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Found 31 results.

FP6-SUSTDEV, Assessing Large-scale environmental Risks with tested Methods (ALARM) - TTC

Based on a better understanding of terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem functioning ALARM will develop and test methods and protocols for the assessment of large-scale environmental risks in order to minimise negative direct and indirect human impacts. Research will focus on assessment and forecast of changes in biodiversity and in structure, function, and dynamics of ecosystems. This relates to ecosystem services and includes the relationship between society, economy and biodiversity. In particular, risks arising from climate change, environmental chemicals, biological invasions and pollinator loss in the context of current and future European land use patterns will be assessed. There is an increasing number of case studies on the environmental risks subsequent to each of these impacts. This yields an improved understanding on how these act individually and affect living systems. Whereas the knowledge on how they act in concert is poor and ALARM will be the first research initiative with the critical mass needed to deal with such aspects of combined impacts and their consequences. So far the ALARM consortium combines the expertise of 54 partners from 26 countries (19 EU, Bulgaria, Romania, Israel, Switzerland, Russia, Chile, and Argentina). Within this call we propose to include 16 new TTC partners from Russia, Belarus, China, South-Africa, India, Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia & Montenegro, The Philippines, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Mexico, in order to complement expertise and geographical coverage of the existing consortium.

Teilprojekt 3: Rebound-Schulung für Gebäudeenergieberater - Rebound, Teilprojekt 1: Rebound-Schulung für Gebäudeenergieberater (SPREAD)

Das Ziel des Teilprojektes besteht in der transdisziplinären Integration der Forschungsergebnisse, die von den vier Projekten EMIGMA, KlimaAlltag, Rebound und SPREAD im Rahmen der SÖF-Forschung generiert worden sind. In dem Teilprojekt werden parallel zu den drei anderen Teilprojekten drei Teilziele bearbeitet: (1) Integration der Ergebnisse zu individuellem Umwelthandeln zum Klimaschutz aus den vier beteiligten Projekten, (2) Überprüfung der Ergebnisse hinsichtlich Übertragbarkeit und der interdisziplinären Anschlussfähigkeit, (3) Transdisziplinäre Integration des generierten Handlungswissens in zwei Themenfeldern. Das CESR wird in diesem Rahmen die Ergebnisse des SPREAD-Projekts einbringen und weiterentwickeln. Bei AP 1 wird sich das CESR an der Erstellung der Integrationsmatrix mit den im SPREAD-Projekt erarbeiteten theoretischen und praktischen Erkenntnissen beteiligen. Für AP 2 sind schwerpunktmäßig eine an die Diskussion der Matrix anschließende Modellierung der räumlichen und lebensstilbezogenen Muster und Effekte sowie eine Erörterung dieser Ergebnisse hinsichtlich einer Anbindung an den natur- und technikwissenschaftlichen Klimadiskurs vorgesehen. In AP 3 beteiligte sich das CESR am Themenbereich B und bringt psychologisches Wissen in die Schulung der Gebäudeenergieberater ein.

FP7-PEOPLE, Mechanistic effect models for the ecological risk assessment of chemicals (CREAM)

There is widespread concern about how production and use of chemicals affect the environment. Yet food production and benefits of chemical products are vital for the functioning of European societies. In order to ensure sustainable use, EU regulations require extensive risk assessment before a chemical is approved for use. Current risk assessments focus on risk at the level of individual organisms, but according to EU directives the protection goal aims at achieving sustainable populations. Population-level effects depend not only on exposure and toxicity, but also on important ecological factors that are impossible to fully address empirically. Mechanistic effect models (MEMs) enable the integration of these factors, thus increasing the ecological relevance of risk assessments as well as providing vital understanding of how chemicals interact with ecosystems. Such understanding is crucial for improving risk mitigation strategies and ecosystem management. So far, however, regulators and industry have lacked understanding of the potential benefits that MEMs can deliver, and academics have been inconsistent in the approaches applied. This has led to scepticism about models, preventing a wider use of MEMs in risk assessment. Examples clearly demonstrating the power of MEMs for risk assessment are urgently needed, and industry, academia and regulatory authorities across Europe need scientists that are trained in both MEMs and regulatory risk assessment. CREAM will develop and experimentally validate a suite of MEMs for organisms relevant for chemical risk assessments. The consortium includes the main sectors involved (industry, academia, regulators) and will formulate Good Modelling Practice that will be followed in all individual projects, thus leading to consistency and transparency. CREAM will provide world class training for the next generation of ecological modellers, emphasizing transparency and rigorous model evaluation as core elements of the modelling process.

Prevention and restoration actions to combat desertification. An integrated assessment (PRACTICE)

Objective: The general objective of PRACTICE is to link S & T advances and traditional knowledge on prevention and restoration practices to combat desertification with sound implementation, learning and adaptive management, knowledge sharing, and dissemination of best practices. Specific objectives are: - To create an international platform of long-term monitoring sites for assessing and investigating practices to combat desertification - To develop integrated evaluation tools to assess the cost-effectiveness of practices to combat desertification, taking into account changes in both biophysical and socio-economic properties, by synergistically exploiting the recent advances on assessment and evaluation methodologies and approaches - To assess prevention and restoration practices to combat desertification for croplands, rangelands and woodlands, considering the impacts on socio-economic status, soil functions, biodiversity, and ecosystem services - To identify and document best practices to combat desertification considering multiple purposes at different spatial (local to global) scales, and to establish cost-effective thresholds for the various management alternatives - To develop education material and translational science strategies, and implement innovative participatory approaches to link science to society, to share and transfer evaluation methods and best practices, addressing and involving stakeholders at all levels, from farmers to local organisations, to national and international bodies.

Civil society for sustainability (CSS)

Objective: Civil society and its organisations (CSO) play a vital role in the implementation of sustainable development (SD). Civil society actors exhibit special features, they are to a large degree driven by visions or ideals, place a focus on common action, participate in and initiate discourses about SD in society, enhance social capital, and share a non-economical (non-efficiency driven) world view. Given these characteristics, CSOs show some specific shortcomings: a non-economical worldview leads to less efficient pursuit of SD goals and to a weak representation in political and economical decision-processes; initiating discourses often excludes evidence-based thinking, giving away chances for increased self-reflexivity and learning; and a lack of institutionalisation within existing institutional frameworks of governance provide not sufficient leverage to influence policy making. Apart from these more general shortcomings, there are numerous specific and context-related issues that would need to be researched in order to increase efficiency of CSOs. To foster sustainability from an analytical perspective, there are two aspects underlying (or overarching) all these context-dependent problems: - Degree of institutionalisation of sustainable development efforts within a local/regional context (socio-economical-political-cultural). Also therein, the degree of institutionalisation of sustainability-driven CSO in political/institutional decision structures (participative governance). - Sustainability knowledge and sustainability learning: getting sustainability across to people (the long way from head to hand).

FP6-SUSTDEV, An innovative approach of Integrated Wildland Fire Management regulating the wildfire problem by the wise use of fire: solving the FIRE PARADOX (FIRE PARADOX)

Wildfires are a major problem for many European societies threatening human lives and property with disastrous impacts particularly at the wildland-urban interface. On the other hand humans always used fire as a tool to regulate nature and traditional use of fire is known in many regions of Europe. The understanding of this paradox, is thus essential for finding solutions for integrated wildland fire management.This concept requires considering the various aspects of fire, from its use as a planned management practice (prescribed fire) to the initiation and propagation of unplanned fires (wildfires) and to the use of fire in fighting wildfires (suppression fire). Prescribed or suppression fires will therefore set the limits for wildfires by vontrolling their spatial extent, intensity and impacts. This is the main approach adopted aiming at the creation of the scientific and technological bases for new practices and policies under integrated wildland fire management and in the development of strategies for its implementation in Europe. Three major domains of related activities were considered: research, development and dissemination. In research, the project will focus on understanding the machanisms and modelling the processes associated with fire, from physics to biology and social sciences. Experimental and sampling methods will be used. The scientific and technical knowledge gathered will allow the development of a technological platform that will integrate the fire model, the temporal and spatial variability of fuels and weather, and the potential ecological and social-economical impacts. Documentation and demonstration platforms will also be extensively used for dissemination, focusing in the development of stategies for public awarness, academic and professional training using new communication technologies and networks, and for the implementation of new practices, policies and regulations under the concept of integrated wildland fire management. Prime Contractor: Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Instituto Superior de Agronomia; Lisboa; Portugal.

FP6-POLICIES, Estimation of willingness-to-pay to reduce risks of exposure to heavy metals and cost-benefit analysis for reducing heavy metals occurence in Europe (ESPREME)

Heavy metals from different sources accumulate in the environment. From a policy point of view, it has been difficult to tackle the environmental problems due to heavy metals partly because the problem has been viewed from different policy domains (air, water, soils etc.). Thus, it is not guaranteed that the policy mix applied under environmental regulation is optimal. A systems analysis would be required to define the sources of heavy metals, how they are dispersed in the environment and which adverse effects they might cause on human and ecosystems health. From a policy point of view, it is also important to identify what kinds of policy responses would be most cost-effective to reduce the impacts of heavy metals. Such information is required for carrying out cost-benefit analyses of reducing the occurrence of heavy metals in our society. Identifying the benefits would include a monetary valuation of the impacts with contingent valuation (CV) approaches (e.g. assessing the willingness-to-pay, WTP). The focus of the work described will be on priority metals, which are mercury, cadmium, chrome, nickel, arsenic and lead. Core aim of the research is to carry out cost effectiveness (CEA) and cost-benefit analyses (CBA) for reducing the heavy metals occurrence, in the EU Member States and candidate countries, including damage assessment to the environment and human health in the long term following the impact pathway analysis which assesses the impacts and damages of pollutants from their emissions over their dispersion to exposure and impacts. Finally, a feasibility study will be conducted to identify the potentials, strengths and weaknesses and uncertainties of currently available macro-economic models to identify further research needs in this field.

MfM-U: Auswirkungen des Transitverkehrs auf die Lebensqualität der Bevölkerung - Grundlagenuntersuchungen und Entwicklung von Monitoring-Indikatoren

Ausgangslage: Der Transitverkehr kann gravierende Auswirkungen auf das Wohlbefinden und die Lebensqualität der Bewohner von Transiträumen haben. Unter Transitverkehr ist sowohl der individuelle Pkw-Verkehr, der Güterverkehr auf der Strasse als auch der schienengebundene Personen- und Güterverkehr zu verstehen. In dem hier vorgestellten Grundlagenforschungsprojekt stehen die Auswirkungen der bestehenden Transitachsen und des Baus neuer Transitstrecken auf die wahrgenommene landschaftsbezogene Lebensqualität im Vordergrund. Der durch den Transitverkehr verursachte Lärm und die beeinträchtigte Luftqualität können für die landschaftsbezogene Lebensqualität indirekt ebenfalls eine Rolle spielen. Problemstellung: ( ) Insgesamt ist davon auszugehen, dass die landschaftlichen Veränderungen durch den Transitverkehr gravierende Konsequenzen für die Befriedigung der landschaftsbezogenen Bedürfnisse nach Identifikation und Erlebnis der lokalen Bevölkerung haben können. Mögliche Folgen sind die Entfremdung vom eigenen Lebensraum mit all ihren negativen Konsequenzen für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung: Gleichgültigkeit gegenüber künftiger Entwicklung, Rückzug in Privatsphäre, erhöhte Freizeitmobilität oder gar definitiver Wegzug. Im Sinne einer nachhaltigen Raumentwicklung ist der vermutete Verlust der grundlegenden Landschaftsfunktionen in den Transiträumen bedenklich und es besteht ein Bedarf an der Entwicklung geeigneter Massnahmen, um den negativen Auswirkungen des Transitverkehrs entgegenzuwirken. Als Basis für eine vorausschauende Raumentwicklung ist es zudem wichtig, neben kurzfristigen Auswirkungen auch die Langzeiteffekte des Transitverkehrs auf die Bevölkerung und die wahrgenommene landschaftsbezogene Lebensqualität zu ermitteln. Ziele: Das Hauptziel des Projektes besteht darin, zu ermitteln, wie die Befriedigung der beiden grundlegenden Landschaftsbedürfnisse durch den Transitverkehr, sowie den Bau neuer Transitachsen beeinflusst wird. Hierbei geht es nicht nur darum den kurzfristigen Einfluss des Transitverkehrs zu erforschen sondern vielmehr darum seine langfristigen Auswirkungen auf die Bevölkerung dieser und der angrenzenden Räume zu ermitteln. Ein weiteres Ziel besteht deshalb darin, anhand der beschriebenen Grundlagenforschung geeignete Indikatoren für die Langzeitbeobachtung von Transiträumen zu entwickeln, die einer langfristigen Raumplanung zugute kommen? U.s.w.

FP6-SUSTDEV, Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform (WSSTP)

This Specific Support Action concerns the Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform. The SSA will provide the organisational, management and scientific support necessary to facilitate the process of the Technology Platform in order to produce the deliverables: Vision Document, Strategic Research Agenda and an implementation plan for the water sector in Europe. This is done by the Secretariat a delegation of members of the WSSTP Board, together with and on behalf of the Board. The three deliverables will be used as input for FP7. The mission of the WSSTP is: - to strengthen the competitiveness and the potential for technological innovation of the European water industry, of water professionals and research institutions through the development of a strategic science and research agenda, - to meet global challenges and regional demands of ensuring safe, secure and sustainable water supply for human societies and for the environment and sanitation services, within the framework of the available water resources. The WSSTP will contribute to the MDG's of the Johannesburg Summit and the European Union Water Initiative, through active participation of developing countries and of organisations that work in developing countries in the platform. The joint focus of the production of the three main is a very unique process of bringing together the various groups of stakeholders. The Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform will have a number of important measurable objectives, to which this SSA will contribute significantly: - The production of the abovementioned documents. - Contributing to the European industry competitiveness, by providing a multi-stakeholder framework. - Wide spread consultation on and dissemination of the results of the platform.

Bridging the gap between adaptation strategies of climate change impacts and European water policies (CLIMATEWATER)

Objective: The Project ClimateWater is aimed as the first step on the analysis and synthesis of data and information on the likely (known, assumed, expected, modeled, forecasted, predicted, estimated etc.) water related impacts of the changes of the climate with special regard to their risk and to the urgency of getting prepared to combat these changes and their impacts. The Project will identify all adaptation strategies that were developed in Europe and also globally for handling (preventing, eliminating, combating, mitigating) the impacts of global climate changes on water resources and aquatic ecosystems, including all other water related issues of the society and nature. etc.

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