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FunDivEUROPE (FUNctional significance of forest bioDIVersity in EUROPE) proposes to quantify the effects of forest biodiversity on ecosystem function and services in major European forest types in the main bioclimatic regions of Europe. FunDivEUROPE will be based on four scientific platforms and seven cross-cutting Work Packages. The project will combine a global network of tree diversity experiments (Experimental Platform) with a newly designed network of observational plots in six focal regions within Europe (Exploratory Platform). Additionally, the project will integrate an in-depth analysis of inventory-based datasets of existing forest monitoring networks to extend the scope to larger spatial and temporal scales (Inventory Platform). FunDivEUROPE will thus combine the strengths of various scientific approaches to explore and quantify the significance of forest biodiversity for a very large range of ecosystem processes and ecosystem services. Using modeling and state-of-the-art techniques for quantitative synthesis, the project will integrate information gained from the different platforms to assess the performance of pure and mixed species stands under changing climate. In addition to the three research platforms, FunDivEUROPE will set up a Knowledge Transfer Platform in order to foster communication, aggregation and synthesis of individual findings in the Work Packages and communication with stakeholders, policy makers and the wider public. The information gained should thus enable forest owners, forest managers and forest policy makers to adapt policies and management for sustainable use of forest ecosystems in a changing environment, capitalizing on the potential effects of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning. The experiences gained within FunDivEUROPE will finally allow contributing to the development of the European Long-Term Ecosystem Research Network, complementing existing forest observation and monitoring networks.
The increasing pressures upon the marine realm call for a well planned approach of further spatial development of this area. The EU FP7 project MESMA focuses on marine spatial planning and aims to produce integrated management tools (concepts, models and guidelines) for Monitoring, Evaluation and implementation of Spatially Managed marine Areas, based on European collaboration. MESMA is expected to supply innovative methods and integrated strategies for governments, local authorities, stakeholders, and other managerial bodies for planning and decision making at different local, national, and European scales, for sustainable development of European seas.
The EU population is increasingly exposed to new physical and chemical agents in the environment, some of which may be detrimental to public health. Of these, electromagnetic fields (EMF) are one of the most ubiquitous, with new EMF technologies and novel applications being actively developed and commercialised. To address pertinent questions on EMF and health, GERoNiMO proposes an integrated approach building upon existing European resources (epidemiological studies, exposure assessment techniques, mechanistic and animal models, expert networks), using, where appropriate, novel methods, to better understand potential mechanisms underlying possible health effects of EMF, to characterise population levels of exposure, and to further the state of knowledge on EMF and health. GERoNiMO will focus on radiofrequency fields (RF) - as understanding of possible health effects is insufficient and a large proportion of the general population is exposed, with commercial applications continuing to grow - and intermediate frequencies (IF) - as applications are increasing and information on potential health effects is sparse. GERoNiMO will address all aspects of the call by meeting the following four main objectives: i) evaluate possible health effects (cognitive and behavioural development, cancer risk, and reproductive effects) of exposure to RF and IF in children and adults; ii) better understand mechanisms of biological effects (behavioural and reproductive effects, cancer, ageing, and Alzheimer's disease) related to RF and IF; iii) collect better data on population exposure and improve health risk assessment for RF and IF; and iv) underpin policy development in Europe on RF and IF (including non-technological means of reducing exposure and best practices in risk communication to support EU policy makers). GERoNiMO represents a unique and timely opportunity for the development of a truly integrated approach to research into EMF and health in Europe.
Objective: AdvanceETV aims to demonstrate that the proposed schemes and protocols for Environmental Technologies Verification systems have the potential to be recognised internationally. Thus the main objective is to develop an international framework for cooperation and mutual recognition by supporting the cooperation of international ETV activities, e.g the International Working Group (IWG). This requires support by joint coordination activities: - Providing a European basis for mutual recognition - Coordinating requirements for co-verification and joint verification - Developing a framework for international harmonization. The European basis will be elaborated through integrating previous and on-going European RTD. This is done by bringing together protocols/verification reports out of the FP6 projects, consolidating stakeholder feedback of RTD and EC activities and by integrating experiences out of the CEN workshop agreement (CWA) elaboration and use. To raise awareness on gaps and overlaps of international cooperation a case study workshop on co- and joint verification will be initiated together with U.S. and Canadian partners. To foster recognition by harmonisation a standardisation framework will be identified to prepare the initiation of a standardisation procedure. Cross cutting issue workshops ensure feedback and exchange between these different areas. To bring forward mutual recognition, to support cooperation by co-/joint verification and harmonisation requires a strong link to international ETV activities and the IWG on ETV. A confirmed expert board with ETV system representatives from Canada, U.S., South Korea, Japan and others provides the direct link here. This concept supports the working structure of the CA: focused on a series of conferences, coordinated with international ETV activities, serving as a platform for incremental consolidation of the international framework.
Objective: There is an urgent need for an improved knowledge base for the management of marine litter. CLEANSEA aims to generate new information on the impacts (biological, social and economic) of marine litter, develop novel tools needed to collect and monitor litter and protocols needed for monitoring data (litter composition and quantities) and evaluate the impact of mitigation strategies and measures in order to provide options to policy makers in the EU. This will be achieved through 7 work packages. WPs 2 and 3 cover biological impacts and technical aspects of marine monitoring, monitoring tools and applications. WP4 investigates multilevel socio-economic impact and barriers to Good Environmental Status, providing a justification for the development of management measures and policy options in WP5. This WP combines advanced institutional analysis with a participatory approach in order to identify and assess management measures, strategies and policy options in collaboration with stakeholders that reduce marine litter and alleviate diverse ecological and socio-economic impacts as identified in WPs 2-4. WP6 will integrate the outcomes of the project and hosts the CLEANSEA Stakeholder Platform. Management is dealt with under WP1 with a professional dissemination package, including a documentary film, website, publications, etc. covered in WP7. CLEANSEA includes top scientific groups from eleven European countries distributed over all marine regions. It also includes six SMEs, four of them focused on technological innovation of monitoring, mitigation and recycling tools. CLEANSEA will tackle the marine litter problem from a broad interdisciplinary perspective. Advancement is expected in the array of monitoring tools and systems, knowledge about impacts, and management measures and policy options. By searching for new paradigms and integrating knowledge and methods, CLEANSEA intends to contribute concrete elements to the road map towards strong reductions in marine litter.
Even though solar power is pollution-free during use, production of solar (PV) modules consumes extensive energy and natural resources. Recycling is hardly considered during module production, and therefore cumbersome and inefficient. The fast growth of the PV-industry entails similarly fast growth in resource consumption with growing production capacity: currently modest amounts can become very high. Hence, Cu-PV aims to minimise the use of critical resources like energy (by reducing silicon consumption and improving conversion efficiency), silver and lead, while simultaneously maximising recycling possibilities: introducing design for recycling in this sector, and collaborating over the value chain for improvements in recycling. Current PV manufacturing puts limitations on reduction of costs and environmental footprint: screen-printed Ag-based metallisation prohibits progress towards phasing out lead and silver consumption and reducing silicon and energy consumption, while module materials prohibit efficient recycling of modules. Cu-PV will develop new metallisation methods based on ink jetting of Ag, Ni, Cu seed layers in WP2 that are plated afterwards with Ni, Cu in WP3, which results in greater than 99% reduction of Ag consumption, enables replacement of silver, and as non-contact metallisation methods enables the use of thin wafers. The solar cell process before metallisation needs to be adjusted (WP1) to be compatible with this metallisation: back contact solar cell design will allow thin wafers and high efficiencies, resulting in 50% Si and 30% PV System energy consumption reduction. The module assembly and interconnection of cells will need to be optimised for the new cell metallisation. Back-contact interconnection will allow completely abandoning the use of lead (WP4), and will be designed, developed, and tested, for recycling (WP5). WP5 will in particular develop and demonstrate alternatives for the current practice of destruction of PV modules at end of life.
Coastal floods are one of the most dangerous and harmful natural hazards affecting urban areas adjacent to shorelines. Rapid urbanisation combined with climate change and poor governance means a significant increase in the risk of local surface flooding coinciding with high water levels in rivers and high tide or storm surges from the sea, posing a greater risk of devastation to coastal communities. The threats posed need to be addressed not just in terms of flood prediction and control, but taking into account governance and socio-economic issues. PEARL brings together world leading expertise in both the domain of hydro-engineering and risk reduction and management services to pool knowledge and practical experience in order to develop more sustainable risk management solutions for coastal communities focusing on present and projected extreme hydro-meteorological events. The project will examine 7 case studies from across the EU to develop a holistic risk reduction framework that can identify multi-stressor risk assessment, risk cascading processes and strengthen risk governance by enabling an active role for key actors. The research programme links risk and root cause assessment through enhanced FORIN methodology, event prediction, forecast and warning, development of adaptive structural and non-structural strategies and active stakeholder participation. The project aims to develop novel technologies and methods that can improve the early warning process and its components; it builds a pan-European knowledge base gathering real case studies and demonstrations of best practice across the EU to support capacity development for the delivery of cost-effective risk-reduction plans. Additionally, the project provides an interface to relevant ongoing tsunami work: it plugs into global databases, early warning systems and processes at WMO, and contributes to community building, development of guidelines and communication avenues at the global level through IWA.
Objective: The project will examine the health impacts of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policies in urban settings in Europe, China and India, using case studies of 3-4 large urban centres and three smaller urban centres. Sets of realistic interventions will be proposed, tailored to local needs, to meet published abatement goals for GHG Emissions for 2020, 2030 and 2050. Mitigation actions will be defined in four main sectors: power generation/industry, household energy, transport and food and agriculture. The chief pathways by which such measures influence health will be described, and models developed to quantify changes in health-related 'exposures' and health behaviours. Models will include ones relating to outdoor air pollution, indoor air quality and temperature, physical activity, dietary intake, road injury risks and selected other exposures. Integrated quantitative models of health impacts will be based on life table methods encompassing both mortality and morbidity outcomes modelled over 20 year time horizons. Where possible, exposure-response relationships will be based on review evidence published by the Comparative Risk Assessment initiative or systematic reviews. Uncertainties in model estimates will be characterized using a mathematical framework to quantify the influence of uncertainties in both model structure and parameter estimates. Particular attention will be given to economic assessments, both in terms of behavioural choices/uptake of various forms of mitigation measure (with new surveys to address evidence gaps), and in terms of health benefits and costs calculated from societal, health service and household perspectives. A decision analysis framework will be developed to compare different mitigation options. Experts and user groups will be consulted to define the mitigation questions to be examined, and the results will be discussed in consultative workshops scheduled for the final months of the project.
Objective: The RAMSES project will develop a rigorous, analytical framework for the implementation of adaptation strategies and measures in EU and international cities. It will develop a set of innovative methods and tools that will quantify the impacts of climate change and the costs and benefits of adaptation to climate change and thus provide the evidence to enable policy makers to design adaptation strategies. It integrates the assessment of impacts and costs to provide a much more coherent approach than currently exists. As major centres of population, economic importance, greenhouse gas emissions and infrastructure, RAMSES focuses on adaptation issues in cities. RAMSES will deliver: 1. A strategic frame for evidence-based adaptation decision-making. A pragmatic and standardised framework for decision making using comparable climate change impact assumptions, impact and adaptation costs while taking account of uncertainty. This will apply and combine smart and unconventional scientific methodologies. 2. Multi-level analysis as local administrative units, cities will be used to develop adaptation (and more generally sustainable development) strategies from the bottom-up/top-down, that can be aggregated to consider costs at the national, EU and international levels. 3. Quantification of adaptation costs a framework for assessment of full economic costs and benefits of adaptation (to date a woefully under-researched area). 4. Policy relevance and acceptance of adaptation measures city case studies and stakeholder engagement will ensure the relevance of the framework for policy makers and ensure adaptation measures become better accepted by other stakeholders. The frameworks will be converted into a user-friendly guide for stakeholders who need to prioritize adaptation and mitigation decisions. This reduces costs and enhances understanding and acceptance of adaptation. The data will be fed into the European Clearinghouse Mechanism to increase transparency/stakeholder access.
Sustainable governance of our biological resources demands reliable scientific knowledge to be accessible and applicable to the needs of society. The fact that current biodiversity observation systems and environmental datasets are unbalanced in coverage and not well integrated brings the need of a new system which will facilitate access to this knowledge and will effectively improve the work in the field of biodiversity observation in general. In light of the new Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), such a network and approach are imperative for attaining efficient processes of data collation, analysis and provisioning to stakeholders. A system that facilitates open access to taxonomic data is essential because it will allow a sustainable provision of high quality data to partners and users, including e-science infrastructure projects as well as global initiatives on biodiversity informatics. EU BON proposes an innovative approach in terms of integration of biodiversity information system from on-ground to remote sensing data, for addressing policy and information needs in a timely and customized way. The project will reassure integration between social networks of science and policy and technological networks of interoperating IT infrastructures. This will enable a stable new open-access platform for sharing biodiversity data and tools to be created. EU BONs 30 partners from 18 countries are members of networks of biodiversity data-holders, monitoring organisations, and leading scientific institutions. EU BON will build on existing components, in particular GBIF, LifeWatch infrastructures, and national biodiversity data centres.
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