Die Hochwasserereignisse im Dezember 1993 und Januar 1995 am Rhein, Juli/August 1997 an der Oder sowie im August 2002 an der Elbe und die hervorgerufenen Schäden haben in Deutschland zu der Erkenntnis geführt, dass baulich-technische Hochwasserschutzmaßnahmen nicht ausreichen, sondern dass ein vorsorgeorientiertes, die Ziele einer dauerhaft umweltgerechten Entwicklung verfolgendes Hochwassermanagement erforderlich ist. Dazu zählen der technische Hochwasserschutz, die weitergehende Hochwasservorsorge und die Flächenvorsorge zum natürlichen Rückhalt als vorbeugender Hochwasserschutz. Allerdings treten Defizite bei der Operationalisierung dieser politischen Ziele und Strategien auf der Umsetzungsebene auf. Es bleibt bisher die Frage unbeantwortet, ob es sich dabei um Regelungs- oder Vollzugsdefizite handelt. Das Forschungsvorhaben am Institut für Forst- und Umweltpolitik verfolgt das Ziel, die Bedingungen für die Implementation von existierenden politischen Initiativen zum vorbeugenden Hochwasserschutz zu untersuchen. Bedeutsam für die Untersuchung ist dabei die Betrachtung von Akteuren der verschiedenen politischen Ebenen und Sektoren im Durchführungsprozess, deren Kommunikations- und Machtstrukturen sowie der eingesetzten Instrumente, um hieraus Erkenntnisse über die politische Steuerung und deren Wirkung gewinnen zu können. Die Politikfeldanalyse sieht den Vergleich der Hochwasserschutzpolitik der Bundesländer Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz und Baden-Württemberg vor und wird unter Verwendung von Methoden der qualitativen Sozialforschung durchgeführt. Im Ergebnis sollen Effizienzfaktoren ermittelt und schließlich Handlungsempfehlungen für die Implementation von ressort- und grenzübergreifenden Planungsprozessen in komplexen politischen Systemen abgeleitet werden.
Non wood fuels for small-scale furnaces have attracted increasing interest in several European countries. New technological approaches are on the way, but the verification of any such developments is difficult and there is a large uncertainty about testing procedures and equipment. While for wood combustion standardized European measuring regulations are available and broadly applied, the testing of cereal fuel combustion is generally not following a commonly accepted procedure. Consequently the results of such measurements are not fully comparable. This applies particularly for the international level, which is here of particular relevance due to the fact that a combustion technology development for a niche application can only be economically viable if a sufficiently large marketing area can be taken into focus. The overall objective of the proposal is therefore to contribute through research to the development of uniform and comparable European procedures for testing of small-scale boilers up to a power out of 300 kW for solid biomass from agriculture like straw pellets and energy grain. The driving forces and barriers will be worked out; existing legal regulation for the installation (approval by the local authorities) in the participating countries will be collected. The state of the art of the non wood biomass boiler technology will be identified; the need for standardized tests for type approval tests and the measures to establish a European Standard will be shown. Measurement methods with special emphasis on efficiency and emissions will be worked out and the requirements and specifications of test fuels will be proposed. Test runs will be carried out following preliminary test procedures based on existing European standards for wood boilers. Based on the results of these test runs a draft for a Europe-wide uniform test procedure will be proposed. Preparatory work for a European standardization process including a round robin test will be done.
Background: IRIS builds on former Framework Programme 4 and 5 projects, extends their networks to Russia and adopts some of their findings to the specific needs of the involved governmental agency. This implements for the first time that the scientific results from former EC-funded scientific co-operations are being collected and transformed to tools for regional management by the administration. Consequently, the involvement of the potential IRIS user community is the most challenging objective and remains an ongoing process. Impacts: As a result of project implementation the prospective research initiatives for the creation of regional GIS, pollution transport models, industrial development scenarios and risk assessments will be formulated. IRIS will be useful for officials of the Russian Federation at different levels of state hierarchy, i.e. at regional level (Irkutsk Region), inter-regional level (since the neighbouring areas are also included in IRIS as the present/potential sources of pollution) and federal level (e.g. management of federally controlled nature resources and stress on the environment by enterprises held in federal property). The international dimension of project implementation is strongly connected with problems of climate change essential worldwide and, in particular, for EU Member States. There is no doubt today that the role of the boreal forests is essential. In this context the Siberian taiga, which is the largest forest region in the world, and Irkutsk region as a part of taiga is of vital importance. Thus the strategic impact of the project could be felt on both national and international levels, helping to manage the environment and develop effective solutions of regional and global problems facing the society. Objectives: The Irkutsk Regional Information System for Environmental Protection - 'IRIS' assesses the current status and dynamics of the Irkutsk Region's forestry environment, influenced by man-made changes and anthropogenic impact arising from pollution sources and other negative anthropogenic drivers located in the region and in adjacent areas. It will investigate the responsiveness and vulnerability of forestry environment within the region under different scenarios of industrial development and nature-preserving measures. The major goal of IRIS is to efficiently share Earth Observation data and domain-specific (ecologic and economic) information within earth science community and regional governance to identify environmental impacts that are both economic and socially responsible. Thus, for integrated environmental management methodical designs are necessary which refer to the complexity of the natural resource to be managed and the difficulty to predict the factors or driving forces influencing them.
Post-Tsunami call for coastal protection forest has been quick and loud, as presence of trees could certainly have reduced loss of human lives. Coastal zone management has to provide environmental protection and meet economic targets of livelihood options based on sea plus land-based activities. Tree crops and trees preferred by farmers contribute to both. Pre-Tsunami 40-60 percent of the economy of West Aceh and Nias depended on tree crops. Our aim is to help rebuild a green infrastructure that enhances the resilience of the coastal population in the face of multiple stresses. We start with assessing damage to trees, changes in land suitability and impacts on the production-marketing chain and will follow up with activities supporting short term recovery (using existing trees) and preparing for the opportunities of rehabilitated infrastructure. Lessons learnt on resilience will be shared as international public goods.
The production and marketing of high-value agricultural commodities - such as fruits, vegetables, and livestock products - has been an important source of cash income for small-scale farmers in the northern mountainous regions of Thailand and Vietnam. However, against the background of recent free trade agreements and market liberalization, there is increasing national and international competition, partly leading to significant price decreases. Given structural disadvantages of farmers in northern Thailand and Vietnam, it will be very difficult for them to achieve and maintain a competitive position in markets for undifferentiated high-value products. Therefore, product differentiation - in terms of health attributes (e.g., low-pesticide residues, free from diseases and pathogens), taste (e.g., indigenous livestock breeds), time (e.g., off-season production), or processing characteristics (e.g., packaging, drying, canning) - could be a promising alternative. Quality and safety attributes play an increasing role in domestic and international food trade. The additional value generated could lead to sustainable income growth in the small farm sector, but this potential will only materialize when appropriate institutional mechanisms help reduce transaction costs and allow a fair distribution of benefits. This subproject seeks to analyze how the production and marketing of high-value agricultural products with quality and safety attributes can contribute to pro-poor development in northern Thailand and Vietnam. Quality and safety attributes can only generate value when they directly respond to consumer demand. Furthermore, since they are often credence attributes, the product identity has to be preserved from farm to fork. Therefore, the analysis will cover the whole supply chain, from agricultural production to final household consumption. Interview-based surveys of farmers, intermediate agents, and consumers will be carried out in Thailand, and to a limited extent also in Vietnam. The data will be analyzed econometrically with regard to the structure of high-value markets, trends and their determinants, and efficiency and equity implications of different institutional arrangements (e.g., contract agriculture, supermarket procurement). Since in northern Vietnam, the marketing of high-value products is a relatively recent activity, markets for more traditional crops will be analyzed as well, to better understand the linkages between different cash-earning activities in the semi-subsistent farm households. Apart from their direct policy relevance, the results will contribute to the broader research direction of the economics of high-value agricultural markets in developing countries. Moreover, they will generate useful information for other subprojects of the Uplands Program.
In der Diskussion über die Veränderung unseres Verständnisses von internationaler Sicherheit spielt die Versicherheitlichung der Umwelt, d.h. die Darstellung von Gefahren für die Umwelt als existentielle Bedrohungen, eine zentrale Rolle. Innerhalb dieser Debatte nimmt der Klimawandel breiten Raum ein. Dabei wird oftmals postuliert, dass es durch den Klimawandel zu Wasserverknappung und Unwetterkatastrophen kommt, die direkt (als Verteilungskonflikte) oder indirekt (z.B. über Migrationsströme) zu Konflikten führen. Dieser Zusammenhang ist jedoch umstritten. So unterscheiden sich die Versicherheitlichungen des Klimawandels zentral hinsichtlich der Frage, wen sie als Referenzobjekt (wer wird bedroht?) annehmen, welche logischen Verknüpfungen (was führt warum zu was?) sie vornehmen und welche Maßnahmen (was tun?) sie einfordern. Über die damit verbundenen politischen Prozesse gibt es bislang nur wenige detaillierte Erkenntnisse. Wir verbinden in diesem Projekt die Theorie der Versicherheitlichung, wie sie in der sogenannten Kopenhagener Schule entwickelt wurde, mit einem Diskurs-Ansatz, um so zu untersuchen, welche Akteure warum welche Formen von Versicherheitlichung vornehmen, wer sich wie durchsetzt, und welche politischen Folgen dies hat. Dabei leisten wir auch einen Beitrag zur Debatte um internationale Sicherheitsanalysen, in der die Frage des Zusammenhangs zwischen Politisierung und Versicherheitlichung bislang ungeklärt geblieben ist.
The Network of Excellence, ECATS, will be a durable and long lasting means of cooperation and communication within Europe, made up of a number of leading Research Establishments and Universities who have expertise in the field of aeronautics and the environment. ECATS's vision is to contribute to the environmental goals of the Vision 2020 for Aeronautics and the Strategic Research Agenda. The overall goals of ECATS are to create a European Virtual Institute for research of environmental compatible air transport; to develop and maintain durable means for cooperation and communication within Europe and to strengthen Europe's excellence and its role of the influence in the international community. The Joint Research Programme will take into account engine technology, alternative fuels, aviations impact on air quality, operational aspects of aviation, and the development of scenarios. Lasting integration will be achieved by joint management and working structures, joint-decision making processes and will be supported through specific integration activities as a common web-based information and communication system, common education, training and exchange programmes, coordinated use of facilities and equipment, dissemination and joint management of innovation. The excellence and commitment of the ECATS partners, many of whom are already linked through their participation in AERONET, will guarantee an effective and durable integration. Support by community funding will be applied for a period of 5 years. FZK is concentrating on activities in the area of airport air quality.
The GLORIA programme (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments) focuses an changes in high mountain biodiversity caused by climate warming. Recent models predict up to 60 percent loss of mountain biodiversity whose contribution to overall diversity is essential (e.g., 20 percent of the total European flora); for more details see Appendix 1. GLORIA is designed to observe the mountain biota (predominantly those above treeline and those which are part of protected sites) to detect early changes, therefore providing the scientific background for a warning System and for conservation actions. GLORIA monitoring is based on a standardised procedure applied globally which allows comparative analysis. GLORIA was established by Prof. Grabherr and co-workers (Dept. of Conservation Biology, Vegetation and Landscape Ecology; University of Vienna) at the turn of the millennium as a Europe-wide long-term observation network in 18 mountain regions across the continent from the Mediterranean to the sub-arctic (see www.gloria.ac.at). Until 2007, it has expanded to 47 regions distributed over 5 continents. For the very start in 2001, seed money came from the European Commission through its 5th Framework Programme, the Austrian government, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IGBP and MAB programmes) and the UNESCO. The setup of GLORIA sites in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and China was funded via various private, national and international grants. For the next important step, i.e. the complete re-recording of the 2001-monitored sites to assess climate warming impacts, the coming year would be the perfect date as the years between 2001 and 2008 have been particularly warm.
The SibFORD project aims at the development of methods and tools to estimate carbon emissions induced by forest disturbances using Earth observation (EO) techniques in combination with in-situ data and contemporary models, and to improve the understanding of human impacts on the carbon balance in boreal ecosystems through analysis of multi-annual integrated land surface-model / remote sensing datasets. The SibFORD project has been selected for funding within INTAS (The International Association for the Promotion of Co-operation with Scientists from the New Independent States (NIS) of the Former Soviet Union) Thematic Call for Research Project Proposals on 'Earth Sciences and Environment' in co-operation with the European Space Agency (ESA).
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