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 "Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests in Yunnan (German-Chinese Cooperation for Agrarian Research)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hamburg, Arbeitsbereich für Weltforstwirtschaft und Institut für Weltforstwirtschaft des Friedrich-Löffler-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Tiergesundheit durchgeführt. Background: An increasing frequency of massive flooding along the lower Yangtse River in China ended in a disastrous catastrophe in summer 1998 leaving several thousand people homeless, more than 3.600 dead and causing enormous economic damage. Inappropriate land-use techniques and large scale timber felling in the water catchment of the upper Yangtse and its feeder streams were stated to be the main causes. Immediate timber cutting bans were imposed and investigations on land use patterns were initiated by the Chinese Government. The Institute for World Forestry of the Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products was approached by the Yunnan Academy of Forestry in Kunming to exchange experiences and to cooperate scientifically in the design and application of appropriate afforestation and silvicultural management techniques in the water catchment area of the Yangtse. This cooperation was initiated in 1999 and is based on formal agreements in the fields of agrarian research between the German and Chinese Governments. Objectives: The cooperation was in the first step focussing on the identification of factors which caused the enormous floodings. After their identification measures of prevention were determined and put into practice. In this context experiences made in past centuries in the alpine region of central Europe served as an incentive and example for similar environmental problems and solutions under comparable conditions. Relevant key questions of the cooperation project were: - Analysis of forest related factors influencing the recent floodings of the Yangtse, - Analysis and evaluation of silvicultural management experiences from central Europe for know-how transfer, - Evaluation of rehabilitation measures for successful application in Yunnan, - Dissemination of knowledge through vocational training. Results: - Frequent wild grazing of husbandry is a key factor for forest degeneration beyond unsustainable timber harvests, forest fires and insect calamities leading to increased water run-off in the mountainous region of Yunnan; - Browsing of cattle interrupts succession thus avoiding natural regeneration and leaving a logging ban ineffective; - Mountain pasture in the Alps had similar effects in the past in central Europe. The introduction of controlled grazing has led to an ecologically compatible coexistence of pasture and ecology. Close-to-nature forestry can have positive effects in this sensitive environment. - Afforestation with site adopted broadleaves and coniferous tree species was implemented on demonstration level using advanced techniques in Yunnan.
Das Projekt "Charakterisierung der mit Natriumpyrophosphat löslichen organischen Bodensusbstanz mittels FT-IR" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e.V., Institut für Bodenlandschaftsforschung durchgeführt. Zusammensetzung und Menge der organischen Bodensubstanz (OBS) werden durch die Landnutzungsform beeinflußt. Die OBS läßt sich nach ihrer Abbaubarkeit und nach ihrer Löslichkeit in verschiedene Pools einteilen. So kann die wasserlösliche organische Bodensubstanz (DOM) als Maßzahl für die abbaubare OBS herangezogen werden. Mit Natriumpyrophosphat-Lösung als Extraktionsmittel läßt sich ein weit größerer Anteil der OBS erfassen, da der stabilisierende Bindungsfaktor zwischen OBS und Bodenmineralen entfernt wird. Extrahiert man zuerst mit Wasser und anschließend mit Natriumpyrophosphat-Lösung, erhält man im letzten Schritt den schwer abbaubaren OBS-Anteil. Über die funktionelle Zusammensetzung der organischen Substanz dieser Pools und deren Abhängigkeit von Landnutzungsformen ist relativ wenig bekannt. Ziel der geplanten Untersuchung ist es, den Pool der löslichen abbaubaren und schwer abbaubaren OBS zu quantifizieren und deren funktionelle Zusammensetzung mittels FT-IR Spektroskopie zu erfassen. Die so gewonnenen Daten sollen der Validierung von Soil Organic Matter Turnover modellen (z.B. Roth 23.6) dienen und die im Modell berechneten Pools um einen qualitativen Term ergänzen. In Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Arbeitsgruppen sollen im DFG-Schwerpunktprogramm 1090: ;Böden als Quelle und Senke für CO2 die Pools der löslichen abbaubaren und schwer schwer löslichen, schwer abbaubaren organischen Bodensubstanz (OBS) quantifiziert, die funktionelle Zusammensetzung dieser Pools mittels FT-IR Spektroskopie erfasst und Abbaubarkeit der erhaltenen Extrakte überprüft werden, um Mechanismen, die zur Stabilisierung der OBS führen, aufzuklären.
Das Projekt "FuncTional tOOls for Pesticide RIsk assessmeNt and managemenT (FOOTPRINT)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Institut für Landschaftsökologie und Ressourcenmanagement durchgeführt. FOOTPRINT aims at developing a suite of three pesticide risk prediction and management tools, for use by three different end-user communities: farmers and extension advisors at the farm scale, water managers at the catchment scale and policy makers/registration authorities at the national/EU scale. The tools will be based on state-of-the-art knowledge of processes, factors and landscape attributes influencing pesticide fate in the environment and will integrate innovative components which will allow users to: i) identify the dominant contamination pathways and sources of pesticide contamination in the landscape; ii) estimate pesticide concentrations in local groundwater resources and surface water abstraction sources; iii) make scientifically-based assessments of how the implementation of mitigation strategies will reduce pesticide contamination of adjacent water resources. The three tools will share the same overall philosophy and underlying science and will therefore provide a coherent and integrated solution to pesticide risk assessment and risk reduction from the scale of the farm to the EU scale. The predictive reliability and usability of the tools will be assessed through a substantial programme of piloting and evaluation tests at the field, farm, catchment and national scales. The tools developed within FOOTPRINT will allow stakeholders to make consistent and robust assessments of the risk of contamination to water bodies at a range of scales relevant to management, mitigation and regulation (farm, catchment and national/EU). They will in particular i) allow pesticide users to assess whether their pesticide practices ensure the protection of local water bodies and, ii) provide site-specific mitigation recommendations. The FOOTPRINT tools are expected to make a direct contribution to the revision of the Directive 91/414/EC, the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and the future Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides. Prime Contractor: Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières; Paris; France.
Das Projekt "Prepared enabling change (PREPARED)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von KWR Water B.V. durchgeführt. Objective: IPCC climate change scenarios have a global perspective and need to be scaled down to the local level, where decision makers have to balance risks and investment costs. Very high investments might be a waste of money and too little investment could result in unacceptable risk for the local community. PREPARED is industry driven, 12 city utilities are involved in the project and the RDT carried out is based on the impacts of climate change the water supply and sanitation industry has identified as a challenge for the years to come. The result of PREPARED will be an infrastructure for waste water, drinking water and storm water management that will not only be able better cope with new scenarios on climate change but that is also managed in a optimal way. We will have complexes monitoring and sensor systems, better integration and handling of complex data, better exploitation of existing infrastructures through improved real time control, new design concepts and guidelines for more flexible and more robust infrastructures. PREPARED will involve the local community in problem identification and in jointly finding acceptable system solutions, that are supported by all, through active learning processes. Activities and solutions in PREPARED will be based on a risk assessment and risk management approach for the whole urban water cycle, through the development of innovative Water Cycle Safety Plans. Other innovations are sensors and models that will enable faster and better actions on changes and new design rules for more resilient design. We will combine European knowledge with valuable knowledge from Australia and the USA, to make the European Water sector more competitive. This to enable our industrial partners to export the products developed in PREPARED to other regions of the world, thus contributing to the Lisbon Goals but also to the MDGs. To ensure this exploitation the PREPARED consortium consist of more than 50% industrial partners and is demand driven.
Das Projekt "Stofftransport- und -transformationsprozesse in Einzugsgebieten sowie Wechselwirkungen zwischen Landoberfläche, ungesättigter Zone, gesättigter Zone und Oberflächengewässern (Teilprojekt 3.2.1)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e.V., Institut für Landschaftswasserhaushalt durchgeführt. Wirksame Maßnahmen zum Gewässerschutz, wie sie von der EG-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie als Bestandteil des nachhaltigen Land- und Wassermanagements gefordert werden, setzen fundierte Kenntnisse zu Stoffretentions- und -umsatzprozessen in Landschaften voraus. Vergleiche von Stoffaus- und -einträgen wie auch mit den Fließgewässern ausgetragene Frachten belegen das hohe Stoffretentionspotenzial pleistozäner Einzugsgebiete und Fließgewässersysteme. Forschungsbedarf besteht zur Quantifizierung und Modellierung der dafür auf Landschaftsebene maßgeblichen Transport- und Transformationsprozesse unter den durch Wechselfeuchte und Wassermangelperioden gekennzeichneten hydrologischen Verhältnissen des pleistozänen Tieflands. Die vorliegenden pfadbezogenen Konzepte mit sehr unterschiedlicher Flächendifferenzierung unterscheiden zwischen Stofftransport auf der Landoberfläche (Oberflächenabfluss, Bodenabtrag) und im Boden/Grundwasserleiter. Problematisch gestalten sich Übertragung und Parametrisierung dieser Prozesse auf der Mesoskala (Einzugsgebiete). Weniger gut beschreibbar sind ebenso die Prozesse des Bodenabtrags, zu deren Quantifizierung auch verbesserte prozessorientierte Modelle benötigt werden, und die komplexen geo- und biogeochemischen Stofftransformationsprozesse in der nicht durchwurzelten ungesättigten und gesättigten Zone. Stofffrachten, die sich bereits auf dem unterirdischen Pfad befinden, erfahren noch vor ihrem Übertritt in die Gewässer eine Reduktion in den oft vermoorten Gewässerrandbereichen. Auch der oberirdische Stofftransfer aus dem Einzugsgebiet in das Gewässer kann in solchen, aquatische und terrestrische Ökosysteme verbindenden Landschaftselementen vermindert werden. Kenntnisse zur Quantifizierung, Bewertung und Steuerung des Stoffumsatz- und -retentionsvermögens kleinerer Fließgewässersysteme der Ober- und Mittelläufe sowie feuchter Senkenareale in Binneneinzugsgebieten werden benötigt, um Handlungsoptionen zum Gewässerschutz ableiten zu können und tatsächlich in Unterliegergewässer und -gebiete gelangende Stofffrachten abzuschätzen. Dabei zu lösende Aufgaben sind die Aufklärung der Stoffretentions- und -freisetzungsprozesse, insbesondere für die gewässergüterelevanten Stoffe N, P, C und O, die Quantifizierung von Retentionspotenzialen für geohydro- und gewässermorphologische Typen, die Ableitung von Leitprozessen und -parametern sowie Bioindikatoren und die Erarbeitung von Algorithmen zur Quantifizierung der Potenziale auf mesoskaliger Ebene. Projektziel: Entwicklung verbesserter skalen- und pfadbezogener Methoden und Modelle zur Quantifizierung der Transport- und Transformationsprozesse wassergelöster Stoffe sowie deren Wechselwirkungen in den Kompartimenten von Einzugsgebieten des pleistozänen Tieflands als Grundlage für die Beschreibung und Bewertung der Stoffretentionspotenziale sowie der Wirkung von Landnutzungsänderungen auf die Stoffbelastung kleiner Stand- und Fließgewässer.
Das Projekt "Sustainable Water management Improves Tomorrow's Cities'Health (SWITCH)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Ingenieurgesellschaft Prof. Dr. Sieker mbH durchgeführt. Context: With increasing global change pressures, and due to existing limitations, and un-sustainability factors and risks of conventional urban water management (UWM), cities experience difficulties in efficiently managing the ever scarcer water resources, their uses/services, and their after-use disposal, without creating environmental, social and/or economic damage. In order to meet these challenges, SWITCH calls for a paradigm shift in UWM. There is a need to convert adhoc actions (problem/incident driven) into a coherent and consolidated approach (sustainability driven). This calls for an IP Approach. Research conceptSWITCH therefore proposes an action research project which has as a main objective: The development, application and demonstration of a range of tested scientific, technological and socio-economic solutions and approaches that contribute to the achievement of sustainable and effective UWM schemes in 'The City of the future'.The project will be implemented by different combinations of consortium partners, along the lines of seven complementary and interactive themes. The research approach is innovative for the combination of: action research: address problems through innovation based upon involvement of users.learning alliances: to link up stakeholders to interact productively and to create win-win solutions along the water chain; multiple-way learning: European cities learn from each other and from developing countries, and vice versa.multiple-level or integrated approach: to consider the urban water system and its components (city level) in relation to its impacts on, and dependency of, the natural environment in the river basin (river basin level), and in relation to Global Change pressures (global level).Instruments and scopeAn IP with 30 partners, their resources, and a total budget of 25,191,396 EURO including budget for demonstration activities in 9 Cities in Europe and developing countries. Prime Contractor: UNESCO - Institute for Water Education, Delf, Netherlands.
Das Projekt "DE-LIGHT Transport" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Center of Maritime Technologies e.V. durchgeführt. DE-LIGHT Transport is a multi-national initiative supported by the European Commission's Framework 6 programme that is investigating the design and manufacturing of lightweight sandwich structures in the marine, rail and freight container industries. Sandwich materials, consisting of two thin facings separated by a low density core, can be used to produce structures that are both light and stiff. They also offer opportunities for parts reduction through design integration, improved surface finish and lower assembly and outfitting costs. DE-LIGHT Transport aims to further promote the use of sandwich materials by developing key technologies that will support the practical realisation of robust sandwich designs. Specifically, this will include: - A multi-material sandwich design tool. Previous work has often focussed on a particular type of sandwich construction (e.g. laser-welded steel or composite). This has tended to yield niche results with limited applicability. DE-LIGHT Transport will implement a more generic design approach that will allow the evaluation and optimisation of a wide range of material and structural mixes according to the requirements of a given application. - Strategies for joining, assembly and outfitting ? the bringing together and integration of separate sandwich panels and/or sub-components to produce finished structures. In particular, modular approaches for the off-line production of sandwich assemblies to exploit economies of scale will be developed. Testing and validation procedures ? to provide accurate and reliable methods of determining fitness for purpose. The above technologies will be demonstrated within the project through the design and manufacturing of six prototype structures. These will include deck and deckhouse structures for ships, a rail vehicle cab, and a freight container. Risk-based design principals will be applied throughout to ensure that the new designs comply with existing regulatory frameworks. It is anticipated that DE-LIGHT Transport will provide designers of vehicles and vessels with practical approaches to the implementation of sandwich solutions as an alternative to traditional stiffened-plate designs. In this way, the benefits of sandwich construction will be unlocked for a wider range of applications.
Das Projekt "Development of intensified water treatment concepts by integrating nano- and membrane technologies (NAMETECH)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek durchgeführt. The Nametech project is funded under the 7th European Framework Programme and harnesses benefits of nanotechnology to bring about improvements in membrane filtration for advanced water treatment. The general objective is to strengthen the European membrane market by making nanotechnology available to large scale European membrane manufactures. The projects brings together all required elements to enable the transfer of nanotechnology towards the field of water treatment. The broad engineering and application know-how of the partners has been brought together to realize cost reduction and process intensification strategies. The starting point of the project is development of the criteria for the identification of nanoparticles with relevance for water treatment applications. After identification and selection of appropriate nanoparticles, attachment of particles to membrane surfaces has been investigated. Another approach examined in the project is to prepare membranes from homogeneous casting solution containing nanoparticles. The major challenge is to identify binders/compounds keeping the nanoparticles stabilized in the casting solution and ensuring compatibility between the polymer, solvent and nanoparticles in order not to disturb the membrane forming process and ensure a desired distribution of built-in particles thereby inducing the maximal nanoparticles activity. Subsequently, laboratory module scale filtrations of both synthetic and real feed are envisaged to asses the filtration performance in terms of permeability and fouling propensity, as compared to unmodified membranes.
Das Projekt "Desertification Mitigation and Remediation of Land (DESIRE): a global approach for local solutions" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Bern, Geographisches Institut, Centre for Development and Environment durchgeführt. 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.
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