The Environmental monitoRIng through Civic engAgement (ERICA) is an Erasmus+ project that started in Novembre 2023. ERICA's main objective is to improve citizens’ environmental awareness and civic engagement through the development of a new educational methodology on citizen science for environmental monitoring. Citizens will gain the capacity to initiate and manage citizen science initiatives, collect and assess environmental information, and convert such data into "actionable knowledge" that is perceived as useful and immediately applicable by citizens, local authorities, academic institutions, and NGOs.

Subsistence hunting is a crucial source of protein for rural and indigenous communities in tropical rainforests worldwide. However, previous studies suggest that lead-based ammunition may pose serious health risks to these populations. The INDILEAD project will investigate this issue by analyzing blood lead levels in indigenous communities from the tropical forests of Cameroon (Baka people), Peru, and Indonesia (Punan-Tubu people). Additionally, the study will identify key exposure pathways to better understand the risks associated with lead contamination.

Up to 11% of worlds rainforests overlap with conventional oil and natural gas reserves. In this context, the occurrence of petroleum-extraction activities in the Amazon and their impact on the environment and those indigenous populations living in the vicinity of these areas has generated a great deal of controversy. A major cause for concern has been the reported high levels of oil-related lead in the blood of members of remote indigenous communities. On a different vein, the use of lead-based ammunition, which in 2003 had a global consumption of 120,000 tons, is a very important source of direct lead release to soil at the global level. This study aims at providing new insights into lead (and other heavy metals) pollution in remote areas of the planet, and at establishing their potential sources.