API src

Found 33 results.

Related terms

Eckpunkte des Umweltressorts in einer sich wandelnden internationalen Sicherheitspolitik

Die aktuelle politische Lage erfordert eine Überprüfung und eventuelle (Neu-) Justierung der Politik. Im Juni 2023 hat die deutsche Bundesregierung zudem erstmals eine nationale Sicherheitsstrategie vorgestellt. Der darin integrierte breite Sicherheitsbegriff umfasst den Schutz der natürlichen Lebensgrundlagen als einen elementaren Pfeiler. Die Aktivitäten, Maßnahmen und Ziele des Umweltressorts sind, auch mit und neben anderen Akteuren, im Ressortkreis wie auch auf europäischer/internationaler Ebene somit relevant für die Sicherheit und die Umsetzung der Strategie. Hieraus ergibt sich Forschungsbedarf, um z.B. eine umweltgerechtere, nachhaltige Sicherheitspolitik bzw. eine krisenpräventivere Umwelt- und Entwicklungspolitik zu gestalten und konkrete Möglichkeiten zur Umsetzung der Ziele der nationalen Sicherheitsstrategie und des immanenten breiten Sicherheitsbegriffes durch die Umweltpolitik in Deutschland aufzuzeigen. Die Analyse von drei noch auszuwählenden Themenfeldern wird abklären, in welchen konkreten Bereichen welche nationalen politischen Maßnahmen in Hinblick vor allem auf die Zuständigkeiten des BMUV auf internationaler Ebene am effektivsten verhindern können, dass 1) Konflikte zu Umweltzerstörung beitragen, 2) Umweltzerstörung zu Konflikten beiträgt und 3) Umweltschutzmaßnahmen zu Konflikten beitragen. Die Erkenntnisse und Herausforderungen sollen mit den Akteuren reflektiert und deren Austausch ermöglicht werden, um eine kohärente Politikgestaltung im Hinblick auf die Ziele zu fördern. Dabei sollen auch gute und schlechte Praxisbeispiele erfasst werden und in die Prozesse einfließen.

Nomades entre marginalisation, entrepreneuriat et conflits. Strategies des eteveurs mobiles du sud du Maroc face aux bouleversements du contexte pastoral et aux imperatifs d'un pastoralisme durable (FRA)

The South Moresby Controversy (1974-1993) - stories about the resource conflict over logging on Haida Gwaii, Canada

In my Phd-study, I examine the resource conflict over industrial logging in the South Moresby area on Haida Gwaii (former Queen Charlotte Islands) from 1974 to 1993. On this remote archipelago on British Columbias west-coast, a fierce dispute over logging practices, land rights, Aboriginal land claims and environmental issues had emerged in the face of devastating logging practices were not only threatening to destroy large parts of Moresby Island but also resulted in the destruction of salmon streams. The two major natural resources available on the islands were at stake during the 'war in the woods.' Together with environmentalist, the Haida First Nation successfully fought for the preservation of Gwaii Haanas (South Moresby Island) with blockades, protests, environmental campaigns, lobbying and legal action. The area is now protected as the 'Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve.-' Using a cultural approach combining aspects of 'storytelling,' the 'cultural memory' and 'actor-network-theory' (ANT), the core question arises whether the (Western) dualisms between 'nature' and 'culture' and between 'fact' and 'fiction' should be dissolved. Latour argues that such dualisms and even the separation between the human and non-human world (i.e., the world of things) do not exist. Assmann claims that we do not necessarily remember what has really happened', but what was repeatedly told us to have happened. Along with Thomas King, J. Edward Chamberlin and William Cronon, I stress the point that stories - fictitious or based on facts - do matter. The effect of stories on the way we understand our past, might often be more important than that of 'hard' facts: Stories shape both a societys concept of the past and its present identity. Canada, with its heterogeneous population, is a particularly interesting place to conduct research about different concepts of 'nature' and culture'. Analyzing the different stories that evolved around South Moresby, and taking into account diverging messages of native and non-native stories, offers a new perspective on similar resource conflicts that continue to exist and arise all over the world.

Evolutionary Conflicts and their Impact on Speciation, Evolutionary Conflicts and their Impact on Speciation (follow-up)

In addition to recognizing natural selection as a universal mechanism in evolution, Darwin also saw the importance of sexual selection, yet the two have been traditionally treated largely in isolation. Here I propose to apply experimental evolution (exposing experimental populations to controlled specific selective pressures over many generations in the laboratory) to the ideally suited model system Tribolium castaneum to explore how these evolutionary forces interact and impact on the key processes underlying biodiversity. Understanding how these fundamental forces, singly and in conjunction, influence species divergence remains a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Participation of sexual selection in driving speciation is supported by substantial theoretical evidence. Theory further suggests that evolutionary conflicts (such as between the sexes or between host and parasite) might also accelerate extinction. Additional complexity is introduced by including the environmental context, linking back to natural selection. Direct experimental tests of the above concepts are essentially lacking. I will explicitly target this gap by exploiting powerful experimental evolution, incorporating the interplay between sexual selection intensity, host-parasite conflict, and adaptation to increasing temperature. Projects will assess how selection under evolutionary conflict and environmental change affects both adaptation and extinction rates, aiming to elucidate underlying mechanisms. Additionally, building on clear phenotypic divergence in key traits across experimental evolution lines, I will significantly expand on previous work by assessing patterns of divergence in gene expression, concentrating on target genes associated with reproduction, immunity and heat shock. This research will be of particular interest to scientists working in the fields of evolutionary biology and behavioural ecology, but also to ecologists, reproductive biologists, and conservation biologists. As Tribolium beetles are widespread agricultural pests, results will also be relevant to more applied researchers.

Policy options to engage emerging asian economies in a post-Kyoto regime (POEM)

Objective: Developing countries are reluctant to make any binding commitment as their per capita emissions are low and climate abatement measures conflict with their main priorities on socio-economic development. The question is if there is a way to simultaneously provide sufficient energy (which is also the main source of GHG emissions), to support poverty alleviation and economic growth and achieve sufficient emission reductions. Finding an answer is the main aim of this project. It may be possible with a combination of policies and measures encompassing from international level to national level supported by committed international cooperation to achieve both the goals together. The main focus of the study is on India and China. The primary objective is to develop a portfolio of policy options including both international and national policies as well as institutional frameworks for international cooperation for these two emerging economies to engage them in climate protection measures under a post-2012 regime. By applying an integrated modeling framework, the study will explore possible multiple pathways which may exist for these countries to contribute into international climate initiatives without compromising their national development priorities. Specific objectives are: - developing country-specific integrated modeling framework to analyse policies and identify multiple pathways to achieve socio-economic and climate targets - identifying/designing international climate polices in post-Kyoto regime for future commitments and participations of emerging economies (India and China) - designing national polices (in socio-economic sectors, energy and environment) compatible with the global climate targets - designing and quantifying as much as possible the international co-operations needed to make the participation in a post-2012 regime acceptable at least in economic terms - disseminating the results to potential users for use in future negotiations.

Carbon Diplomacy: The Transnational Governance Of Climate Change

Traditional state-centric accounts of climate change governance fail to capture the dynamics that characterise international negotiations on climate change mitigation and adaptation. These accounts are largely based on rational choice models of conflict and cooperation in international relations, which assume that states are unitary actors, and that they act rationally in the pursuit of clearly-defined goals. Because of the nature of their assumptions, rational choice models tend to focus exclusively on the international legal process conducted under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This dissertation, by contrast, adopts a transnational relations approach, which argues that a wider interpretation of governance is required to understand the dynamics of climate change regulation. By defining the constitutive elements of climate change governance, the dissertation aims to highlight the complex web of relationships at national, international, and transnational levels that effect regulatory processes and outcomes, and emphasises the different but complementary roles that states and non-state actors play in climate change governance.

Erstellung von geologischen Basisdaten für bodenkundliche Klassifizierungen, Modellierungen und Typisierungen von Schutzwaldstandorten - Fortsetzung

Die zunehmend intensivere Nutzung besonders sensibler alpiner Räume birgt ein erhöhtes Konfliktpotential in sich. Einerseits ist der Schutz von Bevölkerung und Infrastruktur vor Naturkatastrophen zu gewährleisten, andererseits ist ein nachhaltiger und verantwortungsvoller Umgang mit natürlichen Ressourcen zu fordern. Die Abwendung von Naturgefahren, wie z. B. Lawinen, Muren, Überschwemmungen, Massenbewegungen usw. durch intakte Schutzwälder ist ein wesentlicher Bestandteil einer nachhaltigen und harmonischen Nutzung naturräumlicher Ressourcen. Für all diese Vorhaben ist die Kenntnis des geologischen Untergrundes eine entscheidende Voraussetzung. Ziel des Projektes ist daher die Erstellung von digitalen geologischen Karten durch Zusammenfassung und Neuinterpretation der vorhandenen geologischen Unterlagen, welche durch Fernerkundungsdaten (Auswertungen von Höhenmodellen, digitalen Orthofotos, und konventionellen Luftbildern) und punktuell durch Informationen aus Geländeerhebungen ergänzt werden. Diese Karten dienen dann u.a. als Basis für die Modellierung von Waldbodentypen. Für das vorliegende Projekt 'Geologische Grundlagen zur Typisierung von Waldstandorten', als Fortsetzung eines bereits abgeschlossenen thematisch gleichen Projektes, wurden die digitalen geologischen Kartenblätter Winklern/Osttiroler Anteil (ÖK 180), Walchensee Süd (ÖK 87), Achenkirch Süd (ÖK 88), Angath Süd (ÖK 89) Kufstein (ÖK 90), St. Johann i. Tirol (ÖK 91) und Lofer (ÖK 92) erstellt. ÖK 180/Winklern wurde von der GBA zusätzlich erstellt, um die im vorangegangenen Bericht gelieferten Kartenblätter über Osttirol, ÖK 177/St. Jakob i. Def., ÖK 178 /Hopfgarten i. Def. und ÖK 179 Lienz zu komplettieren. Die Karten basieren auf Zusammenfassungen und Umzeichnung der jeweils besten zur Verfügung stehenden geologischen Unterlagen und Fernerkundungsdaten. Aus den in der Bibliothek der GBA aufliegenden Unterlagen, von Universitäten zur Verfügung gestellten Diplomarbeiten und Dissertationen, und in Zusammenarbeit mit den mit der regionalen Geologie vertrauten Geologen, wurden die zu verwendenden Karten geprüft und ausgewählt. Anschließend wurde eine für das jeweilige Kartenblatt gültige Legende erstellt und die Karten für die digitale Bearbeitung vorbereitet (gescannt, referenziert und rektifiziert). Die Digitalisierung erfolgte mit ArcGIS9. Angeschlossen ist eine genaue Dokumentation mit Zitaten der verwendeten Unterlagen und pdf.files derselben, sowie eine kurze Bewertung der verwendeten Karten. usw.

Indicators and tools for restoration and sustainable management of closed-deciduous forests in East Africa

Objectives: The study links East African and European re-searchers into strategic alliances so as to contribute to resolving conflicts prevailing between the needs of different forest stakeholders and the need to sustain the remaining forest and its biodiversity. The project will develop a scientific basis and directly applicable tools for forest ecosystem restoration and sustainable management. The particular objectives are to: - Establish and validate ecological & socio-economic criteria against which status and pro-cesses of forest and its management can be assessed - Assess indicators that permit inference of the status of a particular criterion and to formulate appropriate verifiers - Design and validate nature-based silvicultural tools to gear operations so as to improve local livelihoods and sustain forest resources - Integrate results into appropriate technology packages and disseminate to target-groups. Activities: Establishment of country-specific tandems of local and European institutions. Identification of locally applicable C&I for sustainable forest management and standardisation of research methods. Together with stakeholders, joint development of a framework in which C&I can be verified locally, based on prevailing information and complementary research. Participating NGOs to facilitate establishment of socio-economic context, research institutions to investigate status and dynamics of forests. In parallel, research will commence on silviculturally relevant ecosystem characteristics. Mid-project evaluation of descriptive-analytical 1st project phase so as to formulate the experimental, predictive 2nd phase of the study. Definition of research approaches to calibrate verifiers for indicators and to test silvicultural tools suited to guide the forest ecosystem into the desired direction or status. Research on the management of invasive species, natural establishment of desirable species and on stand improvement treatments. The continuous input and evaluation through an NGO moderator will help to fine-tune and ensure the client-orientated approach of the silvicultural research. A specific communication module serves to translate scientific findings into technological packages relevant to stakeholders. Expected Outcome: Regional framework to assess sustainability of forest management. Silvicultural tools for forest restoration and sustainable forest management. Research findings translated into formats appropriate to the target group, including extension, policy advice and management guidelines.

The ecology of the wild boar Sus scrofa near conservation areas

In strict nature reserves and core zones of protected areas hunting and forestry operations are often restricted or banned. However, regarding the management of Wild boar, such hunt-free zones are discussed controversially and can lead to conflict. Hunters whose areas border no-hunting zones (and who have to reimburse farmers for crop damages caused by Wild boar) are concerned that the boars may evade effective population management by staying within the limits of the no-hunting zone, and farmers fear increased crop damage in the surroundings of such areas. Some conservationists are also concerned because Wild boars increasingly root protected habitats and can cause damage to rare plant assemblies. The three-year project Wild boar problem in the vicinity of protected areas by the Game Research Institute (Wildforschungsstelle) at the Centre for Agriculture Baden-Württemberg (LAZBW) aims at investigating if and how no-hunting zones might affect Wild boar activity, movement patterns, home range size, and habitat use, as well as crop damage caused by boars, by comparing these aspects between hunting-free zones and unprotected areas. Although there have already been a number of telemetry studies on Wild boar, including space use in the context of hunting activity, to date there is no study that has specifically investigated spatial and ecological aspects in and around protected areas. My dissertation Ecology of Wild boar Sus scrofa in the vicinity of protected areas is being carried out within the scope of the Game Research Institutes project and apart from the aims outlined above, further aspects of Wild boar ecology will be investigated, especially the role of Wild boar as bio-engineer and habitat creator for other species vs. unwanted damages at protected sites. Twenty-seven Vectronic GPS-GSM satellite collars with integrated activity sensors are available to tag Wild boars in three study areas: the non-protected Altdorfer Forest near Aulendorf with regular hunting activity and forestry, the nature reserve Wurzacher Ried with its ca. 700 ha core zone that is a strict reserve with no human activity, and the Biosphere Reserve Swabian Jura, especially in the surroundings of the former military training area near Münsingen and the 170 ha no-usage-area Föhrenberg.

Use of scavengers in the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for improved chemicals production

Combined production of fuels and chemicals from wood This project examines an innovative approach for pre-treating wood in order to produce fuels and chemicals. In this approach, the researchers combine hot water treatment with so-called radical scavengers. Background Biofuels from wood have economic and ecological advantages as compared to fuels from corn starch and sugar cane (costs, availability, no conflict with food production). However, it is much more difficult to transform wood into biofuels. This is because the components of wood-cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin-are strongly interwoven to protect the plant against external forces, in particular. In the production of biofuels, this impedes the enzymatic degradation of cellulose and lignocellulose into their respective sugars, which can subsequently be fermented to produce, for example, bio-ethanol. Therefore, it is necessary to pre-treat the wood in order to break up its structure and improve the enzymatic access. Aim One possible treatment of biomass would be to dissolve it in hot water, but this is hampered by cross-linking reactions of emerging lignin fragments. So-called 'radical scavengers' can stop these undesired reactions and make the wood much more soluble. This procedure is aimed at achieving, on the one hand, a cellulose fraction with improved enzymatic access and, on the other hand, a high-quality lignin fraction. The latter serves as a starting material for the production of aromatic chemicals. Significance The examined approach is aimed at producing fuels and aromatic chemicals which are today still gained from petrochemical resources. This opens up new avenues for gradually replacing fossil oil with biomass.

1 2 3 4