Towards a sustainable biomass strategy: what we know and what we should know

The paper reviews the current knowledge on the use of biomass for non-food purposes, critically discusses its environmental sustainability implications, and describes the needs for further research, thus enabling a more balanced policy approach. The life-cylce wide impacts of the use of biomass for energy and material purposes derived from either direct crop harvest or residuals indicate that biomass based substitutes have a different, not always superior environmental performance than comparable fossil based products. Cascading use, i.e. when biomass is used for material products first and the energy content is recovered from the end-of-life products, tends to provide a higher environmental benefit than primary use as fuel. Due to limited global land resources, non-food biomass may only substitute for a certain share of non-renewables. If the demand for non-food biomass, especially fuel crops and its derivates, continues to grow this will inevitably lead to an expansion of global arable land at the expense of natural ecosystems such as savannas and tropical rain forests. Whereas the current aspirations and incentives to increase the use of non-food biomass are intended to counteract climate change and environmental degradation, they are thus bound to a high risk of problem shifting and may even lead to a global deterioration of the environment. Although the balanced approach of the European Union's biomass strategy may be deemed a good principle, the concrete targets and implementation measures in the Union and countries like Germany should be revisited. Likewise, countries like Brazil and Indonesia may revisit their strategies to use their natural resources for export or domestic purposes. Further research is needed to optimize the use of biomass within and between regions. -- Der Beitrag wertet die vorliegenden Erkenntnisse über den Einsatz von Non-Food Biomasse aus. Er diskutiert kritisch die damit verbundenen ökologischen Nachhaltigkeitswirkungen und beschreibt die Forschungsaufgaben, die gelöst werden müssen, um einen ausgewogeneren Politikansatz zu ermöglichen. Die lebenszyklusweiten Umweltbelastungen des energetischen und stofflichen Einsatzes von Biomasse als Roh- oder Reststoffe zeigen, dass Biomasse basierte Produkte andere, nicht immer bessere Umweltauswirkungen aufweisen als fossil basierte. Eine kaskadenförmige Nutzung, bei der Biomasse zunächst materiell für Ge- und Verbrauchsprodukte eingesetzt wird, deren Energiegehalt am Ende ihrer Einsatzphase genutzt wird, ist tendenziell mit einer höheren Umweltentlastung verbunden als der primär energetische Einsatz. Auf Grund der begrenzten globalen Landflächen kann Non-Food Biomasse nur einen gewissen Anteil an nichterneuerbaren Ressourcen ersetzen. Wenn die Nachfrage nach Non-Food Biomasse und ihren Derivaten, speziell nach Biokraftstoffen, weiter ansteigt, wird dies zwangsläufig zu einer Ausdehnung der globalen Ackerfläche zu Lasten von natürlichen Ökosystemen wie Savannen und tropischen Regenwäldern führen. Wenngleich die gegenwärtigen Hoffnungen und Anreize zum verstärkten Einsatz von Non-Food Biomasse darauf abzielen, dem Klimawandel entgegenzuwirken und die Umweltsituation zu verbessern, sind sie daher mit einem großen Risiko verbunden, Probleme zu verlagern und die globale Umweltsituation sogar noch zu verschlechtern. Obwohl der ausgewogene Ansatz der Biomassestrategie der Europäischen Union als ein gutes Prinzip gelten kann, so sollten die konkreten Ziele und Umsetzungsmaßnahmen in der Union und in Ländern wie Deutschland überprüft werden. In gleicher Weise mögen Länder wie Brasilien und Indonesien ihre Strategie zur Nutzung ihrer natürlichen Ressourcen für den Export oder im Inland überprüfen. Weitere Forschungsarbeiten sind nötig, um den Einsatz von Biomasse innerhalb und zwischen den Regionen zu optimieren.

The Dynamics of Active Embedding and Field Structuration

This article examines how multinational corporations (MNCs) shape institutional conditions in emerging economies to secure access to high- skilled, yet lower-cost science and engineering talent. Based on two in-depth case studies of engineering offshoring projects of German automotive suppliers in Romania and China we analyze how MNCs engage in ‘active embedding’ by aligning local institutional conditions with global offshoring strategies and operational needs. MNCs thereby contribute to the structuration of field relations and practices of sourcing knowledge-intensive work from globally dispersed locations. Our findings stress the importance of institutional processes across geographic boundaries that regulate and get shaped by MNC activities

Kebijakan Kanada Memperkuat Militernya di Samudera Arktik (2005-2013)

This study aims to analyze the reasons why Canada strengthen its military in the Arctic. In2005, under the leadership of Canadian prime minister, Paul Martin, Canada issuedInternational Policy Statement which emphasize the strengthening of Canadian military inthe Arctic. Furthermore, since 2006, under the new leadership of Canadian prime minister,Stephen Harper, Canada has announced its policy to strengthen the Canadian military in theArctic.This study uses the qualitative research methods with references taken from books, journals,papers and valid news from web. This study uses state-level analysis. The author uses neorealistperspective, and the theory of action-reaction model by Barry Buzan to analyze thequestion of the research.Since the end of the Cold War, Canadian military activity re-emerged in the Arctic region in2002, indicated by military operation and the presence of Canadian warships. In 2001,Russia claimed a region in the Arctic, which cause the territorial dispute with Canada.Russia also released the maritime doctrine in 2001, that emphasize the strengthening ofRussian naval power in the Arctic region. Under the leadership of Russian president VladimirPutin, and also to Dmitry Medvedev, Russian has strengthened its military in the Arctic bystrategic flights, Balistic misille launching, military exercises, and with construction andmodernization of Russian Northern Fleet. Russians policy to strengthen its military in theArctic is a threat to Canada, so since 2005, Canadian Government has strengthened itsmilitary in the Arctic.Key Word: Arctic Ocean, Canadian military strengthening, territorial dispute, threat

Securing access to lower-cost talent globally: The dynamics of active embedding and field structuration

This article examines how multinational corporations shape institutional conditions in emerging economies to secure access to high-skilled, yet lower-cost science and engineering talent. Two in-depth case studies of engineering offshoring projects of German automotive suppliers in Romania and China illustrate how multinational corporations engage in ‘active embedding’ by aligning local institutional conditions with global offshoring strategies and operational needs. Multinational corporations thereby contribute to the structuration of field relations and practices of sourcing knowledge-intensive work from globally dispersed locations. The findings stress the importance of institutional processes across geographic boundaries that regulate and are shaped by multinational corporation activities