Das Projekt "Technical Support for the revision of ecolabel and green public procurement GPP Criteria Lot 1" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Öko-Institut. Institut für angewandte Ökologie e.V. durchgeführt. The project's objective is to support JRC IPTS in revising the existing Ecolabel and GPP criteria of personal computers and notebook computers. The priority in this revision process is to first analyse which of the existing criteria and the supporting evidence are still valid and to identify the additional research that should be carried out. Potential additional criteria can be developed, if identified as necessary in the course of the study. The study starts with a definition of the scope; the necessarity for new or revised Ecolabel and GPP criteria is based on a market analysis and a technical analysis with research on the most significant environmental impacts during the whole life cycle of the products. This also includes the application of a consistent methodological approach regarding the hazardous substances criteria. Based on these findings, the improvement potential will be derived resulting in a proposal for a revised Ecolabel and GPP criteria set for desktop and notebook computers which will be discussed in a European stakeholder process.
Das Projekt "Technical Support for the revision of ecolabel and green public procurement GPP Criteria Lot 4" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Öko-Institut. Institut für angewandte Ökologie e.V. durchgeführt. The project's objective is to support JRC IPTS in revising the existing Ecolabel and GPP criteria of televisions. The priority in this revision process is to first analyse which of the existing criteria and the supporting evidence are still valid and to identify the additional research that should be carried out. Potential additional criteria can be developed, if identified as necessary in the course of the study. The study starts with a definition of the scope; the necessarity for new or revised Ecolabel and GPP criteria is based on a market analysis and a technical analysis with research on the most significant environmental impacts during the whole life cycle of the products. This also includes the application of a consistent methodological approach regarding the hazardous substances criteria. Based on these findings, the improvement potential will be derived resulting in a proposal for a revised Ecolabel and GPP criteria set for televisions which will be discussed in a European stakeholder process.
Das Projekt "Improving the Livelihood of the Rural Population through the Production of Bushmeat in Ghana" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hamburg, Arbeitsbereich für Weltforstwirtschaft und Institut für Weltforstwirtschaft des Friedrich-Löffler-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Tiergesundheit durchgeführt. Background: Ghanas transition forests, neighbouring savannahs and timber plantations in the Ashanti region face a constant degradation due to the increased occurrence of fires. In most cases the fires are deliberately set by rural people for hunting purposes. Main target is a cane rat, here called grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus), whose bushmeat is highly esteemed throughout the country. The animal is a wild herbivorous rodent of subhumid areas in Africa south of the Sahara. The grasscutter meat is an important source of animal protein. Existing high-value timber plantations (mainly Teak, Tectona grandis) are affected by fires for hunting purposes. Thus resulting in growth reduction, loss of biomass or even complete destruction of the forest stands. It became obvious that solutions had to be sought for the reduction of the fire risk. Objectives: Since 2004 the Institute for World Forestry of the Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products, Hamburg, Germany is cooperating with a Ghanaian timber plantation company (DuPaul Wood Treatment Ltd.) the German Foundation for Forest Conservation in Africa (Stiftung Walderhaltung in Afrika) and the Center for International Migration with the purpose to improve the livelihood of the rural population in the surroundings of the forest plantation sites and simultaneously to safeguard and improve the timber plantations. The introduction of grasscutter rearing systems to local farmers accompanied by permanent agricultural and agroforestry practices appeared to be a promising approach for the prevention of fires in the susceptible areas. Additionally a functioning grasscutter breeding system could contribute to the improvement of food security, development of income sources and the alleviation of poverty. The following measures are implemented: - Identification of farmers interested in grasscutter captive breeding, - Implementation of training courses for farmers on grasscutter rearing, - Delivery of breeding animals, - Supervision of rearing conditions by project staff, - Development of a local extension service for monitoring activities, - Evaluation of structures for grasscutter meat marketing. Results: After identification of key persons for animal rearing training courses were successfully passed and animals were delivered subsequently. Further investigations will evaluate the effects of the grasscutter rearing in the project region. This will be assessed through the - Acceptance of grasscutter rearing by farmers, - Success of the animal caging, - Reproduction rate, - Meat quality, - Marketing success of meat, - Reduction of fire in the vicinity of the timber plantations, - Improvement of peoples livelihood.
Das Projekt "Impact of urbanisation on the allergenicity of birch pollen grains" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität München, Fakultät für Medizin, Klinik und Poliklinik für Dermatologie und Allergologie am Biederstein durchgeführt. Evidence is compelling for a positive correlation between urbanisation and increment of allergic sensitisation and diseases. The reason for this association is not clear to date. Some data point to a pro-allergic effect of anthropogenic factors on susceptible individuals. Data analysing the impact of environmental - natural and anthropogenic - factors on the allergenicity of allergen carriers such as pollen grains are scarce, and if applicable only taken from in vitro experimental designs. This study will analyse one of the most common allergy inducers in northern Europe - the birch pollen. Under natural exposure conditions, birch pollen will be analysed with respect to their allergenicity. Within an interdisciplinary research team this study will evaluate the effect of natural (e.g. soil, climate, genetic background) and anthropogenic (e.g. traffic pollutants) factors on birch pollen in a holistic approach including analysis of allergen bioavailability, release of pollen associated lipid mediators from birch pollen grains, in vitro immunostimulatory activity and in vivo allergenic potential. These data collected in the time course of three years will significantly add to our understanding how urbanisation and climate change influence the allergenicity of birch pollen and will help us in the future to set up primary prevention studies.
Das Projekt "IWaTec - Integrated Water Technologies" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Duisburg-Essen, Zentrum für Wasser- und Umweltforschung durchgeführt. Egypt passed a revolution and changed its political system, but many problems are still lacking a solution. Especially in the field of water the North African country has to face many challenges. Most urgent are strategies to manage the limited water resources. About 80% of the available water resources are consumed for agriculture and the rest are for domestic and industrial activities. The management of these resources is inefficient and a huge amount of fresh water is discarded. The shortage of water supply will definitely influence the economic and cultural development of Egypt. In 2010, Egypt was ranked number 8 out of 165 nations reviewed in the so-called Water Security Risk Index published by Maplecroft. The ranking of each country in the index depends mainly on four key factors, i.e. access to improved drinking water and sanitation, the availability of renewable water and the reliance on external supplies, the relationship between available water and supply demands, and the water dependency of each countrys economy. Based on this study, the situation of water in Egypt was identified as extremely risky. A number of programs and developed strategies aiming to efficiently manage the usage of water resources have been carried out in the last few years by the Egyptian Government. But all these activities, however, require the availability of trained and well-educated individuals in water technology fields. Unfortunately, the number of water science graduates are decreasing and also there are few teaching and training courses for water science offered in Egypt. However, there is still a demand for several well-structured and international programs to fill the gap and provide the Egyptian fresh graduates with the adequate and up-to-date theoretical and practical knowledge available for water technology. IWaTec is designed to fill parts of this gap.
Das Projekt "Carbon acquisition during pathogenic development of Ustilago maydis and Colletotrichum graminicola" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Institut für Toxikologie und Genetik (ITG) durchgeführt. The biotrophic fungus Ustilago maydis infects corn and induces the formation of tumors. In order for the fungus to proliferate in the infected tissue, U. maydis has to redirect the metabolism of the host to the site of infection. We wish to elucidate how this is accomplished. To this end we will perform transcript profiling during the time course of infection for both, the fungus and the maize plant. This will be complemented by metabolome analysis of different tissues during infection as well as by apoplastic fluid analysis. The goals will be to identify the carbon sources taken up by the fungus during biotrophic growth, to identify the transporters required for uptake, determine their specificity and elucidate how these carbon sources are provided by the plant. Fungal mutants affected in discrete stages of pathogenic development will be included in these studies. Likely candidate genes for carbon uptake/supply as well as for redirecting host metabolism will be functionally characterized by generating knockouts in the fungus and by isolating plants carrying mutations in respective genes or by generating transgenic plants expressing RNAi constructs.
Das Projekt "The role of turgor in rain-cracking of sweet cherry fruit" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institut für Biologische Produktionssysteme, Fachgebiet Obstbau durchgeführt. Rain-cracking limits the production of many soft and fleshy fruit including sweet cherries world wide. Cracking is thought to result from increased water uptake through surface and pedicel. Water uptake increases fruit volume, and hence, turgor of cells (Pcell) and the pressure inside the fruit (Pfruit) and subjects the skin to tangential stress and hence, strain. When the strain exceeds the limits of extensibility the fruit cracks. This hypothesis is referred to as the Pfruit driven strain cracking. Based on this hypothesis cracking is related to two independent groups of factors: (1) water transport characteristics and (2) the intrinsic cracking susceptibility of the fruit defined as the amount of cracking per unit water uptake. The intrinsic cracking susceptibility thus reflects the mechanical constitution of the fruit. Most studies focussed on water transport through the fruit surface (factors 1), but only little information is available on the mechanical constitution (i.e., Pfruit and Pcell, tensile properties such as fracture strain, fracture pressure and modulus of elasticity of the exocarp; factors 2). The few published estimates of Pfruit in sweet cherry are all obtained indirectly (calculated from fruit water potential and osmotic potentials of juice extracts) and unrealistically high. They exceed those measured by pressure probe techniques in mature grape berry by several orders of magnitude. The objective of the proposed project is to test the hypothesis of the Pfruit driven strain cracking. Initially we will focus on establishing systems of widely differing intrinsic cracking susceptibility by varying species (sweet and sour cherry, Ribes and Vaccinium berries, plum, tomato), genotype (within sweet cherry), stage of development and temperature. These systems will then be used for testing the hypothesis of Pfruit driven strain cracking. We will quantify Pfruit und Pcell by pressure probe techniques and compression tests and the mechanical properties of the exocarp using biaxial tensile tests. When the presence of high Pfruit and Pcell is confirmed by direct measurements, subsequent studies will focus on the mode of failure of the exocarp (fracture along vs. across cell walls) and the relationship between failure thresholds and morphometric characteristics of the exocarp. However, when Pfruit und Pcell are low, the hypothesis of Pfruit driven strain cracking must be rejected and the mechanistic basis for low pressures (presence of apoplastic solutes) clarified on a temporal (in the course of development) and a spatial scale (exocarp vs. mesocarp). We focus on sweet cherry, because detailed information on this species and experience in extending the short harvest period is available. Where appropriate, other cracking susceptible species (sour cherry, plum, Vaccinium, Ribes, tomato) will be included to further extend the experimental period and to maximize the range in intrinsic cracking susceptibility.
Das Projekt "Teilprojekt C 04: Hydrologische Oberflächenprozesse während der Entwicklungsphase eines künstlichen Einzugsgebiets" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft durchgeführt. Das Hauptziel des Projekts ist die Untersuchung und die Entwicklung von Methoden nicht nur zur punktuellen, sondern auch zur flächenhaften Bestimmung der Bodenfeuchte. Zur Anwendung sollen Geländetechniken wie Time-Domain Reflectrometry (TDR), Georadar (GPR), Elektrische Widerstand (ER), Elektromagnetische Induktion (EMI) sowie GNSS Scatterometry kommen. Eine der methodischen Hauptfragen ist die Nutzung der GNSS Scatterometry zur Ermittlung der Bodenfeuchte im Feldmaßstab. Eine weitere grundlegende Forschungsfrage wird die weitere Entwicklung der elektrischen und elektromagnetischen geophysikalischen Techniken für bodenkundliche Anwendungen sein.
Das Projekt "GRK 1598: INTERCOAST - Integrierte Küsten- und Schelfmeerforschung" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Bremen, Zentrum für marine Umweltwissenschaften durchgeführt. Die Küsten- und Schelfmeerregionen unserer Erde unterliegen einem ständigen globalen Wandel. Die zunehmende wirtschaftliche Nutzung dieser Regionen in Verbindung mit Veränderungen der natürlichen Umwelt, beispielsweise dem globalen Meeresspiegelanstieg, stellt unsere Gesellschaft vor neue Herausforderungen. Dies bedarf neuer Strategien zur nachhaltigen Nutzung und Entwicklung der Küsten- und Schelfmeerregionen. Entsprechende Planungen erfordern eine interdisziplinäre und internationale Zusammenarbeit in den verschiedensten betroffenen Wissenschaftsfeldern, um die Veränderungen in der natürlichen Umwelt und in der Gesellschaft der Küstenregionen zu analysieren, zu verstehen, vorherzusagen und - wenn nötig - abzumildern. Das deutsch-neuseeländische Graduiertenkolleg wird zu dieser Aufgabe beitragen, indem es junge Graduierte zu fachlich qualifizierten, selbstständig und interdisziplinär denkenden sowie in die internationale Forschung eingebundenen Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern ausbildet. Neben Schwerpunkten aus den Naturwissenschaften sollen auch assoziierte Fragestellungen aus dem Bereich der Sozial- und Rechtswissenschaften bearbeitet werden. Neben dem fachspezifischen Wissen werden diesen jungen Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern zusätzliche Fachkenntnisse und Erfahrungen im Projektmanagement zur weiteren Berufsqualifikation vermittelt. Im internationalen Graduiertenkolleg arbeiten 13 junge Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler an verschiedensten Themen aus dem Bereich der Meereswissenschaften an der Universität Bremen. Diese Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden werden aber auch ca. ein Drittel ihrer dreijährigen Promotionszeit an der Universität Waikato in Neuseeland verbringen. Dies ermöglicht es ihnen, mit einigen der besten Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler auf ihrem Arbeitsgebiet zu arbeiten, zu lernen und zu publizieren. Im Austausch werden die neuseeländischen Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden für ca. ein Jahr an der Universität Bremen forschen. Ziel des Graduiertenkollegs ist es, eine neue Generation international ausgerichteter junger Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler auszubilden, die über ihre eigene Disziplin hinausblickend für die Herausforderungen der Zukunft und den Arbeitsmarkt vorbereitet sind.
Das Projekt "Transdisciplinary & transformative learning in university education for sustainable development" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, Centre for Development Research (CDR) durchgeführt. Dynamic trends such as fluctuating markets, climate change and population growth increasingly threaten the structural, functional and organizational integrity of agro-ecosystems. Accordingly, practitioners and scientists who can respond to these challenges while sustainably managing natural resources are urgently needed. In this regard, universities play a major role as they are educating future decision makers. They have thus the responsibility to create learning opportunities which provide systemic knowledge and train the ability to influence systems. The 'International Training Course on Organic Agriculture' (ITCOA), held in Uganda as a transdisciplinary training, has been an intuitive response to this need. ITCOA involves students from Uganda, Ethiopia, Austria, Kenya and Tanzania. The project 'Transdisciplinary & transformative learning in university education for sustainable development' (Trans2) complements ITCOA with an explicit reflection and research element, with the overall objective of contributing to an innovation of university education towards trans-disciplinary and transformative learning. Specifically, Trans2 will trace the impact ITCOA has made on graduates and in the organic sector in Uganda. Moreover, Trans2 will assess the approach of action learning through research and systematize lessons learned over the past several years of implementing ITCOA. Based on current theories of learning, qualitative and quantitative social research methods will be used.
| Origin | Count |
|---|---|
| Bund | 42 |
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| Förderprogramm | 42 |
| License | Count |
|---|---|
| offen | 42 |
| Language | Count |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | 17 |
| Englisch | 39 |
| Resource type | Count |
|---|---|
| Keine | 33 |
| Webseite | 9 |
| Topic | Count |
|---|---|
| Boden | 35 |
| Lebewesen & Lebensräume | 41 |
| Luft | 27 |
| Mensch & Umwelt | 42 |
| Wasser | 31 |
| Weitere | 42 |