Phosphorus (P) is a vital input for agricultural production. Yet, current agricultural practices are overexploiting and wasting the earth´s P reserves, which are needed to meet the food demand of a growing human population. Currently, there is a large flow of P from mineable P rock through agricultural production systems to surface waters, where eutrophication severely deteriorates ecosystems functioning. Hence, P is polluting the environment, while at the same time valuable P resources are lost. This is the global P challenge! A challenge of planetary dimensions with potentially dramatic consequences for humans. Through its circular Economy Action Plan, the EU provides the regulatory framework to develop an economy where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained for as long as possible. Important steps towards a circular P economy includes establishing new interdisciplinary partnerships for creating strategies towards radical restructuring of P governance and for developing novel, interdisciplinary P management solutions involving multi-stakeholder participation at regional and global scales. RecaP addressed these needs by training the next generation of P specialists to become ‘knowledge brokers’ across disciplinary silos with their interdisciplinary skills, experience and networks, ensuring transformative changes in P sustainability in the EU. RecaP explored the technical aspects of the global P challenge including where such solutions can be implemented in a way that is socially, economically, and environmentally acceptable. ESRs focused on capture and recycling of P from wastewater and freshwater systems, novel P recovery techniques, strategies to improve crop utilization of P, novel freshwater restoration techniques, and barriers and enablers to policy and economic transformation to support recycling. All activities were connected to one another in order to create novel insights to help create new P governance.
The goals of the project were met, namely:
Trained 15 ESRs towards a PhD degree with a high-quality interdisciplinary programme; all ESRs completed three secondments, and at the time of this report, 4 of the 15 ESRs have defended their PhDs, with 3 more planned within the next 3 months following the project.
Help the European Commission meet its goals of transforming the EU to a circular economy; ESRs synthesised detailed recommendations in D7.4 which has been adapted and still within internal discussions with ESRs and lead researchers for eventual submission to a journal. More than 45 impact goals (several connected to legislation and policy) have been envisioned and explained in D8.5.
Help address 7 of the 17 SDGs demonstrating the high societal relevance of the training programme; ESRs work individually, in small teams, and altogether to address different SDGs (listed above). The ESRs have been active on social media, promoting their projects to communicate and educate the public on P-relevant issues that are relevant to the public. ESRs embarked on individual components of societal involvement as they deemed fit and necessary.
The project goals addressed seven of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which are important to better understand the impact and changes needed to sustainable capture, recover, utilize, recycle and transform our use of Phosphorus.
