Good governance as a strategic choice in brownfield regeneration: Regional dynamics from the Czech Republic

The application of principles of good governance in brownfield regeneration, for instance through improved transparency and participation of various groups of stakeholders, varies between regions and cities. In this article, we approach good governance as a strategic response of actors in the struggle for creating development opportunities on brownfield land. Good governance has been mostly seen as a normative consideration, but it is not clear why regions with lower development prospects would employ it more than better developed regions, as it recently happened in the Czech Republic. We assume that the public administration at the regional and municipal level plays an active role in divising strategies to attract investors for brownfield redevelopment. This process brings public administrations in interaction with each other and with investors, regulators and civil society groups within a society-wide brownfield redevelopment field. This field is an arena where all these different actors struggle for redeveloping their brownfield land. Regional and municipal administrations from developed regions stand to benefit from their higher economic growth potential and hence have a dominant position within the field. We identify the latter as the incumbents or “power-holders” of the national brownfield regeneration field. Less developed regions have lower attractiveness for brownfield redevelopment, which places them in a subordinate position in the field. They are so-called challengers that are likely to favor alternative strategies for their brownfields, going beyond mere economic attractiveness. By comparing differently developed regions and regional capitals in the Czech Republic, we show how some challengers use good governance, such as responsiveness, participation and transparency, as an alternative strategy to attract investors despite their economic predicament. For regional capitals, however, good governance is practiced both by highly developed and less developed cities. We draw evidence from interviews with key stakeholders and socio-economic data at the regional and municipal level in the Czech Republic. In the conclusion, we show some of the identified limitations in good governace, such as obstacles to participation, responsiveness or transparency, and how they can be recognized and overcome

Fragmented distribution of Isophya pienensis Maran, 1954 (Insecta, Orthoptera) in mountains: a result of permanent forest opening in highly forested landscape

Background and Purpose: Isophya pienensisMaran, 1954 (Orthoptera) is a stenotopic katydid occurring locally in Central and Eastern Europe. The purpose of the study was to document the habitat associations of I. pienensis in the Beskids in relation to historical land use and present landscape structure. Materials and Methods: Isophya pienensis was studied in the Moravian- Silesian Beskids Mountains at 15 sites representing small unforested areas surrounded by spruce forests on themassifs of the Smrk (1,276ma.s.l.) andKnehyne (1,256ma.s.l.)mountains. Thirty-minute timed counts were used. Results and Conclusions: Isophya pienensiswas found at 5 of the 15 sites but was not found at elevations below 1,000 m a.s.l. The occurrence of I.pienensis in the Beskids on small, isolated, shady sites at elevations over 1,000mis not a result of its being amountain species. Rather, it is due to the persistence of open-forest habitats and of ecotones near forest lodges where broadleaf vegetation is maintained on shady spots by occasional mowing. The permanent occurrence of I. pienensis probably depends on the presence of heterogeneous, early successional stages of forests and their ecotones, which were historically maintained by selective cutting, grazing, and charcoal production on a mosaic of grasslands

Open Farm Management Information System Supporting Ecological and Economical Tasks

Part 4: Health and BiosphereInternational audienceA Farm Management Information System (FMIS) is a sophisticated tool managing geospatial data and functionalities as it provides answers to two basic questions: what has happened and where. The presented FOODIE (Farm-Oriented Open Data in Europe) and DataBio (Data-Driven Bioeconomy) approach may be recognized as an OpenFMIS, where environmental and reference geospatial data for precision agriculture are provided free of charge. On the other hand, added-value services like yield potential, sensor monitoring, and/or machinery fleet monitoring are provided on a paid basis through standardised Web services due to the costs of hardware and non-trivial computations. Results, i.e. reference, environmental and farm-oriented geospatial data, may be obtained from the FOODIE platform. All such results of whatever kind are used in the European DataBio project in order to minimise the environmental burden while maximising the economic benefits

Pulverpack-Aluminisierung von 316L-Stahl und der Nickelbasis-Legierung Inconel 625 mit anschliessender Oxidation

The supercritical water oxidation process of hazardous waste has to be carried out in a reactor which is resistant against corrosion and high pressure and temperature. Pressure tube materials are coated for protection against corrosion. In this work, the reactor materials Inconel 625 and steel 316L have been powder pack aluminized. These coated specimens were subsequently oxidized. Powder mixtures of different composition were tested, time and temperature of the coating and the oxidation processes were varied. Good results were obtained on the steel 316L in respect to thickness of the layer, composition, and adherence on the steel. (orig.)13 refs.Available from TIB Hannover: ZA 5141(5526) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman