Current Projects
The Economic Value of the Great Lakes
This project, funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), aims to estimate the total economic value of water quality changes in the Great Lakes using different water quality ladders. The robustness and reliability of the estimated values are tested for use in cost-benefit analysis to support water quality policy and decision-making.
The Economic Value of Hydrometric Data and Information
This project, funded by ECCC’s National Hydrologic Services and the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, aims to assess the invisible value of hydrometric networks in Canada. The outcome of the project will be a robust methodological approach to estimate the economic benefits of hydrometric programs.
A Circular Economy for Microplastics in the Great Lakes
This project is part of the multi-disciplinary Microplastics Fingerprinting project funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The research focuses on drivers and barriers of a transition to a circular economy for plastics in the Great Lakes region. A Master thesis on the topic was completed in 2022. The topic is part of an ongoing PhD thesis.
A Circular Economy of Water in the Netherlands
This project is part of the multi-disciplinary project AquaConnect, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). Water shortages can cause major societal disruption, also in relatively water-abundant countries like the Netherlands. Preparing for growing water insecurity globally is imperative to avoid such disruptions. The purpose of this project is to develop novel circular economy governance models to enhance climate resilient freshwater systems.
Circular Economy of Water in Regional Collaborative Networks
This project, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), focuses on the economic efficiency and sustainability of innovative technological solutions and governance systems for a circular economy of water at regional scale. The research is conducted in the southwestern delta of the Netherlands, aiming to reconcile growing demand for increasingly limited freshwater resources in agriculture, industry, water utilities, tourism and freshwater ecosystems.
Reshaping Urban Water Systems
This project, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), is a collaboration with Polytechnique Montréal and focuses on the design and evaluation of decentralized wastewater treatment systems in urban watersheds. A comparative analysis is conducted between a case study in Ontario and Quebec.
Costs and Benefits of Peatland Conservation as a Nature-Based Solution to Climate Mitigation
This project is part of CAN-PEAT, funded under Canada’s Climate Action and Awareness Fund (CAAF). The research in this project focuses on economic valuation of peatland ecosystem services, the design and evaluation of payments for peatlands ecosystem services, and spatial optimization of peatland conservation measures.
Socio-Economic Analysis of Wetland Protection as a Climate Nature-Based Solution
This project is funded under Canada’s Climate Action and Awareness Fund (CAAF). The research in this project aims to develop spatial economic optimization tools to support decision-making towards the restoration and conservation of wetlands on agricultural lands as nature-based climate solutions in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin.
Integrated Modelling of Land Use Change and Impact on Ontario’s Peatlands and Carbon
The main objective of this project, funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), is to develop a set of integrated environmental-economic modelling tools to simulate possible futures for Ontario based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Shared Socioeconomic Pathways.
Costs and Benefits of Regulating Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals on European Markets
This EU-funded (Horizon Europe) project focuses on the role of endocrine disrupting chemicals on public health, in particular the impact of PFAS on liver damage.
Public Awareness and Perception of Anti-Microbial Resistance
This project, funded by the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology (eawag), aims to assess public understanding of the increasing public health and environmental risks of anti-microbial resistance around the world. Public preferences for alternative courses of action, including changes in codes of conduct, are elicited using a large-scale survey.
Previous Projects
1. forWater (NSERC)
2. Agricultural Water Futures (CFREF-GWF)
3. Lake Futures (CFREF-GWF)
4. Integrated Modelling Platform for Canada (CFREF-GWF)
5. Valuing Canada’s Water Resources and Aquatic Ecosystem Services (CFREF-GWF)
6. Payments for Wetlands Ecosystem Services (SSHRC)
7. Advancing Integrated Environmental Risk Assessment (EU Horizon 2020)
8. Cleaning Plastic Litter in European Seas (EU Horizon 2020)
9. Water Security in Mega-Cities: Dhaka, Bangladesh (WSUP)
10. Water Security as a Foundation for Healthy Communities and Sustainable Livelihoods (QES-AS)
11. Legacies of Agricultural Pollutants (EU JPI Water)