surprisingly the legal system has been considerably weaker in dealing with the protection of habitats and species reliant on peatlands planned for peat production. In a study conducted under the auspices of WAPEAT it was observed that the environmental protection act does not contain a general obligation to perform species-specific investigations for safeguarding the quality and accuracy of environmental information which the peat production license in based upon. This raises doubts regarding the effectiveness of legislative protection measures and may be the primary reason why certain strictly protected species, such as the moor frog, are not detected in the permitting procedure. In light with this observation, the study concluded that a license for peat production should not generally be granted without confirming with reasonable certainty that an area planned for production does not include habitats occupied by strictly protected species. The multidisciplinary case study, combining all scientific disciplines represented in the project, shows that the local stakeholders, such as residents and fishermen, can have a crucial role in the environmental governance of peat production. In the Linnunsuo case, the local fishermen observed fish deaths caused by peat production, leading finally to the closing of the peat production area that had caused the lethal discharges. Subsequently a buffer wetland area was constructed and water quality improved. Moreover, the case study indicates that the peat production has caused significant degradation of waters in the form of erosion and sedimentation in the Jukajoki river which was not identified by the competent authority in the case. The most significant area for deposition of sediments was ruled out of scope from the sedimentation study required by the authority and sedimentation problems were greater than had been estimated by investigation contracted out by the peat company. The study points to a poor implementation of environmental legislation in the case and to a conclusion that the environmental administration needs further integration.

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Environmental Justice and Ecosystem Services: Access, Equity and Participation in the Use and Management of Aquatic Environments in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Riikka Paloniemi, Finnish Environment Institute, Jari K. Niemelä, University of Helsinki, Tuomas Kuokkanen, University of Eastern Finland, Anna Marketta Kyttä, Aalto University ENJUSTESS project explores the interconnections of environmental justice and ecosystem services of urban aquatic environments in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Work package Environmental justice and blue structure in urban development analyses the accessibility of water-related cultural ecosystem services in a socioeconomic context in the Helsinki region; the impacts of future pressure trends on the accessibility of blue structure; the role and status of blue structure in urban development and planning; and the realization of environmental justice in relevant governance processes. It has been found that language and income differences explain much of the variation in access to blue structure in the region. In addition, based on interviews with planners, the role of blue structure in urban development has been characterized, and factors affecting environmental justice in this regard have been identified. Concepts and models from literature have thus been tested and further developed for the study and implementation of the equitable use of water environments. Work package Socio-ecological linkages in small urban surface waters has focused on two case studies in which the valuation, accessibility and potential threats of cultural ecosystem services of small urban surface waters have been studied. According to results of a case study on the controversial planning process of urban stream Kumpulanpuro and Vallilanlaakso park in Helsinki, the meanings and values that local stakeholders (residents, planners and politicians) attached to the stream ecosystem differed considerably. Stormwater management in Finland is highly technical-economic and there is a need to take socio-cultural values better into account in the process. Officials assume that procedures improving stormwater management and protection of aquatic ecosystems also produce other benefits, such as cultural ecosystem services. However, this may not necessarily happen and the benefits experienced by residents may even be weakened. According to results of the case study of Lake Kuusijärvi in Vantaa, the visitors of this popular recreation resort value greatly the area's cultural ecosystem services, which differ in their supply and demand between different user groups and summer and other seasons. Work package The uses and perceived qualities of urban water areas has focus on the meanings and uses of urban water areas in local contexts and in the everyday practices of urban dwellers in the region. More than 2000 respondents replied to the By the water Public Participatory GIS survey in 2013, and located on a map over 27 000 points about the above topics. The study considers the everyday practices of different user groups, problems of accessibility and potentially conflicting uses to reveal equity issues in the urban water areas. The accessibility to places people actually use for various activities by the water was modeled, and the number of accessible popular water areas with various travel modes was studied. In addition, we have studied the spatial distribution of diverse users and recreational activities of water areas. We have also developed ways for stakeholders to have direct access to findings in the development and maintenance of water areas in HMA.

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Work package Governance of aquatic ecosystem services has focused especially on maritime spatial planning (MSP) as an instrument for reconciling multiple and often competing uses of the sea – such as renewable energy, transportation, nature conservation, and recreation – and safeguarding equitable utilisation of ecosystem services for each of the aforementioned sectors. On the EU-level, the framework directive on MSP (2014/89/EU) requires EU member states to pass national MSP-legislation in 2016 and further requires that marine spatial plans have to be in place by 2021. The directive has been implemented in Finland with an amendment (482/2016) to the Land Use and Building Act (132/1999). To support the implementation of the MSP-directive in Finland, the work package has focused on the legal requirements and limits to MSP, as well as analysing criteria for MSP’s effectiveness. Based on a comparative analysis between Australia, Belgium and Germany, the effectiveness of MSP is closely linked to the level of integration and cooperation between maritime and marine sectors. Despite the level of integration, however, the international and European legal frameworks limit considerably the possibilities for a rational reconstruction of marine space in the Baltic Sea. More information: http://www.syke.fi/projects/enjustess

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Water as Social and Cultural Space Arja Rosenholm, University of Tampere

The project analyzes the interconnections between the central categories of water, space, and water’s cultural representations. The multidisciplinary focus of this project – which includes language, literary, and cultural studies; the history of technology; engineering sciences; and environmental studies – corresponds to the multiplicity of waters as well as the ways that humans value water. The project’s main objective is to respond in a variety of ways to the question “what is water?” by applying different disciplinary perspectives in focusing on the different types of water and moments in the history of water and humankind. Therefore, one aim is to contribute to the ecological awareness of the various social, cultural, and literary dimensions of our perceptions and representations of water. The main results support our chief thesis that water does have a history and is not simply an abstraction or resource that humans may draw on at will; it is a dynamic substance that paradoxically depends on us. The history of water has been deeply implicated in and shaped by human actors and ambitions, and this is apparent primarily (for this project) in the technological and engineering ambitions of modernization. This project challenges us to consider how the knowledge of water, which is embedded in novels and artists’ renderings, in civic traditions and religious cultures, might attest to the scientific and technical vocabularies necessary to confront the environmental and political challenges of the twenty-first century. In its entirety, this requires an ongoing dialogue between cultural and environmental studies, with attention to relationality and the implications of both discursive and material power. The subprojects and results include:

The history of Finnish water works, and human-water relations through water management.

The role of water as a conditioning factor for environmental cooperation; this viewpoint was broadened to include reflections on how the pollution of the Baltic Sea mirrors various processes and practices of modernization. The examination resulted in fresh ideas on the linkages between water and modernization, which in the case of the Baltic Sea pollution are exceptionally strong.

The effects of water (e.g. the sea and the waterfront) on the formation of urban spaces and social hierarchies in the case of Stockholm.

Imaginary representations of water in the context of social changes and emotions brought about by modernization and climate change as represented in myths of deluge and other water-based narratives. Literary studies take part in international ecocritical discourse, pointing out how literature and other cultural representations are involved in the public discussion on environmental and other threats and risks in general (cases in Finnish, Russian and Anglo-American literatures). The findings of our project so far are twofold: on the one hand, they relate to water and its meanings, and on the other hand, to doing inter- or transdisciplinary research. First, the project has increased our understanding of the character of water as a genuinely ambiguous element. The methodological ideas that the project has awakened are contradictory and relate to the problems and communication of inter- and multidisciplinary research. Our team continues to analyze the physical and imaginary spaces linked to water, especially seas, but with a more defined focus on the North and the Arctic. Contact: [email protected] http://www.uta.fi/aqua

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The Quality and Quantity of Runoff Water in Relation to Land Use in Urbanized Catchments. Heikki Setälä, University of Helsinki, Teemu Kokkonen, Aalto University, Dimitri Moisseev, University of Helsinki, Olli Ruth, University of Helsinki As aquatic systems derive most of their water from terrestrial habitats, they are affected by the properties of their catchment. The objective of this project/consortium is to investigate whether urban land use and the concomitant change in external loading have the potential to influence the well-being of adjacent aquatic ecosystems. During the project fully automatic runoff/stormwater stations were established at 6 urbanised catchments in the cities of Helsinki (managed by the UH, Dept. Geosciences and Geography) and Lahti (UH, Dept. Environ Sci.) and one rural catchment in Lahti. In these catchments the quantity and quality of runoff was monitored for about three years’ time. At the same time the type and pattern of rain entering the catchments were assessed using the weather radar (UH, Dept. of Physics). The type of the terrain (such as the proportion of soils impervious to water, vegetation type and topography) at the study catchments was also accurately assessed using the laser-based LIDAR method (UH, Dept. Geosciences and Geography). Furthermore, the significance of small scale urban green space, i.e. green roofs, in generating ecosystem services (i.e. regulating and controlling the quality and quantity of runoff) in northern climate was assessed. Finally, to predict the impacts of for extreme rainfalls on urban runoff under changing climate, the data were subjected to mathematical modelling (Aalto University). The results show that:

(1) Among the watersheds, clear differences exist in stormwater quantity and quality (element loads and concentrations). Urbanization multiplied the annual loads of total phosphorus, several heavy metals, and total suspended solids in comparison to a rural site: the more urbanized study area, the more acute and unpredictable changes in water quality occurred.

(2) Urbanization increased runoff volumes only during warm seasons. (3) Substantial seasonal differences in runoff pollutant loads occurred. For example, in each

catchment a large load peak occurred during spring snowmelt for most pollutants. An exception occurred during the exceptionally warm winter when no strong spring peak for runoff volumes and loads was detected.

(4) Urban hydrological modelling proved to be an invaluable tool for evaluating the quality and consistency of precipitation and stormwater flow measurements, and for reproducing flow values for periods of deficient or lacking flow records.

(5) Green roofs reduced the annual surface discharge per unit of area by almost 70% and especially during the warm season detained rainfall for several hours since the onset of precipitation even in large storm events. However, green roofs increased the loading of total nitrogen and total phosphorus. Interestingly, amending green roof substrate with biochar (charred wood) proves to help in retaining nutrients and water. The data show that the SWMM model simulates green roof runoff response to rain events relatively well in Finnish cold climate.

In summary, our results suggest that the high-quality data on urban runoff characteristics, precipitation patterns and land use (Lidar data), in concert with mathematical modeling, create a strong and “holistic” knowledge-base upon which successful stormwater management actions can be generated.

Further information is provided by heikki.setälä@helsinki.fi and http://www.helsinki.fi/urbanecosystems/research/thequalityandquantity.htm

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EU Joint Programming Initiative Emerging Water Contaminants (JPI Water) (2015-1017)

Integrated Processes for Monitoring and Treatment of Emerging Contaminants for Water Reuse (MOTREM). Jukka Pellinen, University of Helsinki Water quality is currently threatened by new emerging contaminants (ECs) that could affect aquatic ecosystems, physiological processes of living organisms and even human health at large. Some of these pollutants are pharmaceuticals and hormones coming from farms, industries, hospitals and even domestic wastewaters. The removal efficiency of these ECs with conventional wastewater treatment processes is not complete. The MOTREM project aims to provide new technologies for water treatment and/or improve existing technologies through the development of integrated processes for monitoring and treating emerging contaminants in the current waterline of municipal wastewater treatment plants, with a special focus on water reuse. Summary of research conducted in 2016 The project group of the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University if Helsinki has developed new analytical techniques to assess the effects of new treatment techniques on EC concentrations. Most ECs can be extracted from wastewater by using solid-phase extraction (SPE). Then a liquid chromatograph (UPLC) is used to separate the components and that are identified and quantitated by using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS). Wastewater is a challenging matrix in the analysis and one way to overcome the matrix difficulties is to use isotope labeled internal standards. One of the validation parameters of the method is the yield of the selected compounds. It was determined in two solvents, ethyl acetate (EtAc) and methanol (MeOH. The yield was good for most compounds although for ibuprofen it was higher than the theoretical value. Other validation parameters include limit of quantitation, linear area, and uncertainty of the method. Our pretreatment method was shown to other MOTREM groups so that they can easily send the samples from their own experiments for the analysis in our laboratory. The work is carried out in the Department’s environmental laboratory, AlmaLab, in Lahti (www.almalab.fi). MORTREM Project participants

Organization Short name Lead investigator Country

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Coord.) URJC Javier Marugan Spain

Universitat Stuttgart UST Bertram Kuch Germany

University of Helsinki UH Jukka Pellinen Finland

Universita di Torino UNITO Paola Calza Italy

Aqualia Gestion Integral del Agua S.A. AQUALIA Frank Rogalla Spain

Bruker Espanola, S.A. BRUKER Pedro Cano Spain

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Stopping Antibiotic Resistance Evolution (StARE). Marko Virta, University of Helsinki Project is funded by Water JPI Pilot Call on Emerging Water Contaminants between 01.01.2015 - 31.12.2017. It is an International consortium coordinated by Celia Manaia from Porto, Portugal with participants from Cyprus, Spain, Germany, Norway, Finland and Ireland. Principal investigator in Finland is Marko Virta from University of Helsinki. In face of limited natural water supplies and ever increasing water demands, the ecosystems are under a great stress to replenish the supplies. Wastewater discharges are nowhere close to the quality and purity of natural water supplies. The main aim of project is to improve its quality, with a special emphasis on the problem of antibiotic resistance. StARE is a multidisciplinary consortium comprising 11 partners from 7 European countries, with background in environmental chemistry, microbiology, molecular biology and bioinformatics, wastewater engineering, and modelling. The project has two major lines of action – 1) the diagnosis of the status of contamination by antibiotics residues and antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater treatment plants across Europe, focused on partner countries; and 2) the development of advanced wastewater treatment processes efficient for the removal of both antibiotics residues and antibiotic resistance genes to levels at which proliferation would be minimized. One of the problems of some of advanced technologies is that due to the stress conditions imposed to bacteria, antibiotic resistance selection and dissemination can be stimulated. Hence, this is another focus of our research; to assess the potential of some stress factors to enhance the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Over the first half of the project, the final effluent of 11 wastewater treatment plants across Europe were analysed for about 50 antibiotic residues and more than 200 antibiotic resistance genes. The fate of antibiotic residues, antibiotic resistant bacteria and bacterial communities after innovative advanced wastewater treatment was studied. The results obtained so far are promising and we expect to produce a first overview of the occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic residues in municipal wastewater in different countries. The sharing of the results with the public and stakeholders will hopefully contribute to the mitigation of the spread on antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes from municipal wastewater treatment plants. Moreover, the data, knowledge and technology developed under the scope of StARE may represent valid contributions for possible revisions of EU legislation. Website of the project: https://stareeurope.wordpress.com/home/.

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Development research projects funded by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Academy of Finland (2013-2015) Design of Adsorption Materials and Units for Water Treatment for Rural Peruvian Areas – Use of Activated Carbon Obtained from Domestic Agricultural Materials. Riitta Keiski, University of Oulu Sustainable handling of water resources, for rural areas, is a key issue in contributing to social and economic development via reducing poverty and thus improving the quality of life. At the same time, achieving environmental standards under the framework of sustainable development should be our mission. The goal of the AdMatU research project was to use abundant and cheap local agro-waste materials to develop technologies for small-scale water and wastewater purification for rural Peruvian areas. Besides the Finnish (University of Oulu) and Peruvian (National University of Engineering in Lima, National University of Tumbes) partners, the consortium had collaboration with external partners from Czech Republic offering all the project partners a broader, more inter-cultural environment likely to result in fruitful and long-lasting research and educational collaboration. Peruvian biomass materials (e.g. fruit/nut waste/saw dust) were used as raw materials in activated carbon production by chemical activation. In addition, the possibility to combine the produced activated carbon with photocatalytic materials was studied in order to develop an efficient, economic, and viable water treatment method to be used in the rural Peruvian areas. Based on the results, the agricultural/forestry biomass residues were suitable raw materials for activated carbon production. The prepared materials were able to remove efficiently the contaminants from water (e.g. arsenic, heavy metals, organic compounds, microbiological organisms). The addition of the photocatalytic material on the surface of the activated carbon enhanced the removal of organic compounds. Within the project, a questionnaire was carried out by interviewing local people in the rural Tumbes River area in five different villages (300 households). The local people in northern Peru are utilizing Tumbes river water as potable water and for household purposes daily. This may cause serious health hazards in time since the river water is highly contaminated. The official information about the drinking water quality by the local authorities is poor. However, the people are aware of the problems concerning the drinking water but they have no other alternative than to use the contaminated water. According to the survey, local inhabitants are willing to test new water treatment methods that would be inexpensive and easy to use. The next step is to build a small scale water purification prototype that can be tested and validated in real circumstances. Contact: Professor Riitta L. Keiski, University of Oulu, [email protected], www.oulu.fipyolamen

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Legal Framework to Promote Water Security. Tuomas Kuokkanen, University of Eastern Finland The project examined water security from a legal perspective in order to solve water-related problems and avoid water scarcity, especially in South Africa and Finland. The research was divided into three thematic areas: 1) right to water; 2) climate impacts on water security; 3) regional border river agreements. Despite the focus of research being on Finland South Africa, the results of the research are applicable in developed and developing countries in general. According to the research, water security is weakened by a variety of inter-linked factors that range from state security to the security of the individuals. In Finland the right to water has been implemented mainly through the social security system without an explicit constitutional right to water. In contrast, South Africa has passed a constitutional right to water that has resulted in several positive outcomes with regard to the water security of individuals despite also some serious problems in its implementation. Based on the research, it is clear that states should support water supply and sanitation with legal and other means while making sure that the cost of the water remains affrodable. Furthermore, water legislation should secure the recovery of costs of water services. On a broader scale, climate change is expected to increase water-related uncertainties and conflict potential. The promotion of water security requires, according to the research, the recognition of water-related risks and the social value of water. Thereby, it is important to seek legal solutions to water-related problems that are based on sustainable development, good governance and promotion of gender equality. Finally, the research emphasised that international watercourses are conflict prone areas in transboundary cooperation on the one hand, while they also provide opportunities for cooperation on the other hand. For this reason, it is of paramount importance to agree on ground rules and administrative mechanisms that can be used to prevent and solve these conflicts. The research underlined that water is often a common denominator in many conflicts, and may facilitate agreement even in times of escalated military conflict. Overall it can be said that the transboundary cooperation between Finland and Russia is a prime example of gradually deepening cooperation in the governance and management of international watercourses. The Finnish-Russian Transboundary Water Commission has had a crucial role in facilitating this cooperation. Similar model, in which comprehensive regulation of a joint water body is approached step by step, can be applied universally as a model for successful water cooperation.

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Climate Change Impacts on Water Quality in the Himalayas. Mika Sillanpää, Lappeenranta University of Technology The aim of the project was to investigate the water quality of rivers, lakes and precipitation in Himalaya region of the Tibetan Plateau against the background of climate change. Water quality is an essential issue for the inhabitants around the Himalayan area, particularly due to climate change. The Tibetan Plateau is the highest plateau on earth and is also known as the “Third Pole” and “water tower of Asia”; ten of the largest rivers in Asia (e.g., Yangtze River, Yellow River, Salween and Indus) are located on the plateau, providing water to about 40 percent of the world’s population. However, the water quality in the region is under threat of climate change as well as of anthropogenic activities (two of the largest developing countries, China and India, are located in the region) in the surroundings. Local citizen’s awareness on understanding of climate change on water quality and mitigation actions on are very limited. Researchers analysed the impacts of climate change on water quality of the lakes, precipitation, as well as headwaters in three major Asian rivers in the Tibetan Plateau: Yangtze River, Yarlung Tsangpo River and Ganges River. The study by Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) on the climate change and geochemical process of waters and lake sediments on the Tibetan Plateau showed that global warming affects geochemical processes such as glacier melting, soil erosion and sediments release. This deteriorates water quality of rivers and lakes, thus significantly impacting the lives of 40 percent of the world’s population living in the area. According to the results, concentrations of mercury, cadmium and lead in high-altitudes lake sediments where there is less human activity were significantly higher compared to low-altitude areas where more people live. This finding indicates that atmospheric long-range transportation of pollutants in remote areas of the Himalayas might deposit at high altitudes. Precipitation during the monsoon season in the region has high concentration of nutrients implies that atmospheric pollution is possibly being transported to the Himalayas from South Asia by the India monsoon, which means human activities in the surrounding area have effects on the waters of the Tibetan Plateau. The research also found that arsenic concentrations in rivers in the Southern Tibetan Plateau were higher than the guideline for drinking water set by World Health Organisation (WHO) due to the existence of thermal spring in this region. The Tibetan Plateau has an extensive permafrost cover with large amount carbon stored in it. Based on the carbon isotope study, we found that old carbon stored in the permafrost has been exporting into contemporary rivers on the Tibetan Plateau with the global warming. It can come to a safe hypothesis that more carbon will release to the water system with the continuous climate change, which will, in turn, intensify the regional climate change and affect water quality. Contact: Professor Mika Sillanpää [email protected]

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Water-Energy-Food Nexus: a Cross-Sectorial Analysis of Large Asian River Basins. Olli Varis, Aalto University March 2016 Progress Description: The NexusAsia (Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A Cross-Sectoral Analysis of Large Asian River Basins) was a two-year research project run by Aalto University in 2013-15. Key outcomes of the project were increased knowledge related to water, energy and food security, manifested by several scientific publications, number of workshops as well as a nexus Special Issue in open access journal, Water (http://bit.ly/1yVpljx).

The project’s focus was on the management of water and related natural resources in transboundary settings shared by several countries. In general, increasing water use –and related water scarcity– is driven by the demands of energy and food production: a great majority of the world’s water resources are used in agriculture, while over 90 per cent of the current renewable energy production is linked to water in the form of hydropower or biomass and waste. The main findings from the NexusAsia project highlight the close interconnections between water, energy and food security. The findings also show that energy and food sector have often very differing needs for and impacts to water: this, in turn, makes water often a source of potential disputes and even conflicts between these different uses.

In terms of transboundary basins, the findings from our nexus analysis remind the importance to look at the nexus linkages across multiple scales as well as the significance of politics –both within and between riparian countries– in addressing water, energy and food security. The potential benefits of using nexus approach in transboundary basins includes richer picture of relationships between different actors as well as altered actor dynamics: the simple fact that nexus brings together key actors from three sectors make it simultaneously more focused and broader than traditional water resources management approaches such as Integrated Water Resources Management IWRM.

Ultimately, our analysis strongly indicates that the sustainable use of water resources is often largely dependent on trends in energy and food production. As the solutions to growing challenges related to water use and scarcity thus lie largely outside the water sector, water actors needs to find more strategic ways to bring water to the agenda of other sectors: nexus is one way forward on this. For more information on the NexusAsia research project, including its publications, visit the project website at http://www.wdrg.fi/nexusasia/

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New Indigo ERA-NET joint call, projects funded by the Academy of Finland (2012-2013) The Application of Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Purification and Reuse The Greentech project started a new cooperation between different higher education organizations in India and in Europe in the research area of water purification and reuse. The collaboration supports advanced research in the area of green chemistry and technology applied in water purification. This consortium consisted of European partners, namely the University of Cantabria, Spain and the University of Oulu, Finland, and of an Indian partner, the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, India. The research done during the project on the elimination of organics, emerging micropollutants, such as pharmaceutical compounds, arsenic and fluoride has produced new knowledge on the water purification technologies. Membrane processes, adsorption and photocatalysis have been studied for water purification during the project. Sustainability of different water purification technologies has been assessed by using the sustainability assessment tool and criteria which have been further developed during the project. During the Greentech networking project the researchers have participated the project meetings, worked on new project ideas and research applications, done experimental work in the laboratories, written joint articles, given lectures and presentations on study courses (for MSc and doctoral level students), seminars, workshops and conferences. There has been a fruitful exchange of scientific knowledge and expertise between the project partners. The collaboration between the three universities/institutes has been active and intense. As a result 15 journal articles and conference proceedings have been published, 18 oral presentations have been given and several theses have been finalized. Joint research proposals with India and Spain are under preparation or have been submitted to the EU and to the Academy of Finland. There has been numerous research visits to the participating countries during the project (Spanish researchers to Finland 10 man-months and Indian researchers to Finland 7 man-months). Financially the project has increased the research mobility which has made it possible to deepen and continue the scientific collaboration between the partners. During the visits the participants have also learned more about the culture and habits of each participating country. Mutual understanding, tolerance and respect have increased during the project. The researchers have engaged new contacts and formed new research networks and concortia. The Greentech networking project has enabled the beginning of a fruitful collaboration which has resulted in new research proposals, research exchange, scientific articles and transfer of knowledge. It has also brought ideas to the companies and other researchers since the network and its activities have been made visible via the AKVA programme (Academy of Finland) and its AOPI project, HYMEPRO project (Tekes, Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation) and SULKA project (European Regional Development fund). Contact: Professor Riitta L. Keiski, University of Oulu, [email protected], www.oulu.fi/pyolamen

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