Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

About: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ is a facility organization based out in Leipzig, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Species richness. The organization has 3230 authors who have published 9880 publications receiving 394385 citations.

The role of public participation in managing uncertainty in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive

Abstract: The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) constitutes a complex regulation that calls for numerous decisions under uncertainty on the part of the implementing agencies in the member states. This contribution first discusses two different types of uncertainty that may arise in the implementation of the WFD and identifies ways to manage them. Results of a text analysis show that uncertainties are not systematically addressed either in the directive itself or in CIS guidance documents. This paper shows that an important instrument to both manage and, where possible, reduce uncertainty is the participation of interested parties and the broader public. The focus lies on the perspective of the competent authority that has the responsibility to develop and implement the management plan. The paper concludes with recommendations of how to profit from public participation in managing uncertainty but also of where to look out for possible stumbling blocks. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas—Linkages Between Science, Policy and Practice

Abstract: Climate change presents one of the greatest challenges to society today. Effects on nature and people are first experienced in cities as cities form microcosms with extreme temperature gradients, and by now, about half of the human population globally lives in urban areas. Climate change has significant impact on ecosystem functioning and well-being of people. Climatic stress leads to a decrease in the distribution of typical native species and influences society through health-related effects and socio-economic impacts by increased numbers of heat waves, droughts and flooding events. In addition to climate change, urbanisation and the accompanying increases in the number and size of cities are impacting ecosystems with a number of interlinked pressures. These pressures include loss and degradation of natural areas, soil sealing and the densification of built-up areas, which pose additional significant challenges to ecosystem functionality, the provision of ecosystem services and human well-being in cities around the world. However, nature-based solutions have the potential to counteract these pressures. Nature-based solutions (NBS) can foster and simplify implementation actions in urban landscapes by taking into account the services provided by nature. They include provision of urban green such as parks and street trees that may ameliorate high temperature in cities or regulate air and water flows or the allocation of natural habitat space in floodplains that may buffer impacts of flood events. Architectural solutions for buildings, such as green roofs and wall installations, may reduce temperature and save energy. This book brings together experts from science, policy and practice to provide an overview of our current state of knowledge on the effectiveness and implementation of nature-based solutions and their potential to the provision of ecosystem services, for climate change adaptation and co-benefits in urban areas. Scientific evidence to climate change adaptation is presented, and a further focus is on the potential of nature-based approaches to accelerate urban sustainability transitions and create additional, multiple health and social benefits. The book discusses socio-economic implications in relation to socio-economic equity, fairness and justice considerations when implementing NBS.

Deliberative Multicriteria Evaluation

Abstract: Multicriteria evaluation (MCE) is a well-tried and effective procedure for structuring and aiding complex decisionmaking processes, especially those involving environmental considerations. Formal deliberative processes have also been successful in aiding understanding and meeting consensus in complex and difficult decision problems which involve more than one decisionmaker. Here, both approaches are combined in a new technique called ‘deliberative multicriteria evaluation’ to assist a group of natural resource managers to decide on a suitable option for recreation and tourism activities in the upper Goulburn–Broken Catchment of Victoria, Australia. This approach is an attempt to combine the advantages of MCE, providing structure and integration in complex decision problems, with the advantages of deliberation and stakeholder interaction provided by a ‘citizens' jury’. An important outcome of the process was the discovery of some crucial aspects of the decision problem that required deeper understanding an...

Urban social vulnerability assessment with physical proxies and spatial metrics derived from air- and spaceborne imagery and GIS data

Abstract: Risk management in urban planning is of increasing importance to mitigate the growing amount of damage and the increasing number of casualties caused by natural disasters. Risk assessment to support management requires knowledge about present and future hazards, elements at risk and different types of vulnerability. This article deals with the assessment of social vulnerability (SV). In the past this has frequently been neglected due to lack of data and assessment difficulties. Existing approaches for SV assessment, primarily based on community-based methods or on census data, have limited efficiency and transferability. In this article a new method based on contextual analysis of image and GIS data is presented. An approach based on proxy variables that were derived from high-resolution optical and laser scanning data was applied, in combination with elevation information and existing hazard data. Object-oriented image analysis was applied for the definition and estimation of those variables, focusing on SV indicators with physical characteristics. A reference Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was created from census data available for the study area on a neighbourhood level and tested for parts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. For the evaluation of the proxy-variables, a stepwise regression model to select the best explanatory variables for changes in the SVI was applied. Eight out of 47 variables explained almost 60% of the variance, whereby the slope position and the proportion of built-up area in a neighbourhood were found to be the most valuable proxies. This work shows that contextual segmentation-based analysis of geospatial data can substantially aid in SV assessment and, when combined with field-based information, leads to optimization in terms of assessment frequency and cost.