In Task 1.4: Clustering activities and EU-China cooperation, SPI will take the lead for The ECONUTRI project. This involves clustering with other funded projects under HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-03, as well as relevant H2020/HEU projects. The aim is to establish a vibrant community for the exchange, transfer, and training of knowledge and best practices in the field. This collaborative effort also contributes to the formulation of specific policy recommendations.

To enhance collaboration, SPI will engage with the “ENRICH in China” initiative. The plan includes organizing a joint webinar involving Chinese agricultural companies from the “ENRICH in China” network, alongside European partners. This webinar will serve as a platform for sharing knowledge on best practices in nutrients management.

Furthermore, a Stakeholder Group (SHG) will be formed, comprising stakeholders from academia, industries, and farming. This group will actively engage with project partners throughout the project’s planning and implementation phases, optimizing results, uptake, and impact. The SHG will be invited to attend two conferences organized during project meetings and will be encouraged to actively contribute to the dissemination and exploitation of project outcomes.

The SPI team is in active communication with the Chinese partners of the project, facilitating the exchange of information related to project progress, achievements, activities, and news. Moreover, the team is providing support to the Chinese counterparts in publishing project-related news on the website and social media channels, effectively bridging the gap between Europe and China.

In this specific task, our team at SPI has taken on the responsibility of preparing and developing policy mapping aimed at gaining insights into Nature-based Solutions (NBS) and innovative policies related to agriculture in both European and Chinese territories. To kick off this initiative, we have partnered with NIBIO for the creation of a comprehensive survey designed to support the systematic review of NBS implementation and integration paths (WP6.2). Additionally, this survey serves as a foundation for the development of governance options and policy incentives (WP6.3) intended to promote NBS in agriculture.

The survey has been distributed to all project partners with the primary objective of facilitating a thorough country-specific literature review on NBS in agriculture for WP6. Our goal is to encourage collaboration and knowledge exchange, allowing us to check, validate, and improve the gathered information. The survey encompasses various aspects of NBS, with a focus on agriculture-related practices. Specifically, we are exploring measures aimed at reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment losses, and greenhouse gas emissions on a landscape and catchment scale. This inquiry encompasses a broad spectrum, including but not limited to agricultural, agronomic, dairy, poultry, and cattle production.

We are extending the same survey to our Chinese partners, seeking their valuable insights and perspectives on NBS in agriculture within their region. The collaborative effort in this survey will lay the groundwork for the subsequent eDelphi analysis and the formulation of future policy recommendations.