The main aim of the project is to establish a research-educational network for environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources between the Politehnica University Timisoara (UPT) from Romania and Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor (MMI Bor) from Serbia.
The novelty resides in the fact that up to the present there is not such a structure in the region able to provide support to a multi-inter-trans disciplinary approach in the field of environmental protection. Considering that the research to date of each partner has been limited, the proposed partnership will broaden and complement the knowledge and experience of both partners and mostly will reduce fragmentation across the European research area.
Therefore, this network may be taken as a model able to be transferred to similar situations. Moreover, it will remove the political, religious and economical barriers, so that in the future other institutions can adhere to it in order to apply to other common research projects within in the framework of projects promoted and financed by the European Union.
To initiate the activities within the new-formed network, the cooperation between the partners (UPT and MMI Bor) will be focused on a major environmental cross-border issue concerning the treatment of the soil contaminated with heavy-metals due to mining activities.
The cross-border cooperation within the IPA program is an example of good practice of connecting people and flow of information and knowledge. The partners recognize the need for joint efforts through the planned activities within the proposed project to achieve the set objective: forming of a network to improve the environment in the areas degraded by mining activities, with a tendency to get, based on joint scientific and professional work, positive results in terms of agricultural land remediation by applying phytoremediation, a cost-effective green technology.
The project gets a new dimension when it is noted that it indirectly contributes to the preservation of the human population health, flora and fauna, as well as the preservation of endangered and rare species and habitats of the European Union and Serbia. The project is designed to raise awareness of inhabitants in the program area with regard to different issues of environmental pollution and ways to protect the environment.
In order to achieve this goal within the project, workshops will be organized for training and education of the population, as well as for young researchers, students, bachelors and PhDs.
The communication process is planned as an essential part of the proposed project. The public will be informed about EU policies and financial funds, intended for promotion of environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources, through the knowledge-sharing activities by territorial networks, and promotion of the cross-border cooperation projects within the Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Romania-Serbia Programme.