Worldwide, more than 550,000 new cases of head and neck cancer (HNC) occur each year, resulting in approximately 300,000 deaths annually. It is the 6th most common cancer in both Europe and South America. A major reason for the high mortality rate for this cancer is the late stage of diagnosis for many patients. Accurate assessment of the prognosis of HNC cases also allows for appropriate treatment decisions. HEADSpAcE will bring together a consortium of 18 partners with a long and successful record of collaboration in HNC. The impact of HEADSpAcE will be to understand reasons for late diagnosis and reduce the proportion of HNC that are diagnosed at a very late stage. It will identify the most appropriate fashion for diagnosis cancer caused by human papilloma virus, and also provide genomic evidence of strong predictors of prognosis that will have the potential to improve care and reduce treatment related morbidity. We will also develop guidelines for implementation into clinical care.

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.