The changing face of innovation policy: implications for the Northern Ireland economy

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Transforming Rural Communication Three sociological case studies in a developed and urbanized rural area of northern Germany: regional partnership Lübeck bay, organic dairy farming and nature protection

Marginal rural areas suffer from isolation and a lack of communication with the outside world. The renaissance of rural values and food quality-related issues has brought many urban people to again approach rural areas and actors, sometimes with the intermediation of other more or less professional actors. In an EU share cost project TRUC (EU-QoL:QLAM-2001-00025; 2001-2003), several cases of regional and rural development throughout Europe have been analysed on the topic of transforming rural communication. We present three of these cases in northern Germany: the Model Region Luebeck Bay, Organic Milk and Nature Protection. All of these projects are located in an area where urbanization and the multifunctionality of rural action and development is highly developed. The general objective of the project was to consolidate a transdisciplinary and transsectoral approach to the problem of communication in rural areas, to raise awareness among practitioners and academics of the specificities of rural communication and of the principles of „progressive rural communication“ and to build a core network of academics and practitioners around this topic. The project has an essentially exploratory function, so its achievements will be the basis for further research agendas and projects. The general objective is articulated into three specific objectives: - Accumulating information on rural communication - Creating new knowledge on rural communication - Turning new knowledge into practice The fulfilment of this objective will allow all actors involved in rural development to make decisions with more awareness of the importance of rural communication and to embody this awareness into rural development projects and practices

NEWS [English Version]

Content: Regional Activities: Symposium: Beach management; The significance of regional networks; Hanse Sail Business Forum; RADOST-Workshop on Network Building; Investing in beaches – Adaptation activities in Kühlungsborn; Conference on extreme weather events; International Activities: UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún; New project: Regional availability of climate data; Summer School in Warnemünde; Publication

Methane Production via High Temperature Steam Electrolyser from Renewable Wind Energy: A German Study

The transformation of the energy supply needs further development of energy storage technologies in order to integrate the fluctuating renewable energy. The conversion of renewable wind power into green methane offers a technical approach with the necessary storage and Transport capacities. Thus, the concept of Power-to-Gas which is illustrated here by the coupling of wind energy with a High Temperature Steam Electrolyser (HTSE) and a methanation unit enabling the production of green fuel like hydrogen and methane is presented is this paper. In fact, hydrogen can be used as energy carrier as well for the production of green fuels, like methane which is simpler to store and to transport and which can be thus used as storage medium for the stabilization of the electrical power supply as well as fuel for transport and heat sector. Its production using high temperature electrolysis is able to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions if performed with renewable resources. This is the case if the electricity needed for the HTSE comes from a wind turbine and the CO2 needed for the methanation step comes from biogas. For such a plant, the Location and the boundary conditions have a great importance. Thus, this study considers the coupling of a HTSE with a wind turbine and a methanation reactor, and focuses about the site selection, depending of the geographical and economic considerations. The study is limited first to the European area. Schleswig-Holstein is found as a very good location for this plant. It is one of the regions with the largest wind reserves in Germany. This region has also available a lot of Biogas and meets all the other necessary requirements

Assessment of Ecosystem Services across the Land–Sea Interface in Baltic Case Studies

Spatial assessments of ecosystem services (ES) are needed to fulfil EU policy requirements and to support practical applications of the ES concept in policy implementation. So far, ES assessments have largely focused on terrestrial systems. A joint approach for land and sea is especially lacking. To overcome this gap, we present a novel spatial habitat typology and ES classification for an assessment across the land–sea interface. We build upon existing approaches and common spatial definitions, like CORINE land cover (CLC) types, water bodies of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), and habitat types according to the Habitats Directive (HD). We show applications of the resulting ES matrix for an expert-based assessment of ES potentials in three Baltic study sites (Schlei, Greifswald Bay and Curonian Lagoon). A complementary indicator-based approach to assess ES flows is introduced and applied. It enables a quantification of ES potentials and flows and ensures comparability among case study sites. Comparisons between the results for ES potentials and flows show that development capacities exist in particular for provisioning ES for marine habitats. Our approaches are spatially expandable and transferrable and could be applied to support environmental policy implementation. Further, we discuss their practical relevance, current limitations, and future research perspective

Crop production potential of rural areas within the European Communities. IV: Potential, water-limited and actual crop production

Economics; European Unio

Flood damage, vulnerability and risk perception - challenges for flood damage research

The current state-of-the-art in flood damage analysis mainly focuses on the economic evaluation of tangible flood effects. It is contended in this discussion paper that important economic, social and ecological aspects of flood-related vulnerabilities are neglected. It is a challenge for flood research to develop a wider perspective for flood damage evaluation. --Flood damage analysis,flood vulnerability,risk perception,cost-benefit analysis,integrated assessment