190 research outputs found
Germanyâs first Action plan on the pathways of invasive alien species to prevent their unintentional introduction and spread
The increase in global trade and traffic networks contributes to the introduction and spread of invasive alien species, posing a threat to biodiversity. EU Regulation 1143/2014 addresses the prevention and management of invasive alien species and requires an action plan on the priority pathways of unintentional introduction and spread of invasive alien species by each member state. To this end, the first German action plan was developed for the German government in cooperation with relevant Ministries and authorities, scientists, administrative experts, stakeholder working groups and political as well as public deliberation processes. As a result, 14 priority pathways of unintentional introduction, escape or release and spread were identified, resulting in 24 targeted measures. Nineteen sectors will be involved in the implementation of these measures. Here we describe the development process and outcome of Germanyâs first action plan. By this, we aim making the process public and transparent, which can facilitate a revision of the action plan required at least every six years, and trigger broader European as well as national cooperation in the future
Unternehmensteuerreform: Welche Wirkungen sind zu erwarten?
Die Unternehmensteuerreform ist eines der wichtigsten Projekte der GroĂen Koalition. Das Vorhaben soll die Bedingungen fĂŒr BeschĂ€ftigung und Wachstum in Deutschland verbessern und die Staatsfinanzen stabilisieren. Gerhard Stratthaus, Finanzminister des Landes Baden-WĂŒrttemberg, betrachtet die Unternehmensteuerreform als einen wesentlichen Eckpfeiler zur StĂ€rkung des Wirtschaftsstandorts Deutschland, von dem ein erhöhtes Engagement in- und auslĂ€ndischer Investoren ausgehen wird. Aber zur Verbesserung der Situation auf dem Arbeitsmarkt sind weitere wirtschaftsfreundliche Reformen erforderlich. FĂŒr Stefan Homburg, UniversitĂ€t Hannover, dagegen ist das beschlossene Vorhaben ein Schritt zurĂŒck, und zwar nicht nur hinter die "ambitionierten SteuerreformplĂ€nen eines Friedrich Merz", sondern auch hinter den Status quo. Alfons KĂŒhn, Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag, Berlin, sieht in der Senkung der UnternehmensteuersĂ€tze einen ersten wichtigen Schritt. Langfristig sollte man jedoch das Ziel einer gleichmĂ€Ăigen synthetischen Besteuerung nicht aus den Augen verlieren: "Wenn der Steuersatz fĂŒr Gewinne und KapitalertrĂ€ge gesenkt wird, aber die Belastungen fĂŒr andere Einkommen, insbesondere fĂŒr Arbeit, steigen, kann das ebenso falsch verstanden werden, wie wenn sich z.B. durch eine formalistische Besteuerung von Funktionsverlagerungen F+E-TĂ€tigkeiten verteuern; sie könnten sich langfristig andere Standorte suchen." Clemens Fuest, UniversitĂ€t zu Köln, zieht eine gemischte Bilanz: "WĂ€hrend die Reform in einigen Bereichen durchaus erhebliche Verbesserungen bringt, werden andere Ziele deutlich verfehlt." Ingolf Deubel, Finanzminister des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz, weist darauf hin, dass die ambitionierte Zielsetzung der Reform - nĂ€mlich die Schaffung eines Steuersystems mit SteuersĂ€tzen, die auch im internationalen Wettbewerb bestehen können -, in einem Konflikt mit der angespannten Lage der öffentlichen Haushalte steht.Unternehmensbesteuerung, Steuerreform, Standort, Wirtschaftswachstum, Steuertarif, BeschĂ€ftigung, Deutschland
Framework and guidelines for implementing the proposed IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT)
Recently, Blackburn et al. (2014) developed a simple, objective and transparent method for classifying alien taxa in terms of the magnitude of their detrimental environmental impacts in recipient areas. Here, we present a comprehensive framework and guidelines for implementing this method, which we term the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa, or EICAT. We detail criteria for applying the EICAT scheme in a consistent and comparable fashion, prescribe the supporting information that should be supplied along with classifications, and describe the process for implementing the method. This comment aims to draw the attention of interested parties to the framework and guidelines, and to present them in their entirety in a location where they are freely accessible to any potential users
Monitoring Klimawandel und BiodiversitÀt - Grundlagen
Der Einfluss des Klimawandels auf die BiodiversitĂ€t wird wahrscheinlich zunehmen. Das zeigen Modellierungen der zukĂŒnftigen Verbreitungsgebiete von klimasensitiven Arten und Biotoptypen. In der BroschĂŒre werden die Grundlagen eines Monitoringkonzeptes zur Erfassung und Auswertung der Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf die natĂŒrliche biologische Vielfalt in Sachsen vorgestellt. Sie umfassen u. a. die Ziele und Rechtsgrundlagen eines solchen Monitorings, diesbezĂŒgliche AktivitĂ€ten des Bundes und ausgewĂ€hlter BundeslĂ€nder sowie den Kenntnisstand zu Wirkungen des Klimawandels auf 13 Artengruppen und auf Biotoptypen. 272 klimasensitive Arten und 32 entsprechende FFH-Lebensraumtypen (LRT) wurden als besonders monitoringrelevant ausgewĂ€hlt und deren Verbreitung in Sachsen untersucht. FĂŒr diese Arten und LRT, die sowohl wahrscheinliche »Gewinner« als auch »Verlierer« des Klimawandels umfassen, werden die geeigneten Monitoringmethoden beschrieben
Den BiodiversitÀtsverlust stoppen
VerÀnderungen der biologischen Vielfalt sind von einer Vielzahl von Faktoren abhÀngig. Neben den Auswirkungen einzelner Faktoren ist die AbschÀtzung von Kombinationswirkungen zentral. Die dadurch gewonnenen Ergebnisse dienen als Grundlage zur Entwicklung von Politikempfehlungen
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A review of thin-film transistors/circuits fabrication with 3D self-aligned imprint lithography
Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a promising method for the fabrication of micro/nanostructures through a simple, low-cost, and high throughput process. Imprinted 2D structure with high resolution has been demonstrated successfully for certain applications including magnetic hard disks and optical gratings. Manufacturing low-cost electronic devices that require patterned multi-layers with NIL is very challenging, particularly for those requiring different patterns. In recent years, considerable effort has been made using the self-aligned imprinting technique, opening an alternative way to develop and fabricate complementary flexible electronics. In this paper we review thin film transistor (TFT) fabrication with 3D self-aligned imprint lithography (SAIL), which enables the patterning and alignment of submicron features on meter-scale flexible substrates in the roll-to-roll configuration. The 3D SAIL solves the problem of precision interlayer registry of devices on a moving web by encoding all geometric information required for all device patterning steps into a monolithic imprinted 3D structure.The authors acknowledge support from the Marie-Curie Fellowship (IEF): project number 301028
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Wild bee and floral diversity co-vary in response to the direct and indirect impacts of land use
Loss of habitat area and diversity poses a threat to communities of wild pollinators and flowering plants in agricultural landscapes. Pollinators, such as wild bees, and insectâpollinated plants are two groups of organisms that closely interact. Nevertheless, it is still not clear how species richness and functional diversity, in terms of pollinationârelevant traits, of these two groups influence each other and how they respond to land use change. In the present study, we used data from 24 agricultural landscapes in seven European countries to investigate the effect of landscape composition and habitat richness on species richness and functional diversity of wild bees and insectâpollinated plants. We characterized the relationships between the diversity of bees and flowering plants and identified indirect effects of landscape on bees and plants mediated by these relationships. We found that increasing cover of arable land negatively affected flowering plant species richness, while increasing habitat richness positively affected the species richness and functional diversity of bees. In contrast, the functional diversity of insectâpollinated plants (when corrected for species richness) was unaffected by landscape composition, and habitat richness showed little relation to bee functional diversity. We additionally found that bee species richness positively affected plant species richness and that bee functional diversity was positively affected by both species richness and functional diversity of plants. The relationships between flowering plant and bee diversity were modulated by indirect effects of landscape characteristics on the biotic communities. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that landscape properties affect plant and bee communities in both direct and indirect ways. The interconnection between the diversities of wild bees and insectâpollinated plants increases the risk for parallel declines, extinctions, and functional depletion. Our study highlights the necessity of considering the interplay between interacting species groups when assessing the response of entire communities to land use changes
Monitoring Klimawandel und BiodiversitÀt - Konzeption
Die im Heft 24 der Schriftenreihe prĂ€sentierten Grundlagen werden im vorliegenden Heft 25 zu einer Konzeption vervollstĂ€ndigt. Teilbereiche der folgenden bestehenden Monitoringprogramme sind fĂŒr eine Einbeziehung in das konzipierte Monitoring Klimawandel und BiodiversitĂ€t besonders geeignet: FFH-, SPA-, Tagfalter-, Brutvogel- und Wasserrahmenrichtlinien-Monitoring sowie Forstliches Umweltmonitoring. Es werden acht Module vorgestellt, welche bestehende Monitoringprogramme fĂŒr ein umfassendes Klimawandel-BiodiversitĂ€tsmonitoring ergĂ€nzen bzw. bisher nicht untersuchte Aspekte abdecken können. FĂŒr die Auswertung der Daten wurden zwei komplexe Kernindikatoren entwickelt und anhand realer Datensets getestet, der Community Temperature Index (CTI) und der Areal Index (AI). Beide zeigen fĂŒr die Artengruppen der Tagfalter und Libellen innerhalb Sachsens einen Anstieg, der unterstreicht, dass die Erhöhung der Jahresmitteltemperaturen in den letzten Jahrzehnten bereits zu VerĂ€nderungen in diesen Artengemeinschaften gefĂŒhrt hat
Capacity of countries to reduce biological invasions
The extent and impacts of biological invasions on biodiversity are largely shaped by an array of socio-economic and environmental factors, which exhibit high variation among countries. Yet, a global analysis of how these factors vary across countries is currently lacking. Here, we investigate how five broad, country-specific socio-economic and environmental indices (Governance, Trade, Environmental Performance, Lifestyle and Education, Innovation) explain country-level (1) established alien species (EAS) richness of eight taxonomic groups, and (2) proactive or reactive capacity to prevent and manage biological invasions and their impacts. These indices underpin many aspects of the invasion process, including the introduction, establishment, spread and management of alien species. They are also general enough to enable a global comparison across countries, and are therefore essential for defining future scenarios for biological invasions. Models including Trade, Governance, Lifestyle and Education, or a combination of these, best explained EAS richness across taxonomic groups and national proactive or reactive capacity. Historical (1996 or averaged over 1996â2015) levels of Governance and Trade better explained both EAS richness and the capacity of countries to manage invasions than more recent (2015) levels, revealing a historical legacy with important implications for the future of biological invasions. Using Governance and Trade to define a two-dimensional socio-economic space in which the position of a country captures its capacity to address issues of biological invasions, we identified four main clusters of countries in 2015. Most countries had an increase in Trade over the past 25 years, but trajectories were more geographically heterogeneous for Governance. Declines in levels of Governance are concerning as they may be responsible for larger levels of invasions in the future. By identifying the factors influencing EAS richness and the regions most susceptible to changes in these factors, our results provide novel insights to integrate biological invasions into scenarios of biodiversity change to better inform decision-making for policy and the management of biological invasions
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