The aim of the research project is to further develop and compare the acceptability and technical performance of fluoride removal filters and to explore ways of sustainably implementing these in rural Ethiopia. According to estimates of the Ethiopian Ministry of Water Resources more than 14 million people in Ethiopia rely on drinking water contaminated by fluoride in the Rift Valley region. Over 40Prozent of deep and shallow wells are contaminated and concentrations, up to 26 mg/L, are significantly higher than the present international WHO guideline value of 1.5 mg/L. The main source of fluoride are the basaltic rocks in the Rift Valley. Over 80Prozent of children suffer from different degrees of dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis is increasing, mainly among older people. The mitigation of this health problem has been hampered mainly by the lack of a suitable, inexpensive removal method. A switch to treated surface waters for drinking is being discussed, but it is accepted that fluoride removal systems for rural communities are required. To date there has been no successful implementation of such a system in Ethiopia. This project aims to combine technical and social research at both Eawag and University of Addis Ababa, including field work together with NGOs to find a solution to the mitigation of fluorosis. Not only the suggested removal techniques but also the inter- and transdisciplinary research approach is innovative. Intensive interaction of engineering and social sciences is indispensable in this project, because even the best technical solution is useless when it is not accepted by the population. This collaborative project also has an important goal of capacity and human resource development in Ethiopia. It aims at strengthening the knowledge and research capacity of the Ethiopian university and the participation of NGOs will consolidate the ties between research and implementation. Furthermore, the results will be applicable not only to Ethiopia but also for other fluorosis-affected developing countries. Two fluoride removal systems that can cope with the elevated fluoride concentrations will be further developed and tested in the field. The first, based on filtration with aluminium (Al) oxide, has been developed in the Chemistry Department of Addis Ababa University. Laboratory tests have shown a very high removal capacity, but still further laboratory and field testing is required. The second filter material is based on a calcium hydroxyapatite, including bone char, that is successfully being developed and currently implemented by the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru (CDN) in Kenya. Preliminary implementation studies with bone char filtration in Ethiopia, carried out by the NGO consortium Swiss Interchurch Aid (HEKS) / Oromo Self-Help Organisation (OSHO) in collaboration with CDN and Eawag have shown that the water composition, the high fluoride concentrations,
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.
Die Partner entwickeln ein Weiterbildungskonzept mit dem Ziel, Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer, besonders Betriebsräte, in gewerkschaftlichen Schulungen für eine höhere Ressourceneffizienz im Betriebs- und Produktionsablauf zu sensibilisieren. Praktisch-technische Kenntnisse sollen die Beschäftigten befähigen, Veränderungsprozesse anzuregen und umzusetzen. Betriebsräte haben nach dem Betriebsverfassungsgesetz die Möglichkeit, Einfluss auf die Gestaltung von Produktionsprozessen zu nehmen. Dadurch eröffnet sich die Chance, Ressourceneffizienz stärker im Sinne der Arbeitnehmer zu gestalten und als Beitrag zur Standort- und Beschäftigungssicherung zu diskutieren. Effizienz ist nicht nur eine ökologische, sondern für Unternehmen auch eine ökonomische Frage. Rohstoffe sind ein beträchtlicher und ständig steigender Kostenfaktor: Im produzierenden Gewerbe liegen die Materialkosten bei weitem über den Lohnkosten, dennoch konzentrieren sich viele Unternehmen auf eine höhere Arbeitsproduktivität anstatt auf eine bessere Energie- und Rohstoffproduktivität.
Durch das Beratungshilfeprogramm des BMU werden Staaten Mittel- und Osteuropas, Südosteuropas, im Südkaukasus und in Zentralasien sowie die Russische Förderation bei der Verbesserung des Umweltschutzes, der Stärkung ihrer Umweltverwaltungen und beim Aufbau der Zivilgesellschaft unterstützt. Das Projekt soll die Umsetzung der von der Republik Moldau bereits 1999 ratifizierten Aarhus-Konvention unterstützen. Das Vorhaben beinhaltet drei Arbeitsphasen. Zunächst wird ein Aktionsplan zur Umsetzung der Aarhus-Konvention erarbeitet, der einzelne Arbeitsschritte und Zuständigkeiten regelt. Der Arbeitsplan soll bis Februar 2010 der Öffentlichkeit vorliegen. Darauf aufbauend werden Inhalte des Aktionsplanes in konkrete Gesetzesvorschläge überführt, die sich auf die zweite Säule der Konvention (Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligung) konzentrieren. Die Gesetzesvorschläge werden mit VertreterInnen des Parlaments, aus Unternehmen, Umweltverbänden und dem Umweltministerium diskutiert. Im Anschluss werden die Gesetzesvorschläge modellhaft in Verwaltungsverfahren auf ihre Praxistauglichkeit erprobt und ausgewertet.
Fragile arid and semi-arid ecosystems are in urgent need of integrated conservation approaches that can contribute significantly to prevent and reduce the widespread on-going land degradation and desertification processes, such as erosion, flooding, overgrazing, drought, and salinization. The DESIRE project will establish promising alternative land use and management conservation strategies based on a close participation of scientists with stakeholder groups in the degradation and desertification hotspots around the world. This integrative participatory approach ensures both the acceptability and feasibility of conservation techniques, and a sound scientific basis for the effectiveness at various scales. DESIRE employs a bottom up approach such as is favoured by the UNCCD: i) degradation and desertification hotspots and stakeholder groups will be identified in all countries surrounding the Mediterranean, and in 6 external nations facing similar environmental problems, ii) desertification indicator sets will be defined in a participatory approach and a harmonized information system will be constructed to organize socio-economic and geoinformation data and tools for active dissemination; iii) new and existing conservation strategies will be defined with the stakeholder communities; iv) these strategies will be implemented in the field, and monitored and modeled to quantify their effectiveness at various scales; v) the results will be extrapolated using both the indicator sets, geoinformation data, and integrated modeling systems combining socio-economic and environmental aspects; vi) finally the results will be translated to a series of practical guidelines for good agricultural practices and environmental management, which will be disseminated to practitioners, agricultural extensionists, governmental authorities, policy makers, NGOs, land users, land owners, and local communities. Prime Contractor: Alterra B.V.; Wageningen; Netherlands.
European Member States have set up National Environment and Health Action Programmes during the last decade, confirming the importance of environmental health protection. The importance of scaling down this approach to regional and local level is evident to improve the conditions of life. There is a lack of exchange of information and experiences among Member States on this issue. Thus, there is a need to identify and analyse national and regional activities and to exchange good practices. The main objective of the PRONET project is to facilitate exchange and evaluation of interventions on environment and health exposure reduction measures on a regional level and promote implementation of successful initiatives in other regions of Europe. This project will focus on the exchange of useful practices in two areas; 1) the reduction of traffic-related health hazards; 2) improvement of indoor air quality. This project will co-ordinate the body of experience in practical pollution reduction measures or strategies and will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the design and implementation of measures aimed at reducing exposure to environmental health hazards. Communication, participation, socio-economic and gender factors are included in the analysis as they might influence the impact of exposure reduction measures. To do so PRONET will set up an information exchange platform for the development of health promotion-based policies. Furthermore, this project will set up a network of regional authorities and researchers at different levels. Establishing a link through partners and member states to THE PEP and other relevant projects will be part of the activities. At workshops and by surveys network members will come together to identify, analyse, assess and develop policy options to gain insight in interventions and disseminate the results to all stakeholders in European regions. The results will be used to make recommendations for policies at regional level. Prime Contractor: Hulpverlening Gelderland Midden; Arnheim; Netherlands.
Forest trees are key structural organisms of the dominant terrestrial ecosystem in temperate regions. A large network of European research institutions collaborate to better understand how forest ecosystems may respond to climate change. The network aims at establishing a leading-edge scientific community to boost population genetics and genomics with a particular emphasis on organismic interactions and wide spatial and temporal perspectives. With their participation in the EC-supported Network of Excellence EVOLution of TREEs as drivers of terrestrial ecosystem diversity, WSL researchers contribute and have access to a wide range of population genetic and genomic resources. The network of 25 partner institutions across Europe comprises a wide range of competence in genetics, genomics, and evolutionary ecology of forest trees and associated organisms (mycorrhiza, insects). Our project team is particularly active in studying organismic interactions, historical dynamics in forest tree populations, and infrastructural resource management. Being the only Swiss partner within the network, we further host one of the seven Intensive Study Sites (ISS), located in the Valais, which were established within the network to foster joint and interdisciplinary research across European forest biota.
The Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) is one of the internationally acting cross-cutting research networks of DIVERSITAS. GMBA acts as a platform of the international mountain biodiversity research (www.gmba.unibas.ch), currently listing more than 700 active partners worldwide. It aims to synthesise often fragmented knowledge, organize workshops/symposia and promote participation in international research projects. GMBA has also developed internationally accorded research guidelines for specific fields and encourages collaborative research programmes throughout the world and advocates the open access philosophy of GBIF and e-mining of mountain biodiversity data. The GMBA office is coordinating a network of field experiments worldwide, aiming to quantify the influences of land use and biodiversity on catchment value in steep mountian terrain, with successfully funded Joint Research Projects in Bolivia, Georgia, Austria, and upcomming projects in France, Switzerland and China. Main products of this funding period will include: - Global mountain biodiversity data portal and promotion of open access of geo-referenced mountain biodiversity data, in collaboration with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) in Copenhagen, Denmark; - publication of a synthesis book on mountain biodiversity data mining and results of comparative data-mining of GMBA data expert; - synthesis of results of the world-wide network of field experiments on land use and biodiversity, and catchment value in mountains (in a special journal issue or synthesis volume); - GMBA will link the mountain biodiversity community with the International Mechanism of Scientific Expertise on Biodiversity (IMoSEB), an international scientific biodiversity assessment panel. - organisation of the 2nd GMBA open science conference on mountain biodiversity in 2010. This will be the 10-year anniversary of GMBA under Swiss leadership.
The aim of the study was to assess the feasibility a REDD+ project aiming at a reduction / avoidance of the currently ongoing deforestation in the Mt. Cameroon area. The ecologically valuable region is under serious threat of deforestation, caused by local villagers through the establishment of cash crops, mainly for cocoa-plantations. Deforestation shall be avoided by the development and implementation of a REDD+ project. This project shall be inherently conected to the newly established Mt. Cameroon National Park. The REDD+ project shall finance both the administration of the National Park as well as compensation measures in the surrounding villages. This compensation measures shall not only ensure the interest of local population in the participation in the REDD+ project, it shall also cover the REDD+ projects need for leakage management activities ensuring that the project impact (in terms of carbon conservation) is not compensated by deforestation activities outside the park area. This shall ensure the REDD+ projects overall success. The study evaluated the threat of permanent deforestation in the Mt. Cameroon region, identified drivers of deforesation, screened appropriate mitigation strategies and developed a baseline scenario. In May 2009, GFA ENVEST visited the project site, investigated the legal project structure and discussed project setup with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife and the Ministry for Environment and Nature Protection. As the national park was established in spring 2010, the REDD+ project development is envisaged to start in autumn 2010. Services provided: GFA ENVEST provides the following services: Assessment of carbon stocks of intact forests for the main forest strata; Assessment of carbon stocks of degraded forests sites (i.e. cocoa plantations) for the main forest strata; Evaluation of forest protection measures and related abatement costs; Assessment of leakage management and leakage monitoring options and related costs; Design of a monitoring system based on remote sensing. This system shall allow for the verification of the overall success of forest protection measures. Calculation of the projects emission reductions under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) considering VCS security buffer approach for non-permanence; Assessment of carbon revenues and the overall financial feasibility of REDD+ measures; Evaluation of carbon rights ownership and an appropriate REDD+ project structure managing carbon funds and project costs.
This recent project is part of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. Its objective is to research the use of integrated simulation models as decision-tools in multi-stakeholder negotiation processes at the sub-basin level. The project sites are the White Volta (Ghana) and the Maule basin (Chile), where construction of agent-based simulation models that combine economic and hydrological sub-models is already underway. The project will focus on (1) the analysis and strengthening of multi-stakeholder governance structures in the two project sites, (2) the identification of problems, policy options to address the problems, and criteria for evaluation policy options by stakeholders, (3) the extension of simulation models to incorporate the impact of climate change on land and water use decisions of risk-averse producers, (4) the evaluation of alternative policy options, as identified by stakeholders, (5) the development of decision-support tools that present and visualize the outputs of the simulation models in a form that is useful for the stakeholders, and (6) the actual use of the decision-support tools in negotiation and planning processes in the multi-stakeholder governance structures. Dissemination strategies will be based on the development of different formats and media targeted to different audiences, and will include: materials prepared for stakeholder workshops, a film that can be used for extension purposes, training materials for using and managing the computer simulation model, participation in regional and virtual networks (i.e. e-groups of Water for Food Challenge Program projects), policy briefs, research reports and journal articles.
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