scholarly journals Successful reproduction of Trachemys scripta in the Altrhein of Kehl (Germany) and simultaneous increase in population estimate

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Carsten Schradin
Keyword(s):  
Action Plan ◽  
Trachemys Scripta ◽  
Oxbow Lake ◽  
Population Estimate ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Central European ◽  
Current Action ◽  
Successful Reproduction ◽  
Negative Impacts

The European Union categorises pond sliders (Trachemys scripta) as invasive species for which all member countries have to develop an action plan. To date it has been assumed that the climate in Germany is too cold for T. scripta to survive or reproduce. Data collected annually from 2016 to 2020 show that the population of exotic pond turtles in an oxbow lake (Althrein of Kehl, Germany) did not decrease but increased. In addition, the diversity of species released was found to be high, five other exotic species in addition to T. scripta were observed. The population of T. scripta in particular appears to be increasing, with no indication of high mortality due to cold winters and apparently regular successful reproduction (hatchlings observed in four out of five study years and caught in two years). The current action plan in Germany for T. scripta will have to change if potential negative impacts are to be avoided. Other west and central European countries might also have to modify their action plans accordingly.

scholarly journals Successful reproduction of Trachemys scripta in the Altrhein of Kehl (Germany) and simultaneous increase of estimated population size

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Schradin
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Trachemys Scripta ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Cold Weather ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Successful Reproduction

ABSTRACTThe European Union categorised pond sliders (Trachemys scripta) as an invasive species for which all member countries have to develop an action plan. While T. scripta has been released illegally in thousands of freshwaters in Europe, monitoring programs in Germany are missing. Based on short term surveys, anecdotal data, and assumptions, the action plan in Germany proposes that T. scripta does not represent a problem as the cold weather causes high mortality and does not allow for successful reproduction. Here I present data of five years of monitoring at the Altrhein of Kehl, at the border between Germany and France showing: 1. Apart from T. scripta, five additional species have been released (Pseudemys nelson, Pseudemys concinna, Graptemys pseudogeographica, Mauremys spec., Chrysemys picta.). 2. Population size seemed to increase over the years, with 116 individuals being counted in 2020 compared to 33 individuals in 2016. 3. Successful reproduction of. T. scripta was indicated by the observation of very small individuals and proved by the collection of hatchlings in two years. While the data presented here would benefit from more years of more intensive monitoring, they are sufficient to draw the conclusion that the German action plan is insufficient because individuals survive for long periods and do reproduce successfully. Similar results have been reported from other central European countries. Thus, T. scripta might become invasive not only in south but also in central Europe. In sum, national action plans of how to deal with the invasive T. scripta should to be revised in Germany and many other European countries.

E-health developments in the system of health services in Hungary and the European Union

2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (21) ◽  
pp. 822-827
Author(s):  
Ágnes Váradi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
European Union ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Contemporary Issue ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Basic Features

The question of electronic solutions in public health care has become a contemporary issue at the European Union level since the action plan of the Commission on the e-health developments of the period between 2012 and 2020 has been published. In Hungary this issue has been placed into the centre of attention after a draft on modifications of regulations in health-care has been released for public discourse, which – if accepted – would lay down the basics of an electronic heath-service system. The aim of this paper is to review the basic features of e-health solutions in Hungary and the European Union with the help of the most important pieces of legislation, documents of the European Union institutions and sources from secondary literature. When examining the definition of the basic goals and instruments of the development, differences between the European Union and national approaches can be detected. Examination of recent developmental programs and existing models seem to reveal difficulties in creating interoperability and financing such projects. Finally, the review is completed by the aspects of jurisdiction and fundamental rights. It is concluded that these issues are mandatory to delineate the legislative, economic and technological framework for the development of the e-health systems. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(21), 822–827.

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

scholarly journals Circular Bioeconomy Business Models to Overcome the Valley of Death. A Systematic Statistical Analysis of Studies and Projects in Emerging Bio-Based Technologies and Trends Linked to the SME Instrument Support

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1899
Author(s):  
Fabiana Gatto ◽  
Ilaria Re
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Valley Of Death

Reducing the environmental pressure along the products life cycle, increasing efficiency in the consumption of resources and use of renewable raw materials, and shifting the economic system toward a circular and a climate-neutral model represent the heart of the current macro-trends of the European Union (EU) policy agendas. The circular economy and bioeconomy concepts introduced in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the Bioeconomy Strategy support innovation in rethinking economic systems focusing on market uptaking of greener solutions based on less-intensive resource consumption. In recent decades, industrial research has devoted enormous investments to demonstrate sustainable circular bio-based business models capable of overcoming the “Valley of Death” through alternative strategic orientations of “technological-push” and “market-pull”. The study highlights industrial research’s evolution on bio-based circular business model validation, trends, and topics with particular attention to the empowering capacity of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to close the loops in renewable biological use and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The research methodology involves a bibliographic search based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Data Hub investigation to understand SMEs’ key success factors and start-ups of the circular bioeconomy sector. Eco and bio-based materials, nutraceuticals, and microalgae represent the most sustainable industry applications, leading to circular bioeconomy business models’ future perspective.

scholarly journals Towards a Circular Economy Taxation Framework: Expectations and Challenges of Implementation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonidas Milios
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Material Resource ◽  
Waste Hierarchy ◽  
Tax Relief

AbstractThe transition to a circular economy is a complex process requiring wide multi-level and multi-stakeholder engagement and can be facilitated by appropriate policy interventions. Taking stock of the importance of a well-balanced policy mix that includes a variety of complementing policy instruments, the circular economy action plan of the European Union (COM(2020) 98 final) includes a section about “getting the economics right” in which it encourages the application of economic instruments. This contribution presents a comprehensive taxation framework, applied across the life cycle of products. The framework includes (1) a raw material resource tax, (2) reuse/repair tax relief, and (3) a waste hierarchy tax at the end of life of products. The research is based on a mixed method approach, using different sources to analyse the different measures in the framework. More mature concepts, such as material resource taxes, are analysed by reviewing the existing literature. The analysis of tax relief on repairs is based on interviews with stakeholders in Sweden, where this economic policy instrument has been implemented since 2017. Finally, for the waste hierarchy tax, which is a novel proposition in this contribution, macroeconomic modelling is used to analyse potential impacts of future implementation. In all cases, several implementation challenges are identified, and potential solutions are discussed according to literature and empirical sources. Further research is required both at the individual instrument and at the framework level. Each of the tax proposals needs a more detailed examination for its specificities of implementation, following the results of this study.

scholarly journals Environmental Consequences of Closing the Textile Loop—Life Cycle Assessment of a Circular Polyester Jacket

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2964
Author(s):  
Gregor Braun ◽  
Claudia Som ◽  
Mélanie Schmutz ◽  
Roland Hischier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Energy And Material Flows

The textile industry is recognized as being one of the most polluting industries. Thus, the European Union aims to transform the textile industry with its “European Green Deal” and “Circular Economy Action Plan”. Awareness regarding the environmental impact of textiles is increasing and initiatives are appearing to make more sustainable products with a strong wish to move towards a circular economy. One of these initiatives is wear2wearTM, a collaboration consisting of multiple companies aiming to close the loop for polyester textiles. However, designing a circular product system does not lead automatically to lower environmental impacts. Therefore, a Life Cycle Assessment study has been conducted in order to compare the environmental impacts of a circular with a linear workwear jacket. The results show that a thoughtful “circular economy system” design approach can result in significantly lower environmental impacts than linear product systems. The study illustrates at the same time the necessity for Life Cycle Assessment practitioners to go beyond a simple comparison of one product to another when it comes to circular economy. Such products require a wider system analysis approach that takes into account multiple loops, having interconnected energy and material flows through reuse, remanufacture, and various recycling practices.

scholarly journals Revisiting the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Case of Central Europe

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3415
Author(s):  
Bartosz Jóźwik ◽  
Antonina-Victoria Gavryshkiv ◽  
Phouphet Kyophilavong ◽  
Lech Euzebiusz Gruszecki
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Environmental Kuznets Curve ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Kuznets Curve ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Ekc Hypothesis ◽  
Central European ◽  
Long Run

The rapid economic growth observed in Central European countries in the last thirty years has been the result of profound political changes and economic liberalization. This growth is partly connected with reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, the problem of CO2 emissions seems to remain unresolved. The aim of this paper is to test whether the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis holds true for Central European countries in an annual sample data that covers 1995–2016 in most countries. We examine cointegration by applying the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bound testing. This is the first study examining the relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth in individual Central European countries from a long-run perspective, which allows the results to be compared. We confirmed the cointegration, but our estimates confirmed the EKC hypothesis only in Poland. It should also be noted that in all nine countries, energy consumption leads to increased CO2 emissions. The long-run elasticity ranges between 1.5 in Bulgaria and 2.0 in Croatia. We observed exceptionally low long-run elasticity in Estonia (0.49). Our findings suggest that to solve the environmental degradation problem in Central Europe, it is necessary to individualize the policies implemented in the European Union.

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SET-ASIDE AND FALLOW LAND SCALE IN POLAND

2021 ◽  
Vol XXIII (4) ◽  
pp. 32-44
Author(s):  
Anna Grontkowska
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Spatial Diversity ◽  
Agricultural Area ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Fallow Land ◽  
The European Union

Changes in land management methods constantly occur, caused by natural, economic, social and demographic conditions. This paper aims to determine changes in set-asides and fallow land in Poland, in the years 1990-2020, and determine the spatial diversity of this phenomenon. The study was based on available statistical data for the studied period. The study shows that, before 2004, the share of fallow land was much more significant. After Poland acceded to the European Union, land left without cultivation decreased considerably with a simultaneous increase in the area of land used for agriculture. The results show that the share and number of hectares of fallow area decreased. The provinces of Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Opole and Wielkopolskie were characterized by the lowest percentage of fallow land in the agricultural area of the province. In contrast, the provinces of Podkarpackie, Lubuskie, Świętokrzyskie, Małopolskie, Śląskie and Warmińsko-Mazurskie had the highest percentage of fallow land.

scholarly journals HOLOTIPUS IN MARINE BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION

Holotipus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Daniela Pessani
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Fragile Environment ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

The oceans are a vast yet fragile environment, and one of the biggest issues scientists have to tackle today is the conservation of marine biodiversity. In 1975, to try to address the physical, chemical and biological alteration of these delicate ecosystems, 16 Mediterranean States together with the European Union, implemented the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP). The aim was to safeguard the marine environment and promote its development in the Mediterranean basin.

scholarly journals United Nations' sustainable development goals review: Dual analysis of Romania and Denmark

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 1309-1336
Author(s):  
Vlad Turcea
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Investment Behavior ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Dual Analysis ◽  
Development Goals

The present paper aims to highlight the discrepancies between two countries of the European Union, Romania and Denmark, in the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals. As Denmark is seen as a primer European and Global nation in achieving the United Nations' targets, Romania can use this example as a guideline on how to act and to obtain the most notable results. The article proposes some key principles that Romanians could follow in order to successfully fulfill the 2030 Action Plan having, as an example, the strategies and indicators reached by Denmark. The current work paper is structured as a review of the two reports that voluntarily summarize the situation of the Sustainable Development Goals in each state, followed by a statistical analysis of investment behavior and concluded with an analysis of the most notable differences between the states based on the dataset published by Eurostat.

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