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.
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 the Republic of Bashkortostan (Southern Russia) land use in general and land use practices in particular have changed due to the transformation process after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. These developments are causing land degradation and soll erosion, subsequently leading to a dramatic loss of arable land and a reduction of land productivity. The project will investigate the natural and anthropogenic causes for land degradation and soil erosion. Further more, ecological, socio-economic and political factors influencing sustainable agriculture in the region will be examined. For this study existing Russian archives, results from field work as Well as the analyses of remote sensing data will be used. Finally, guidelines and recommendations for soll conservation strategies will be developed. In addition, the existing data basis will be re-examined and adapted to international standards. The Integration of data as well as their transfer to the public will be achieved by using GIS techniques.
The pattern of environmental governance is changing as national governments are under stress from new political agents. In addition to the traditional nation state centered policy-making system, including international cooperation, political power is also exercised on the trans-national and local levels of society. A simultaneous movement of political power is also exercised on the trans-national and local levels of government and downward to local communities. Sub national units such as local governments, civic organisations and even loosely constructed networks introduce their own environmental policies. Global sustainability problems are created by the interaction of all societal levels, and a new politics of sustainability involving local, national, regional as well as global efforts must be implemented to solve these problems. National governments have responsed to this situation by introducing programs promoting ecological modernisation as well as new policy instruments that involve communities and other actors. The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) is an area of special concern both from an environmental point-of-view as well as from a governance point-of-view. The sea itself is highly vulnerable to pollution. At the same time the region is an ideal setting for the research because it has introduced several new fora for sustainable decision making, while showing considerable strength in existing administrative and political structures. The main objectives for this project are: Module 1. to deepen understanding of the origins, development and operation of traditional environmental governance in the BSR
The role of GOFC GOLD is to establish the link between space agencies, science community and the users of earth observation data and data products. The primary function of the Land Cover Implementation Team (LC-IT) is to develop and evaluate methods, tools and products for land cover measurements and monitoring using space-borne and in-situ observations. The LC-IT assesses current needs and deficiencies for global and regional monitoring to support Global Change research, national and regional forest inventories and international policy. The team cooperates closely with other GOFC-GOLD implementation teams and regional networks worldwide. Within this framework, the ESA GOFC GOLD project office helps to strengthen the GOFC-GOLD framework, to coordinate, promote and fulfil the GOFC Land Cover implementation plan, and to support the European Space Agency and related projects and services. Specific objectives for the first period (2004-2006) are: (1) To establish a GOFC-GOLD LC PO at the Jena University including the necessary infrastructure required to operate the LC PO. (2) To staff and operate the GOFC-GOLD LC PO for a period of three consecutive years starting February 2004. (3) Management and coordination of the execution of the GOFC-GOLD Land Cover Implementation Plan in close cooperation with the GOFC-GOLD-chairs John Townshend and Alan Belward. (4) To support ESA in the coordination of land cover harmonization and validation activities focussed on the development of a user information service for the (4.1) reporting and exchange of validation results and (4.2) information relating to the operational activities of satellite platforms and data delivery (GLOBCARBON and GLOBCOVER projects). To provide ESA with appropriate progress and annual reports and attend regular review meetings at ESA ESRIN, Italy.
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.
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 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.
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