In Südamerika sind Millionen von Menschen von Wasserressourcen abhängig, die in der hoch gelegenen Paramo Graslandschaft sowie den tropischen Bergwäldern der Anden und an der Atlantikküste gebildet werden. Diese Wasserressourcen stehen unter zunehmenden Druck, hervorgerufen durch Landnutzungsänderungen und Klimawandel. Investitionen in wasserbezogene Dienstleistungen in Wassereinzugsgebieten (Investments in Watershed Services, IWS) sind starke, wenn auch bislang nicht ausgeschöpfte Maßnahmen, die eine einmalige Gelegenheit bieten, die Auswirkungen von Landnutzungsänderungen und Klimawandel auf Wasserressourcen in diesen sensiblen Bergregionen zu bewerten. ClimateWIse will den Erfolg der jetzigen Investitionen in wasserbezogene Dienstleistungen überprüfen und ihre Wirksamkeit unter Klimaänderung bewerten. Auf diese Weise werden Forschungsergebnisse erlangt, die die weitgefassten Fragen hinsichtlich der hydrologischen Auswirkungen durch Landnutzungs- und Klimaänderungen in den tropischen Bergwäldern Südamerikas adressieren. Zunächst werden wir untersuchen, ob Investitionen in wasserbezogene Dienstleistungen gegenwärtig die Situation der Wasserressourcen in den Einzugsgebieten verbessern. Dazu werden wir 1.1) die von den IWS Interessengruppen erwarteten Ergebnisse evaluieren; 1.2) neue Daten zur IWS-Überwachung erheben und 1.3) vorhandene Simulationsmodelle zu Ausarbeitung und Bewertung von IWS-Maßnahmen verbessern. Um aber die Anpassungsfähigkeit von IWS-Maßnahmen an zukünftige Klimaveränderungen zu ermitteln, werden wir 2.1) die Berücksichtigung von Klimaaspekten in IWS Planungen überprüfen; 2.2) die Prognosen der Auswirkungen von Klimawandel und weiteren Veränderungen verbessern, sowie 2.3) die Möglichkeiten prüfen, Angaben zu Klimaänderungen in IWS zu integrieren, was zu einer Verbesserung der Widerstandsfähigkeit von IWS-Maßnahmen führt und darüber hinaus auch zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel beiträgt. ClimateWIse baut auf die Forschungsarbeiten beteiligter Projektpartner auf: diese reichen von Forschungsaktivitäten im Bereich hydrologische Konnektivität in den tropischen Bergregionen Südamerikas im Allgemeinen, bis hin zur Beurteilung von IWS-Maßnahmen im Speziellen. Diese Expertise wird erstmalig in diesem Projektantrag zusammengebracht. In diesem Zusammenhang werden wir auch die existierenden Beziehungen zum Latin American Water Funds Partnership und Brazilian Water Producer Program nutzen. ClimateWIse will die Bewirtschaftung der Wasserressourcen verbessern, die wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse über die Auswirkungen von Landnutzungs- und Klimaänderungen auf den hydrologischen Kreislauf in tropischen Bergregionen erweitern, die wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen im Bereich ökosystemorientierter Bewirtschaftung ausbauen sowie Ergebnisse für die Wassernutzer in der gesamten Region fördern. Die mit ClimateWIse erzielten Erkenntnisse werden für die Wasserwirtschaft innerhalb Südamerikas aber auch über den Kontinent hinaus von direktem Nutzen sein.
Umweltfreundlich und ohne eigenes Auto mobil zu sein: das ist in ländlichen Räumen oftmals besonders schwierig. Die Gründe dafür liegen im demographischen Wandel, in knappen öffentlichen Kassen und in einer unzureichenden Zusammenarbeit relevanter Institutionen. Das Interreg-Projekt Peripheral Access - 'Transnational cooperation and partnership for better public transport in peripheral and cross-border regions' - will daher die Mobilität in ländlichen Räumen, im Hinterland von Ballungsräumen und in Grenzregionen verbessern. Es sollen mehr Menschen davon überzeugt werden, ihr Auto stehen zu lassen und den öffentlichen Nahverkehr zu nutzen. Um das zu erreichen, setzt das Projekt auf neue Mobilitätsstrategien. So zum Beispiel auf Busse, die auch Fahrräder befördern, oder auf Rufbusse, die die Passagiere per Smartphone bestellen können.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive is designed to deliver Good Environmental Status (GES) in EU marine waters by 2020. This Directive requires that Member States (MS) with marine territories put in place measures to achieve and maintain GES within a defined timeframe and according to eleven key descriptors of environmental status. However, there is a significant knowledge deficit which may hinder full implementation of the MSFD and the achievement of GES in EU waters.STAGES (Science and Technology Advancing Governance on Good Environmental Status) project is designed to directly address this knowledge deficit. The project has to overarching goals: i) to synthezise per major MSFD themes the information from research projects and ii) to develop a platform to ensure that the knowledge generated through European science and technology can be channeled to a broad range of relevant end users, to inform and facilitate implementation of the MSFD and the achievement of GES. To achieve this, STAGES will target a number of critical gaps in the knowledge transfer process. Firstly, STAGES will identify and synthesize relevant existing EU research results and make them available in a usable format for decision and policy making authorities. Through comprehensive scientific foresight targeted at MSFD knowledge gaps, STAGES will identify needs for futher research. STAGES will also develop innovative solutions to achieve an effective collaboration between the broad range of stakeholders necessary to support MSDF implementation, including policy and governance, science, industry and civil society. Moreover, the role and input of MSFD stakeholders will be central to the activities of the project and to the proposals for a science policy interface which will be delivered by the project. The partnership has been constructed to include a combination of EU/international organizations which can represent a broad constituency of MSFD stakeholders, and national organizations with responsibility to support research and provide advice on MSFD implementation at MS level.
OPTIBIOCAT is a 48 months project aimed at developing biocatalysts based on feruloyl esterases (FAEs) and glucuronoyl esterases (GEs) for production of phenolic fatty- and sugar- esters with antioxidant activity for cosmetic industry, expanding the number/type of industrial biotransformations. Selected FAEs and GEs available within the consortium will be improved for their thermo- and solvent- resistance and substrate specificity by site-directed mutagenesis and directed evolution. Novel enzymes will be discovered by mining for new genes from available genomes. An inventory of novel FAEs and GEs will be developed including 50 fungal and 500 bacterial esterases, 25 site-directed and 20 directed evolved mutants. Enzymatic performances will be optimized to enhance the yield (up to the theoretical yield of 100%) and productivity (up to 0.5-1 g/l/h) of reactions giving the main targeted antioxidants: butyl ferulate, p-coumarate, caffeate, sinapate and 5-O-(trans-feruloyl)-arabinofuranose (using FAEs), glucuronate and benzyl glucuronate (using GEs). FAEs and GEs will be also tested for production of other compounds with improved biological activity and properties of hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity for cosmetic applications. Cost-effective methods will be developed for production of the new biocatalysts, in the g/L scale, and for their technical application to produce antioxidants for cosmetic industry, up to 20L. Enzyme immobilization will increase their recyclability up to ten cycles. The ability of the developed catalysts to work in conditions miming the industrial ones with reduced use of solvents and lower temperature than the chemical routes will be demonstrated. The techno-economic viability and environmental friendliness will be assessed considering a full industrial scale scenario. OPTIBIOCAT involves a highly skilled and multidisciplinary partnership of 16 partners from 8 EU countries, and it is a strongly industry driven project through the participation of 8 SMEs and 1 large company.
GreenCook is aimed at reducing food wastage and to make the North-West Europe a model of sustainable food management, by in-depth work on the consumer / food relationship thanks to a multisectoral partnership. Food wastage is a challenging problem, directly linked with the question of waste, consumption and climate change. A quarter of the food produced in the world each year ends up in the dustbin, without having been consumed. Food wastage, a reflection of our overconsumption society, also reinforces social inequalities and is ethically unacceptable. The negative impacts of this wastage are real: for households (useless expenditure), for local authorities (overproduction of waste to be treated, increased costs), for the environment (pointless use of resources and pollution), and for the economy (falling prices). There is a pressing need, for consumers to respect food and food producers again, to enjoy the pleasure of healthy and tasty eating again, to rediscover culinary know-how, and to optimise food presentation, storage and conservation. Lately, tools and methods are under experimentation to help consumers to improve their food management while controlling their purchasing power. They aim at changing behaviour or altering the offer (at the supermarket, in the restaurant or in the canteen). It is alas hard for them to be generalised, because of the complexity of the levers that have to be activated. GreenCooks ambition is to create this lever effect, by generating a dynamic that motivates all of the food players and by throwing pathbreaking bridges with the fields of health, welfare and economic development. Its diversified partnership intends to show the added value of united, transversal action, and to influence EU policies, in order to get a new European sustainable food model to emerge. Prime Contractor: Espace Environnement asbl; Charleroi; Belgien.
Background: As Albanian agriculture began returning to the private sector in the late 1990s, it was evident that the infrastructure was weak, resulting in low production standards and inefficient use of resources. Despite efforts in the last two decades to restructure and strengthen the agriculture sector, it still remains underdeveloped, characterised by inadequate research, development, transfer of knowledge and modernisation. Farmers still rely on outdated, inefficient pesticide application equipment and often use highly toxic pesticides that are banned in the rest of Europe. Within the agricultural schools and universities, there is a weak capacity for agricultural research and knowledge transfer stemming from several infrastructure-related shortcomings, such as lack of resources and contact with the global scientific community. This constrains the international competitiveness of researchers as well as the training of students in modern pest management approaches. The limited capacity for technology transfer hinders the generation of science-based solutions for local agricultural problems and an ineffective advisory service means that farmers remain disconnected from agricultural research and technology development. Aim: This project aims to build the capacity of relevant institutions in research and knowledge transfer in integrated pest management (IPM); a sustainable pest management approach that reduces overreliance on chemical pesticides and alleviates the negative impacts of agriculture on human health and the environment. The project also aims to strengthen the infrastructure required to improve the quality of agricultural production and enable self-reliance in developing and implementing sustainable IPM solutions. Significance: Through the integration of effective theoretical and practical IPM training into higher education, this project will better prepare students for future employment in an agricultural profession and increase the overall IPM knowledge base within the agricultural sector. The provision of relevant resources and training will enhance capacity for conducting IPM-related research as well as foster integration into the international scientific community. Finally, strengthening the link between research and farmers will provide an effective channel through which to disseminate practical IPM solutions to farmers. In taking an institutional partnership approach, this project will consolidate the linkages between all key IPM stakeholders and create the infrastructure required to promote awareness, communication and institutionalisation of IPM along the whole chain of agricultural research, education, policy and practice.
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