Water security for the planet (Water4All)

Mission 

The aim of the Water4All Partnership is at enabling water security for all in the long term through boosting systemic transformations and changes across the entire research – water innovation pipeline, fostering the matchmaking between problem owners and solution providers.

• Provision of knowledge, methodologies and tools for supporting water management and planning whilst enhancing the inclusion of citizens in decision-making processes, their empowerment, capacity-building, accountability and transparency.
• Conservation, restoration, regeneration and best use of the natural functions of groundwater, surface water and dependent or associated ecosystems.
• Demonstration, from pilot- to full-scale, and implementation of technical and non-technical solutions.
• Support to European and international action plans and regulatory frameworks having an influence on water resources.
• Support to efficient collaboration in RDI activities.
• Enabling open access to water knowledge and web services. 

Objectives

The entire value chain of Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) is covered via a variety of partners, as Water4All brings together a wide and cohesive group of 90 partners  from 33 countries in the European Union and beyond. 

The outputs of Water4All will contribute to: 

• Deliver sound knowledge, tools and evidence basis on water for policy- and decision-making
• Improve consideration of water impacts in all relevant policies
• Enhance the field/market use of innovative solutions to water challenges
• Increase the awareness and engagement of citizens for an inclusive water governance 

Project activities across 7 themes of its strategic agenda depicted in the figure 1: 

• water for circular economy;
• water for ecosystems and biodiversity;
• sustainable water management;
• water and health;
• water infrastructure;
• international cooperation;
• water governance. 

Research goals

Proposed portfolio of multi-national and cross-sectoral activities targets a variety of actors and intending to generate the following outputs: 

• Strengthening the water Research and Innovation (R&I) collaboration at the European and international levels, notably through 6 Joint Transnational Calls
• Coordinating and leveraging the activities of the Water R&I community
• Supporting and promoting demonstration and access to the market of innovative solutions
• Producing, sharing and better communicating water-related knowledge & data, from local to global scales
• Enhancing talent development of water R&I professionals
• Fostering capacity development and life-long training of water policy-makers, stakeholders and the civil society
• Designing and implementing approaches for participatory development of innovation 

Project Pillars 

Finnish Environment Institute is involved with pillars A, C, D and E. 

• Pillar A: Water4All’s Joint Vision and Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA)
• Pillar B: Developing new knowledge and innovative solutions for a systemic and inclusive approach of water challenges at an operational scale
• Pillar C: Science Policy – Policy – End-Users interface
• Pillar D: Demonstration activities
• Pillar E: Internationalisation 

Schedule 

Short-term impacts:

• Strengthen water RDI collaboration at European and international levels.
• Coordinate and leverage the activities of the water RDI community.
• Support and promote the demonstration and access to market of innovative solutions.
• Produce, share and better communicate and disseminate water-related knowledge and data.
• Enhance talent development of water RDI professionals.
• Foster capacity development of water policy-makers, stakeholders and civil society.
• Enable participatory development of innovation. 

Mid-term impacts:  

• Deliver sound knowledge, tools and evidence basis on water for policy- and decision-making.
• Improve consideration of water impacts in all relevant policies.
• Enhance the field/market use of innovative solutions to water challenges.
• Increase citizens’ awareness and engagement for an inclusive water governance.

Long-term impacts:

• Populations have improved access to water to meet basic needs and safeguard health and well-being.
• Adequate water supplies are available for food and energy production, agriculture, industry, transport, tourism.
• Ecosystems are preserved and restored and can better deliver their services, on which both nature and people can rely, including the provision of freshwater.
• Populations are more resilient to global changes and water-related hazards, including floods, droughts, pollution.

Joint calls - 6 calls in 2022–2028
First Water4All Joint Call was in 2022. Read more Joint Calls (water4all-partnership.eu)

Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA):
SRIA for water is regularly updated with stakeholders. First update was in 2023, second will be in 2025. Read more: Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (water4all-partnership.eu).

Projects 

• Water security for the planet – Water4All main home page.  
  Water4All member countries on map (jpg)
• Freshwater Competence Centre of Finland (FWCC)
• Adaptive governance creates blue growth in Finland (BlueAdapt) 

Literature 

• Gonzales-Inca, C., Calle, M., Croghan, D., Torabi Haghighi, A., Marttila, H., Silander, J., & Alho, P. (2022). Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (geoai) in the integrated hydrological and fluvial systems modeling: Review of current applications and Trends. Water, 14(14), 2211.
• Marttila, H., Laudon, H., Tallaksen, L. M., Jaramillo, F., Alfredsen, K., Ronkanen, A.-K., Kronvang, B., Lotsari, E., Kämäri, M., Ala-Aho, P., Nousu, J., Silander, J., Koivusalo, H., & Kløve, B. (2022). Nordic hydrological frontier in the 21st century. Hydrology Research, 53(5), 700–715.