Ponds and “pondscapes” (networks of ponds) are crucial for biodiversity conservation and their multiple societally beneficial ecosystem services (ES) provide the means to play a crucial role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. However, ponds are largely neglected in water- and nature-related policies and there is insufficient knowledge on how to manage and restore ponds to maximize their role as nature-based solutions (NBS) to increase resilience of ecosystems and society to climate change (CC). The overarching aim of PONDERFUL is to facilitate improved implementation of ponds NBS for CC mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation and delivery of ES through generating and integrating biodiversity, ecosystems, social, economic and policy knowledge and providing evidence-based guidance and tools for pond NBS implementation. To achieve this, PONDERFUL will: 1) evaluate the interactions and feedbacks between biodiversity, ES and climate in pondscapes at multiple spatial scales; 2) together with stakeholders, develop future scenarios for pondscapes in EU and CELAC in the context of CC, land use change, and changed policies; 3) develop and test the implementation of effective multifunctional NBS in close collaboration with the stakeholders using DEMOnstration sites in EU and CELAC countries; 4) develop a sustainable finance and investment guide for NBS, in collaboration with local stakeholders; 5) assess the potential for large-scale implementation of the proposed NBS in relation to existing barriers, enabling factors, financing and as economic viability, as well as social perceptions of benefits from pond NBS. Ultimately, the stakeholder-oriented approach adopted by PONDERFUL will ensure that the scientific knowledge produced on the benefits of using pondscapes as ecosystems delivering multiple ES is explicitly considered in decision making from local management to EU policies.

LAPASSION (Latin-America Practices and Soft Skills for an Innovation Oriented Network) is a project from the program Erasmus+ within the line KA2 – Capacity Building in the field of Higher Education (reference 585687-EPP-1-2017-1-PT-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). It involved partners from Portugal, Finland, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile. LAPASSION consortium had as motivation to create a unique solution to address different problems affecting youth in HEI, helping students to obtain a better training in terms of innovation, soft skills, and internationalization. This solution was achieved by means of LAPASSION MP/I (Multidisciplinary Projects/Internships) for students’ teams to help them to co-create, and co-develop projects proposed by enterprises and other organizations, or to accelerate innovative ideas in an international context involving students from several countries.The aim of LAPASSION was to increase the innovation culture of HEI and the connection with Enterprises/Organizations (E/O) with impact in Employability, and Internationalization. This aim is pursued by implementing MP/I for co-creation, co-development and acceleration of innovative ideas, integrated in the educative project of the involved institutions. MP/I was implemented by means of students' teams involving students with different backgrounds, different graduation levels, and from different countries, and solving challenges posed by E/O. The sustainability of the project is currently ensured in Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, and can be extended to other Latin-America countries, like Colombia.LAPASSION is a consortium with 15 partners, including 13 Higher Education Institutions (4 from Europe and 9 from Latin America), 1 Association of Enterprises from Portugal, and 1 Council of the Federal Institutes from Brazil. The list of the partners is the following:Polytechnic of Porto (IPP, Portugal, coordinator)Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK, Finland)University of Vigo (UVIGO, Spain)University of Salamanca (USAL, Spain)Federal Institute Riograndense (IFSUL, Brazil)Federal Institute of Triângulo Mineiro (IFTM, Brazil)Federal Institute of Goiás (IFG, Brazil)Federal Institute of Maranhão (IFMA, Brazil)Federal Institute of Amazonas (IFAM, Brazil)University of the Republic of Uruguay (UDELAR, Uruguay)Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC, Uruguay)Foundation of Professional Institute (DUOC, Chile)Catholic University of Chile (PUC, Chile)Association of Enterprises of Portugal, Commerce and Industry Chamber (AEP, Portugal)Council of Federal Institutes of Brazil (CONIF, Brazil)LAPASSION involved 7 editions (sets) of multidisciplinary projects for students plus several other additional editions not supported by LAPASSION budget (3 in Porto, 4 in Uruguay, 1 in Brazil, and 3 in Chile), in a total of 18 sets of projects.The challenges selected by the 7 original editions of LAPASSION were the following:-Santiago/Chile (2018): How to improve conditions for Senior Populations?-Uruguay (2019): How to improve conditions for children?-Uberaba/Brazil (2019): Food for the Future-São Luís/Brazil (2019): How to improve the Human Development Index of the State of Maranhão?-Manaus/Brazil (2020): Socio-Environmental Technologies for the Sustainability of the Amazon-Goiania/Brazil (2020): How to contribute to an Inclusive and Sustainable Society?-Pelotas/Brazil (2021): Accessibility and Assistive TechnologiesA total of 192 staff members have been trained by LAPASSION, and 226 students were directly involved and funded by LAPASSION for the 10-weeks experiences of multidisciplinary projects (185 from Latin America). More 211 students were trained with LAPASSION-base practices and without funding from the project during the last years.

Climate extremes such as heat waves or tropical storms have huge social and economic impact. The forecasting of such extreme events at the sub-seasonal time scale (from 10 days to 3 months) is challenging. Since the atmosphere and the ocean are coupled systems of enormous complexity, in order to advance sub-seasonal predictability of extreme events, it is crucial to train a new kind of interdisciplinary top-level researchers. CAFE research is structured in three WP: Atmospheric and oceanic processes, Extreme events and Tools for predictability, and brings together an interdisciplinary team of scientists. Objectives: Study of the relation between RWPs and the large scale environment, and the resulting limit of predictability; Statistical characterization of MJO events, dependence on climatic factors, and simple modelling to evaluate predictability; Development of diagnosis tools for identification and tracking of the MJO, blocking, waves and oceanic structures; Analysis of climatic changes in weather patterns and their relation with new climatic phenomena and extreme events in Europe; Estimation of probabilities for severe damages due to extreme events associated to ENSO; Validation of the hypothesis of cascades of extreme events and effects of a non-stationary climate; Estimation of exceedance probabilities for intensity of severe atmospheric events, including windstorms and hurricanes; Assessment of the response of extreme weather events for different levels of stabilized global warming and comparison with their response to internal modes of climate variability; Development of a procedure to improve the predictability of the onset of monsoon; Advanced statistical analysis of dynamic associations between SSS and extreme precipitation events; Study of predictability of large-scale atmospheric flow patterns over the Mediterranean connected to extreme weather; Systematic quantification of the predictability potential of a SWG of analogues of atmospheric circulation.