The final goal of the EUROWET project is to integrate the substantial multidisciplinary European research in wetlands to help attain the sustainable management of the water cycle. This will be achieved by the translation of state-of-the art science developed at both national and European levels, into practical guidance for end-users. This will be achieved by a comprehensive review, expert assessment and a focussed dissemination strategy. There is considerable scientific knowledge and technical experience gained in diverse aspects of wetland science and management including hydrology, biogeochemistry, ecology restoration, socio-economic and policy analysis. However the results of research and management experience are still too fragmentary and not sufficiently orientated to problem-solving or simply inadequately framed to be effectively transferred to, or used by, stakeholders and policy-makers. Simultaneously the general outcome of the scientific research has been increased awareness of the significance of wetlands in delivering goods and services important for human welfare including quality of life, biodiversity conservation and maintenance or enhancement of environment quality. Despite this wetlands continue to be degraded and lost throughout Europe without adequate consideration of the wider benefits to be achieved from this management. The new Water Framework Directive (WFD) promotes a unique opportunity to redress this problem by means of the holistic, integrated approach to water management. There is currently in preparation horizontal guidance on Wetlands as part of the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) process. There is however work still to be done on providing more specific scientific and technical guidance on the effective implementation of the Directive with respect to wetlands. This is particularly the case in relation to Integrated River Management, the CIS cluster within which wetlands are being considered in the WFD.
The adoption of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 91/271/EEC imposes the sewage sludge to be subsequently treated so it is expected by 2005 to increase twofold in comparison whit 1992. However, classical incineration to treat this vast amount of sludge must be no longer accepted from an environmental point of view. In addition, the Sewage Sludge Directive 86/278/EEC regulates the uses and properties of stabilised sludge for being either recycled or disposed. Both directives drive specific actions in two complementary ways. Firstly, a deep knowledge of current sludge treatment, such as mesophilic, thermophilic or autothermophilic processes, must be promoted to solve that problem in the UE ambit, taking in account the particular considerations of each treatment facility. In second place, the development of new processes must be supported to open new alternatives that could valorise that waste.The proposal aims at developing strategies for the disposal and reuse of waste sludge. The scope envisages to develop several processes for reducing both amount and toxicity of sludge, with simultaneous transformation into green energy vectors such as methane or hydrogen. In outline, mesophilic and mainly thermophilic and autothermophilic conditions will be deeply explored as classical alternatives for sludge stabilisation, assuring sanitary conditions of the treated sludge. Also, valuable materials will be obtained from sludge, such as activated carbons, which will be used in conventional adsorption processes and in innovative advanced oxidation processes.The main outcomes expected at the end of the projects are guidelines for technology selection in agreement with the geographic, economic and technical characteristics of the sewage plants, demonstration of the feasibility of new applications for the sewage sludge, manufacturing of activated carbon from sludge sewage as innovative recycling of sludge waste, and a deep understanding of the methods involved. Prime Contractor: Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain.
CULT-STRAT will establish a scientific reference for developing strategies for policy and decision-makers on European and national levels within the CAFE Programme and for heritage managers for strategic decisions at local level. It will do this through a choice of material indicators and pollution threshold levels based on best available scientific data including deterioration models, spatial distribution and mapping of pollutants and of stock of materials at risk, cost estimates, comparison studies off different conservation approaches. Damage caused to objects of cultural heritage belongs to the most serious among the detrimental effects of anthropogenic air pollutants as it endangers a vital part of the European identity. There is therefore an urgent need to include the impact of pollutants on cultural heritage alongside the human health and parts of the ecosystem that are already concerned in the EU Directives on urban air quality. This is especially relevant for the CAFE (Clean Air for Europe) programme of the Commission and the Community interventions through the 'Culture 2000' framework programme and the structural funds. The overall aim is to identify material indicators and threshold levels of pollutants to be used for development of strategies for sustainable maintenance and preventive conservation of European cultural heritage and air quality policy to reduce damage. The models will permit ranking of the effects of pollutants on corrosion and soiling of materials. The air pollution models will be related to local fluxes, including indoor concentrations. The stock of cultural heritage materials at risk in selected areas (Paris, Rome, Florence, Prague, Madrid, and Berlin) will be used for assessment and mapping of areas where cultural heritage objects are endangered. Prime Contractor: Korrosionsinstitutet Sci AB, R&D Department Atmospheric Corrosion, Stockholm SE.
The project 'RIVERTWIN' aims in adjusting, testing and implementing an integrated regional model for the strategic planning of water resources management in twinned river basins under contrasting ecological, social and economic conditions. The regional model will take into account the impacts of demographic trends, economic and technological development, the effects of global climate and land use changes on the availability and quality of water bodies in humid temperate, subhumid tropical as well as semiarid regions. The existing integration framework will be first tested in a European river basin with high data availability and data density. The Transferability of the model to other regions with different economic level, ecological standards and with low data availability will be jointly tested by the project team and river basin organisations in two river basins in Westafrica and Uzbekistan. Here, the problem of adequate human resources and the uncertainties of input data for the implementation of computer based decision suppport tools will be addressed. Capacity building through training of end users supports the transfer of the research results into application. In cooperation with stakeholders and potential users integrated scenarios of economic growth, land use and climate change will be developed and the model will be used to assess the implications for water management under the respective scenario assumptions. The twinning of river basins will promote mutual transfer of know-how and technology between European and Third countries. Based on the results, river basin management plans can be prepared. Through its holistic basin wide approach, the project contributes to the EU water directive, the Millennium Goals defined by the WSSD and the EU water initiative for Africa and Newly Independent States.
Im Auftrag des baden-württembergischen Ministeriums für Umwelt und Verkehr wurde der Direktivenentwurf der Europäischen Kommission zur Implementierung eines EU-weiten Emissionshandels (COM(2001) 581) analysiert. Dabei wurde auf folgende Punkte eingegangen: Allokation/Erstvergabe, Freiwilligkeit versus obligatorische Teilnahme und Öffnungsklauseln, projektbasierte Instrumente, Berücksichtigung weiterer Treibhausgase, Regulierungsüberlagerungen sowie Einbeziehung des Stromersektors. Der Entwurf ist zeitlich adäquat in den durch das Kioto-Protokoll vorgegebenen internationalen Rahmen eingepasst. Wie das Protokoll sieht der Vorschlag ab dem Jahr 2008 fünfjährige Budgetperioden vor. Der Richtlinienvorschlag strebt einen Kompromiss zwischen den vier - zum Teil konkurrierenden - Kriterien Einfachheit, Effektivität, Subsidiarität und Transparenz an. Aufgrund des sich erst langsam abzeichnenden internationalen Rahmens und der Vielfalt unterschiedlichster involvierter Interessen ist dies eine erhebliche Aufgabe, deren Bewältigung in weiten Teilen als geglückt angesehen werden kann. Als wichtige Ergänzungsvorschläge zum vorliegenden Entwurf sind herausgefiltert worden: 1) Konkretisierung von Annex III: Die Kriterien für die nationalen Allokationspläne sind sehr allgemein gehalten. Insgesamt erscheint das Verhältnis zwischen Subsidiarität und Transparenz an diesem Punkt zulasten der Transparenz nicht ganz ausgewogen. Hinsichtlich der Anrechnung frühzeitiger Vermeidungsleistungen könnte der Kriterienkatalog z. B. dahingehend konkretisiert werden, dass von der Kommission der Zeitraum eingegrenzt wird, auf den sich die Zuteilung bezieht, und bestimmte Anforderungen an die verfügbaren Daten bzw. Verfahren für die Festlegung der Werte im Falle fehlender Daten gestellt werden. Die Einbeziehung von Neuemittenten wurde ebenfalls weitestgehend offen gelassen. Die Anwendung von EU-weiten Benchmarks (einheitliche Emissionsfaktoren) würde die Spielräume für potenzielle Wettbewerbsverzerrungen einschränken und eine bessere Planungssicherheit für die betroffenen Unternehmen gewährleisten. 2) Berücksichtigung von Stromerzeugung aus Kraft-Wärme-Kopplung (KWK): Der gegenwärtige Richtlinienentwurf kann zu einer Verschlechterung der Wettbewerbsposition von KWK-Anlagen auf dem Wärmemarkt führen, da sie dort möglicherweise mit Angeboten konkurrieren, die nicht vom Emissionshandelssystem erfasst sind (z. B. gasbefeuerte Brennwertkessel). Deshalb sollte der Richtlinienentwurf hinsichtlich der Erfassung von KWK-Anlagen angepasst werden. Denkbar wäre etwa, dass der Anteil des Brennstoffs in KWK-Anlagen, der zur Erzeugung von Fernwärme eingesetzt wird, von der Nachweisverpflichtung für Emissionszertifikate befreit wird.
Technical scenario: Olive production is a significant economic sector in southern Member States, especially in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. However, the extraction process involved in olive oil production generates non biodegradable phytotoxic waste, and is therefore a significant source of pollution. Despite the introduction in the 90s of improved separation systems such as 2-phase centrifugation system, that reduce both water use and the quantities of liquid residues produced, the problems of waste toxicity, high energy consumption and the disposal of final residues remain. Olive oil production gives a final waste consisting in a solid and very humid by-product called alperujo (AL) or Olive wet cake. The problem of AL disposal has not been fully resolved and research into new technological procedures that permit its profitable use is needed. In addition, these wastes also contain valuable resources such as phenolic compounds, (approximately 53Prozent in olive oil mill waste waters), characterised by different biological activity properties which could be of interest in industry (i.e. their strong antioxidant activity). Current extraction of these compounds is not available from olive oil waste water, since technology is not fully developed and optimised to get large scale prototyping such as Pilot plant stage. Proposed solution: We propose a method focused on both treatment of olive waste waters with by anaerobic digestion transforming biomass into biogas, basically Methane, and extraction from liquid fraction of valuable products, such as polyphenols. vSynergy between these technologies will allow overcome technical barriers such as polyphenol inactivation of the digestion process, making more efficient the process and letting a higher purity of the waste water product.
The scientific evidence base to support credible risk assessment for the design of appropriate microbial standards for bathing waters is insufficient. This is particularly true for Mediterranean waters, for new member states and for effects associated with exposure to toxic algal products. This is a pressing problem as Directive 76/160/EEC is currently in the process of amendment by the EU. It is therefore intended to address three questions, namely: a. What is the nature and level of the risk and how does exposure affect risk? b. What level of protection is afforded by the threshold values in Directive 76/160/EEC and CEC (2004)? c. How do the risks vary between fresh and marine waters and does the 1:2 ratio of the faecal indicator threshold values in coastal waters vs freshwaters ensure a comparable level of protection? In the first 12 months, this proposal will (i) complete a literature review and meta-analysis of current epidemiological data derived principally from UK and German studies, (ii) define data gaps restricting the application of credible health-evidence-based policy to bathing water standards outside these regions and (iii) design and agree a suitable research protocol for filling these data gaps. The second twelve months of research (from month 13 to 24) will (iv) implement this protocol and the project will deliver (v) a scientific report of the findings and detailed policy interpretation before the project end, i.e. 36 months following commencement. Prime Contractor: University Wales, University College Aberystwyth; Aberystwyth; Aberystwyth.
Objectives: The EU Air Quality Directives include air pollutant dispersion models as instruments of environmental politics. The quality of the models needs to be guaranteed. One part of the control process is the validation, a comparison of the modelled results with especially designed and acquired, trustworthy reference data sets from field and wind tunnel experiments. Activities: Air pollutants and meteorological parameters are measured continuously by in situ stations at different sites within Goettinger street in Hanover and its vicinity. Apart from these long-term measurements three intensive measurement campaigns are planned with additional tracer experiments. In August 2001 and August 2002 tracer experiments have been executed. A line source consisting of 8 pipe sections with a total length of about 96 m has been installed on the median of Goettinger Strasse. A mixture of the tracer gas SF6 and air, monitored by flow controllers, has been released from openings regularely spaced along the pipes. The source has been operated with a sufficient overpressure to avoid a feedback of external pressure fluctuations on the source strength and distribution. At 12 positions within the street canyon and on the roof of a nearby building, air samples have been collected simultaneously for at least 5 hours. Every 30 minutes a sampling bag has been started to be filled by the sampling equipment at each position. Afterwards, the 30 minutes averaged samples have been analysed on SF6 in the laboratory. Results: The experimental layout had been tested in August 2001. With minor reservations it also passed the second measurement campaign in August 2002 successful. The results of both campaigns exist now. As far as they have been scrutinized they show plausible distributions of the concentrations in the street area such as the typical windward-leeward-effect for street canyons. The influence of traffic induced turbulence and advection of the concentration field along the street by the traffic seems to be significant because the concentration field is shifted according to the direction of the motion of the traffic. Further measurements will be carried out in October 2002 and March 2003 to test and to corroborate that hypothesis and to complete the validation data set.
The working documents on revision of the Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC) on Biowaste and the Soil Protection Communication call for standards on sampling and analysis of sludge, treated biowastes and soils. The European Directives are intended to prevent unacceptable release of contaminants, impairment of soil function, or exposure to pathogens, and to protect crops, human and animal health, the quality of water and the wider environment when sludges and treated biowastes are used on land. The EU animal by-product regulations are fixing microbiological threshold values, for which microbiological methods of analysis are needed. The European Commission wishes to cite European (CEN) standards in order that there is harmonised application of the directives and that reports from Member States (MS) can be compared. This project to develop standards for hygienic parameters in sludge, soil and biowaste, presented under the name 'HORIZONTAL-HYG', will be carried out under the umbrella of the main project HORIZONTAL 'Development of horizontal standards for soil, sludge and biowaste'. This ensures full integration in the CEN system through BT Task Force 151 specially set up in support of this project as well as direct supervision by DG ENV and MS, which form the Steering Committee of HORIZONTAL. Preparation of HORIZONTAL-HYG was taken in a full agreement with the DG ENV, DG JRC and the MS already contributing to HORIZONTAL. HORIZONTAL-HYG's objective is to produce standardised methods for sampling and hygienic microbiological parameters, as Salmonella spp, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, Ascaris ova in sludges, treated biowastes and soils written in CEN format. Validation of the methods is an essential part of the development as it quantifies performance in terms of repeatability and reproducibility. The consortium is well connected in CEN and ISO and thus provides an excellent basis for implementation of the deliverables. Prime Contractor: Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland; Petten, Netherlands.
The project aims at supporting the implementation of the proposed Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the management of waste from the extractive industries 2003/0107. The Directive was prepared following several major accidents with a serious impact on the environment, and it has the purpose of ensuring a safer management of the mining waste facilities, so that such accidents will not occur in the future. This project addresses particularly Article 9, which provides for the classification of waste facilities with respect to the possible consequences of an accident, and respectively the Annex II: Characterisation of mining waste and Annex III: Criteria for the classification of waste facilities. The activities of the project are divided into four major work packages as follows: - Preparation of a Methodology for the Characterisation of Mining Waste - Elaboration of a Risk Assessment Methodology for the Classification of Mining Waste Facilities, including Old/Abandoned Mining Waste Facilities - Review of Techniques for the Prevention and Abatement of Pollution Generated by Mining Wastes - Development of a Decision Support Tool for Minimising the Impact of the Mining Industry on the Environment. The Consortium co-ordinated by BIUTEC, Austria, includes universities, research institutes, NGOs and implementing authorities from 8 European countries, both Members of the EU and accession countries. The experts team is highly qualified and has many years of experience and research in this area, so that the best outputs can be obtained. The project will build on the results of other projects carried out in this field, and will relate closely to on-going projects, so that there is no overlap in our activities. In order to provide an effective tool for the potential beneficiaries, the project team will consult with representatives of the stakeholders before the final versions of the outputs are publicly made available on the project web-site.
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