RECUP-DAS: the new €10.4M project to restore the Tinto and Odiel river basins

RECUP-DAS

LifeWatch ERIC is proud to be part of the new funded project RECUP-DAS, through an agreement signed together with the Andalusian Regional Governement and the University of Huelva.

With a total budget of 10.4 million euros, RECUP-DAS is a strategic initiative funded under ERDF Andalusia 2021-2027, that promotes the environmental recovery of the Tinto and Odiel river basins, two of the systems that most suffered the acid drainage from historical mining (the name “Río Tinto” refers to the reddish colour of its waters from iron and other metals dissolved into them).

This initiative entails the collaboration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development in terms of leadership on the sustainable management of water, in collaboration with the Andalusian knowledge system and LifeWatch ERIC as scientific infrastructure specialised in biodiversity and ecosystem.

The project follows an innovative and sustainable approach, aligned with the regional hydrological planning. The Directorate General responsible for water resources will oversee the construction of a DAS technology-based plant for the treatment of acid mine drainage and environmental restoration of the affected areas, with a gradual recovery of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services.

DAS stands for “Dispersed Alkaline Substrate“, a technology developed by the “Tharsis” Research Group of the University of Huelva, which will be improved and optimised throughout the project: this passive treatment system neutralised acidity and removes dissolved metals in contaminated water without the need for continuous energy or permanent addition of reagents.

With a total budget of 5.9 million euros assigned, LifeWatch ERIC will lead the digitisation of the system and the development of a digital twin, which will allow the simulation of different operating scenarios to optimise efficiency, and improve decision-making along the plant operation.

In addition, LifeWatch ERIC will also be responsible for the dissemination of project’s results, ensuring that knowledge generated can be transferred and replicated in future restoration initiatives, regional, national and international.

The main expected results of RECUP-DAS are a significant reduction in the pollutant load in affected waters, improvement of the ecological status of the intervened watercourses, and the generation of scientific and technical knowledge applicable to basins in similar conditions. Solid waste generated from the treatment process will be the object of further analysis on how to potentially valorise it, within the framework of circular economy.

Stay tuned to know more about RECUP-DAS!

Italy joins GBIF through the establishment of a National Node

LifeWatch Italy & GBIF

As of October 2025, Italy has officially joined the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), strengthening its engagement in the international landscape of open biodiversity data.

Already a member of LifeWatch ERIC through LifeWatch Italy, with the National Research Council (CNR) as the leading entity, Italy has now established its national GBIF node, coordinated by DSSTTA (Department of Earth System Sciences and Environmental Technologies). Ilaria Rosati, already actively involved in LifeWatch Italy, has been appointed Node Manager of the Italian GBIF node.

DSSTTA is committed to advancing the understanding of how Earth’s systems, including climate, cryosphere, biodiversity, and related components, are deeply interconnected and influenced by human activities.

The Italian GBIF node builds on national expertise in biodiversity research and data management, contributing to free and open access to biodiversity data at the global scale. GBIF represents the leading international platform for the management and sharing of species occurrence data, supporting research, policy, and decision-making worldwide.

The governance of the Italian GBIF node includes the following representatives:

  • Head of Delegation: Diego Fontaneto (CNR-IRSA)
  • Node Manager: Ilaria Rosati (CNR-IRET)
  • Alternate Head of Delegation: Stefano Martellos (University of Trieste)
  • Additional Delegate: Gabriele Bucci (CNR-IBBR)

This development is significant because membership in GBIF enables Italy to contribute its biodiversity data directly to the world’s largest open-access repository of species occurrence information, supporting international research through science-based knowledge.

Map data image from: OpenStreetMap

Biodiversity and planetary health: presenting the Crete Declaration at the University of Lisbon

Doctoral Programme on Planetary Health

On 5th January 2026, LifeWatch ERIC’s CEO Christos Arvanitidis delivered an online presentation for the 4th Course of the Doctoral Programme in Planetary Health, organised by the University of Lisbon.
The 40-minute presentation titled “From Biodiversity to Planetary Health: Enabling Science for Societal Transformation” focused on the link between the course’s holistic approach and the “Crete Declaration” approach.

The Crete Declaration is a Declaration of Intent signed between LifeWatch ERIC and a group of Research Infrastructures and European projects and organisations. It takes its name from Heraklion, Crete, where the signing took place in the summer of 2025, during the BEeS 2025 Conference.

With this Declaration, the signatories committed to advance the One Health approach, promoting cross-domain research and integrated solutions. The core premise supporting this ecological-social continuum, which also underlies the common thread of the University of Lisbon Course, is that to address Planetary Health through the current poly-crisis, we need a concerted action.

The Doctoral Programme, in fact, aims at preparing students to tackle complex issues that cross ecological and societal boundaries. The three modules of the course (Adaptation; Transformation; Into Action) address critical global challenges at the intersection of health, environmental, social and political science, with the aim of fostering discussion and critical thinking through a wide variety of topics.

This was central to Christos’ intervention, proposing suggestions on how to turn biodiversity science into action: an ambition that requires a shift from fragmentation to integration of disciplines, data silos, and policy gaps.
An insightful round of discussions with the students followed the presentation, providing a mutual exchange that may inspire both the students and the future work of the Crete Declaration.

If you would like to contribute your perspective to the Crete Declaration, you can add your name here: https://www.lifewatch.eu/crete-declaration. We will inform you about future developments. Are you interested in applying for the Doctoral Programme in Planetary Health? The first round of applications runs from 12 January to 20 February 2026. All details are available here: https://www.ulisboa.pt/planetary-health-studies.

Tracking sharks in the North Sea

Tracking sharks

Researchers from the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and the Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) are tagging sharks in the Belgian part of the North Sea to gain insights on their habits. With the support of LifeWatch Belgium and the European Tracking Network (ETN), data gathered through this work might help guide targeted protection and management actions.

By implanting small acoustic transmitters into sharks, researchers are in fact able to track their movements across borders (read this article to see how ETN makes cross-borders science possible). Moreover, they use other techniques such as ultrasound, underwater video systems, and genetics to gain other insights on reproduction, diet, species distribution and more.

So far, they have tagged over 140 typical shark species of the North Sea, like the small-spotted catshark, the starry smooth-hound, and the majestic basking shark.

Despite being top predators, and despite their crucial role in keeping the ecosystem healthy, these species are highly vulnerable due to their slow growth and low reproductive rate. Monitoring them doesn’t only provide information about their health and habits: their presence is also an important indicator of good marine biodiversity in the area.

Read the full article on LifeWatch Belgium and find out the recents results of these studies: https://www.lifewatch.be/news/tracking-sharks-north-sea-better-protection-and-management

Agroecology Partnership Meeting in Plasencia

Plasencia

On 11 November 2025, LifeWatch ERIC took part in the Meeting of Living Labs and Research Infrastructures in Agroecology, at the Centro de Agricultura Ecológica y de Montaña (CAEM–CICYTEX) in Plasencia (Spain), within the framework of the European Partnership for Agroecology (https://www.lifewatch.eu/agroecology-partnership).

The meeting gathered Spanish members of the Partnership to share the progress of ongoing activities, present new joiners and introducing work packages starting in the second phase.

It was also a chance to explore the ground for potential synergies and future collaboration opportunities. During the event, Iria Soto, Senior Scientific Manager at LifeWatch ERIC, facilitated the Working Table on Research Infrastructures and Links with Living Labs, together with José Manuel Ávila, Senior Scientific Manager at LifeWatch ERIC.

This session aimed to identify challenges, barriers, and opportunities in the interaction between Research Infrastructures and Living Labs, as well as to discuss tools and models for stronger, long-term connections beyond project-based collaborations.

The activity is part of a broader task, in which LifeWatch ERIC contributes to strengthening collaboration between scientific infrastructures and agroecological territories, leveraging its expertise in e-Science, FAIR data, and virtual research environments to support the transition toward more sustainable food systems.

The meeting also featured representatives from several institutions, including CSIC, AEI, CDTI, Junta de Extremadura, FUNDECYT-PCTEX, AGAPA, and the University of Córdoba, among other Spanish partners of the Partnership.

LifeWatch ERIC at TICAL 2025: Sustainable Science and Strategic Alliances

TICAL 2025

LifeWatch ERIC took part in TICAL 2025, the annual conference of the RedCLARA organisation in San José, Costa Rica (November 11–13, 2025), where leaders from digital research infrastructures, academia, and innovation networks from across Latin America and Europe exchange experiences of sustainable collaboration.

Maite Irazábal, Scientific Coordination Support, and Christos Arvanitidis, CEO, contributed with talks and panel discussions to this year’s conference theme “Innovation that Transforms”.

Maite Irazábal presented “FAIR Tools for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Energy Transition Policies”, in the framework of the EU–LAC EnergyTran project. These prototype tools support evidence-based policymaking in the context of the energy transition, by integrating FAIR data and workflow-based analytics from European and Latin American Research Infrastructures (RIs).

The presentation highlighted the importance of data interoperability and open collaboration in addressing sustainability challenges, and the role of infrastructures like LifeWatch ERIC in connecting science with policy.

Christos Arvanitidis offered a broader perspective on the role of RIs in tackling planetary challenges. He highlighted their potential to break barriers and promote innovation and sustainable science. In LifeWatch ERIC, this is made possible thanks to the RI’s multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach, which federates FAIR data, reproducible analytics, and mobilised research communities to accelerate scientific progress and produce synthetic knowledge.

He also presented LifeWatch ERIC’s technological developments such as its Virtual Research Environments (VREs) and Science Knowledge Graphs (SKG), digital ecosystems where researchers can co-develop workflows, access high-performance computing resources, and transform data into actionable insights.

One of the highlights of the conference was the panel on “Research Infrastructures that Transform: Connecting Knowledge and Collaboration between Latin America and Europe,” moderated by Paola Arellano (REUNA Chile). The discussions reiterated the importance of interoperability among research infrastructures and the need for joint work between Latin American and European scientific communities.

Key reflections that emerged from this discussion are that European RIs should open their resources and developments to Latin America to enable collaborative science, and that strengthened EU–LAC international cooperation, political dialogue, mutual understanding, and equitable access to research, could bring better results in science, technology, and innovation.

These interventions reinforced the importance of strategic and sustainable alliances between Europe and Latin America. LifeWatch ERIC and RedCLARA, bound by a Memorandum of Understanding, continue to strengthen cooperation in open science, FAIR data management, and the creation of shared digital tools.

For more information about TICAL, visit https://tical2025.redclara.net/en/programa.

OntoPortal Workshop 2025

OntoPortal Workshop

The OntoPortal Workshop 2025, hosted by Freie Universität Berlin at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, took place in Berlin from 29 September to 2 October.

Every year, the Workshop brings together members of the OntoPortal Alliance to discuss strategies and future activities. The OntoPortal Alliance is in fact a consortium of several research and infrastructure teams dedicated to promoting the development of ontology repositories, in science and other disciplines, based on the open, collaboratively developed OntoPortal open source software (Source: Clement Jonquet, Jennifer L Vendetti, Guillaume Alviset, Ilaria Rosati, John Graybeal, et al.. OntoPortal Workshop 2024 Report. INRAE; Stanford University. 2024. ffhal-04891214f).

These teams develop and maintain several openly accessible semantic artefact catalogues, or ontology repositories, in multiple domains. Among them, LifeWatch ERIC manages EcoPortal, the repository of semantic resources for ecology and related fields (https://ecoportal.lifewatch.eu).

This year, representatives from EcoPortal (Ilaria Rosati, Martina Pulieri and Michael Griniezakis), AgroPortal (Clement Jonquet, Imad Bourouche), EarthPortal (Christelle Pierkot and Hakim Allem), BiodivPortal (Naouel Karam, Ralph Schäfermeier and Adrian Paschke), BioPortal (Mark Musen, Jennifer Vendetti, Michael Dorf and Alex Skrenchuk), MatPortal (Alexandru-Aurelian Todor), OntoPortal-Astro (Baptiste Cecconi), CHPortal (Beatrice Markhoff, Louise Parkin), SocioPortal (Darren Bell), HSPortal (Anais Guillem) and other guests from NFDI (Roman Baum and Jakob Voss) joined the discussions.

Key topics included ontology development lifecycle, MOD-API implementation, new developments including generative AI and OntoPortal, and collaborations in projects and initiatives.

LifeWatch ERIC on Austria’s joining DiSSCo RI via OSCA

Dissco - OSCA

A strategic boost to European collaboration: LifeWatch ERIC warmly welcomes Austria’s integration into DiSSCo via OSCA. This national-level mobilisation is a model of how local strengths can be federated into a European knowledge system for biodiversity and ecosystem research. Natural History Museums and Botanical Gardens form undoubtedly the largest Research Infrastructure in Europe. The added value their specimens and their research products they take from joining Research Infrastructure is huge and it provides a serious return to the countries and societies invested in them.

  • Complementary missions, shared vision: DiSSCo’s work in digitising and harmonising specimen-based collections can be used in combination with LifeWatch ERIC’s focus on ecosystem-level observations, Virtual Research Environments (VREs), and computational workflows. Together, the two Research Infrastructures can cover a large spectrum from specimen or individual to system.
  • Enhancing synthetic knowledge production: With DiSSCo offering curated, voucher-based data, the synergy with LifeWatch ERIC, which provides semantic interoperability, cross-domain analytics, and modular service composition, synthetic knowledge, that is, integrated, cross-scale, and policy-relevant is created. This alone is a big leap to shaping the science of the future and the training of younger generations becomes a must in order for the countries to receive the full benefits from such concerted research practices.
  • One Health and Environmental Intelligence: We echo DiSSCo’s focus on the UN’s One Health Framework. LifeWatch ERIC’s ecological observatories, data repositories and analytical services and DiSSCo’s curated collections form a powerful foundation for early warning systems on animal diseases, assessments of zoonotic risks, and biodiversity severe change.
  • Infrastructure alignment and EOSC integration: LifeWatch ERIC supports DiSSCo’s alignment with EOSC, open science principles, and digital twins. Our joint efforts enhance FAIR data flows, reduce fragmentation, and increase reuse of biodiversity knowledge for research and innovation. DiSSCo’s continuous support to FAIR Data Objects (FDOs) forms a good example for the remaining Research Infrastructures dedicated on the Biosphere of the ENVRI Science Cluster in EOSC ecosystem.
  • Pooling resources and building capacity: Like DiSSCo, LifeWatch ERIC believes in shared platforms, training pathways, and economies of scale across Europe. Our collaboration offers smaller institutions access to best-in-class tools, methods, and community practices.
  • Reinforcing the European Research Area: OSCA’s connection to DiSSCo and, by extension, to the ENVRI cluster strengthens Austria’s role in the ERA. Together, we foster a cohesive and agile infrastructure ecosystem serving science, policy, and society.

EULAC EnergyTRAN mobility event in Seville

EULAC ENERGYTRAN mobility event

On 20 May 2025, the second day of the EULAC EnergyTRAN mobility event took place at the Statutory Seat of LifeWatch ERIC, located in Plaza de España in Seville, Spain. This initiative is part of the EU-LAC cooperation framework, aiming to strengthen scientific collaboration between European and Latin American research infrastructures, particularly in the environmental and energy transition domains.

The second day gathered a diverse delegation of Latin American representatives, including members of: Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), Argentina (Julian Asinsten, Martin del Castillo, Lilia Inés Stubrin, Valeria Arza, Martin Obaya, Emanuel López), Tecnológico de Aguascalientes, México (Adrian Bonilla-Petriciolet, Didilia Ileana Mendoza-Castillo), National High Technology Center (CeNAT), Costa Rica (Jazmín Calderón Quirós), and LifeWatch ERIC team members (Francisco Manuel Sánchez, Antonio José Sáenz, Joaquin López, Julio López Paneque, Iria Soto, Ana Mellado, Maite Irazábal).

Throughout the day, participants from Latin America had the opportunity to engage directly with LifeWatch ERIC members and explore the organisation’s technological, analytical, and data management services. Sessions included:

  • An overview of LifeWatch ERIC’s data management services and technological resources such as the Scientific Knowledge Graph, LifeBlock, and the MyLifeWatch platform;
  • Demonstrations of data loggers and sensor networks for environmental monitoring;
  • A detailed showcase of the collaborative research platform and analytical workflows developed within the EnergyTRAN project;
  • Insightful presentations on the long-term sustainability of LifeWatch ERIC tools and their application in other European projects, such as AGROSERV and Microbes4Climate.

These in-person meetings are precious opportunities to cultivate openness and constructive dialogue, ensuring long-term international cooperation.

The event concluded with an exchange of ideas for future collaborations and opportunities, which are vital to sustain and expand the EU-LAC research partnerships and respond to shared challenges across regions.

LifeWatch ERIC at the conference that shapes the future of Research Infrastructures

The conference “Research Infrastructures in a Changing Global, Environmental and Socio-economic Context,” organised as part of the Belgian Presidency of the European Council, is taking place today at the Royal Library of Belgium. This conference, running on 4 and 5 June, aims to highlight the crucial role of research infrastructures in addressing societal, global, and economic challenges. The Belgian presidency programme prioritises research and innovation to foster open strategic autonomy, enhance the valorisation of research outcomes, and reinforce the role of research in overcoming industrial and societal challenges. This conference aims to address global challenges through collaborative and innovative research infrastructures.

Inmaculada Figueroa, Vice Director General for International Consortia, Organisations and Research Infrastructures (Spanish Research Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities), is moderating the “Research Infrastructures as Actors of Open Strategic Autonomy” session. Figueroa is also a member of the EOSC Steering Board and a delegate to the LifeWatch ERIC General Assembly.

The event features keynotes and sessions over two days, focusing on the future vision for research infrastructures, their socio-economic and environmental impact, and the broader research infrastructure ecosystem. The sessions, moderated by personnel from the European Commission and national research bodies, focus on the impact of global contexts, challenges in supply chains, digitalisation, AI, and the role of European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERIC).

These sessions offer significant advantages by providing shared resources and expertise across Europe. They enhance collaborative research efforts, reduce duplication of efforts, and foster innovation by enabling access to state-of-the-art facilities and data. Being part of the dialogue and shaping the European research landscape at different levels is crucial for the ERICs to achieve their missions. Our CEO, Christos Arvanitidis, also participated in the conference, as we aim to advance biodiversity and ecosystem research and contribute significantly to addressing environmental challenges such as climate change.