Newsletters   Subscription   Contributions       Newsletter issue n° 7 - January 08

 

NEWS:

FP7 - Environmental Research - calls for proposals FP7-ENV-2008-1 and the joint call FP7-ENV-NMP-2008-2

The Electronic Proposal Submission Service (EPSS) for these two calls is available since 20 December 2007 on http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.CooperationCallsPage&id_activity=6 .

Candidates are kindly asked to register their interest by submitting a proposal as early as possible in view to receive the necessary login in time. It is the co-ordinator's responsibility to ensure that he/she has sufficient time to prepare and submit the proposal through EPSS once his/her username and password have been received.

Proposals must be submitted on or before 25 February 2008 (17:00). The EPSS system will be closed for this call on this set deadline. As the system allows the submission of successive drafts for one same proposal, it is advisable not to wait until the last moment for doing so (each successive submission overwrites the previous version).

 

FP7 - Environmental Research - next call for proposals:

The EC services intend to publish the next call for proposals in July 2008. The estimated budget for the Theme 6 Environment (including Climate Change) will be likely similar to the 2007 budget.

 

Follow-up of the Info Day FP7- 2nd Call 2008 - Environmental Technologies, 13th December 2007, Brussels, Belgium

The information day took place as planned on 13 December at the Borschette Conference Centre in Brussels. The event was attended by over 250 delegates representing researchers, research institutions, companies, SMEs, National and Regional Contact Points interested in the FP7 2nd Call 2008 on the activity 6.3 "Environmental technologies".

General and detailed information was provided by the Commission officials on the various topics of the call including the lessons learnt from the first call.

The programme was followed by four separate sessions covering the various areas and topics of the Environmental Technologies activity in more detail:

The sessions provided specific information on the topics and allowed participants to make a brief presentation related to their project's ideas, to their competence in the specific field or to their interest to join consortia on a given subject. The open brokerage event completing the parallel sessions was followed by a wrap-up summarising the outcome of the discussions.

You can download the final agenda, the list of participants and all the presentations that were made on that specific day from the following CORDIS webpage:

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/environment/events_en.html

For additional information, please contact Javier Peinado (javier.peinado@ec.europa.eu).

 

EC funded research and SMEs:

A new service is available on-line on http://ec.europa.eu/research/sme-techweb/newsletter/issue1/index_en.html . The aim is to provide to SMEs targeted information about research opportunities in Europe. A 15% share of the overall FP7 budget will support the participation of SMEs which are eager to grow and develop their capacities. Up to 75% of the costs exposed in carrying out research and development activities can be refunded by the 7th Framework Programme.

 

PUBLICATIONS and AVAILABLE DOCUMENTS

 

Environmental research: The catalogue of FP7 selected projects is available:

Following the completion of the evaluations related to the FP7-ENV-2007-1 call, the Commission has opened negotiations with 72 new projects. A draft version of the catalogue destined to provide basic information on the selected projects (including the objectives, partners and resources) is available on: http://circa.europa.eu/Public/irc/rtd/eesdwatkeact/library?l=/projects_information/fp7-env-2007-1_2008pdf/_EN_1.0_&a=d .

The preliminary information presented in the mentioned document is based on the proposals' evaluation results and shall be considered as provisional and subject to potential modifications in the course of projects' negotiation.

 

The Newsletter of the European Commission Scientific Committees

The Newsletter of the European Commission Scientific Committees (http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/newsletters_risk_en.htm) is published three times a year (January, May and September). It provides updates on the work of the European Commission Scientific Committees managed by the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection.

The Scientific Committees provide the Commission with the sound scientific advice it needs when preparing policy and proposals related to consumer safety, public health and the environment. The Committees also draw the Commission's attention to the new or emerging problems which may pose an actual or potential threat.

For free online subscription to the Newsletter, please go to http://ec.europa.eu/coreservices/mailing/index.cfm?form=register&serviceid=1

 

LIFE and waste recycling: Innovative waste management options in Europe

A new LIFE-Focus brochure on “LIFE and waste recycling. Innovative waste management options in Europe” is available on http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/publications/lifepublications/lifefocus/documents/recycling.pdf . It presents 20 LIFE projects co-funded by the European Union which represent a small but valuable selection of the numerous successful waste-related LIFE initiatives that support the EU’s evolving waste policy.

Covering the wide range and scope of activities carried out over the years, these projects not only refer to solutions to waste as a problem, but also to opportunities to see waste as a valuable resource for industry, generating jobs and businesses. The projects help to highlight some of the key principles around which European environment policy is built. They underline the value of sharing and exchanging information and have the potential to contribute to the European Union’s long term vision: to become a recycling society that seeks to avoid waste and to use it as a resource.

 

EU Report Series available from IWA Publishing:

This EU Reports series resulted from a special agreement between the International Water Association and the European Commission and its Directorate-General for Research, aiming to articulate to researchers, policy makers and water practitioners scientific knowledge and innovative technologies for the sustainable management of natural resources, generated by multidisciplinary research projects supported in successive European Union's environmental research programmes.

This series also intends to disseminate results for dedicated policy-oriented research undertaken in the context of Community Research Framework Programmes, especially research to support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, the Drinking Water and Urban Waste Water Directives, as well as research to support the implementation of EU Water Initiative, a European commitment towards the Millennium Development Goals.

New EU Report Series:

Assessing Infiltration and Exfiltration on the Performance of Urban Sewer Systems – APUSS

Editors: B. Ellis and J.-L. Bertrand-Krajewski

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn184339149x

Adaptiveness of IWRM - Analysing European IWRM research

Editors: J. G. Timmerman, C. Pahl-Wostl, J. Moltgen

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391724

Adaptive Decision Support System for Urban Stormwater Management - DayWater

Editor: D. R. Thevenot

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391600

List of available publications:

Integrated Evaluation for Sustainable River Basin Governance - ADVISOR

Editors: N. Videira, G. Kallis, P. Antunes and R. Santos

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391481

Urban Water Resources Toolbox - AISUWRS

Editors: L. Wolf, B. Morris and S. Burn

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391384

Integrated Deliberative Decision Processes for Water Resources Planning and Evaluation - ADVISOR

Editors: G. Kallis, N. Videira, P. Antunes and R. Santos

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391678
Water and Liberalisation - European Water Scenarios - EUROMARKET

Editors: M. Finger, J. Allouche, P. Luís-Manso

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391139

Comparative Evaluation of Sludge Reduction Routes - W.I.R.E.S.

Editor: P. Ginestet

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391236

Computer Aided Rehabilitation of Sewer and Storm Water Networks - CARE-S

Editor: S. Saegrov

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391155

Computer Aided Rehabilitation for Water Networks - CARE-W

Editor: S. Saegrov

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843390914

 

EVENTS

 

Access to Sanitation and Safe Water: Global Partnerships and Local Actions - 33rd WEDC International Conference 7-11 April 2008, Accra, Ghana

The recently completed FP6 project AfricanWater (http://www.africanwater.net/) will present some of its findings at the WEDC International Conference. This Conference aims to bring together a wide range of sector professionals from many continents, providing a forum for practitioners, policy makers, academics and researchers working in the water and environmental sanitation sectors.

The Conference is organized around four main themes:

Papers and other types of presentation related to one or more of these themes can be submitted. Those which relate to topical issues are particularly encouraged.

As part of the main themes, papers and presentations on the following specific issues for potential inclusion in Specialist Sessions (although this list is by no means exhaustive) can be submitted:

Additional information about the Conference can be found on: http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/conferences/33/

 

International Workshop project RIOS-Reducing the Impact from Oil Spills, 17-19 April 2008, Zoomarine, in Albufeira, Portugal.

This event is part of a European project, RIOS-Reducing the Impact from Oil Spills, funded by the EU DG-Research.

The objective is to discuss and to provide input from all the stakeholders to the European Action Plan on the Research Needs for Reducing Impacts from Oil Spills. The target group are scientists, rehabilitators, veterinarians, national authorities, NGOs and others. Representatives from the European Commission and from European policy makers will be invited to the Workshop.

This Workshop is a unique opportunity to participate in the discussion and identification of research priorities on oiled wildlife response. The action plan will be forwarded to the European Commission and may be used as a tool for the further development of European research policy and in particular in orienting the future Research Framework Programmes to better meet the needs of this research area.

The expected result of the RIOS-Workshop will be the identification of ideas for addressing the research needs (e.g. ideas for future European research projects). Therefore, it is important that all the stakeholders participate and contribute in the RIOS-Workshop.

Delegates interested in presenting a poster are invited to send a brief description of up to 200 words by 29 February ( rios-poster@nordeconsult.com ).

For further information, please contact the project coordinator: claudia.jesus-rydin@nordeconsult.com or visit the website: www.nordeconsult.com/RIOS 

 

MBR-Network Workshop “Engineering with MBR”, 25 May 2008, 15-19h within conference “Engineering with Membranes”, Algarve, Portugal, 26-28 May 2008.
The workshop will consist of two sessions:

  1. “Choosing the right membrane and methods for fouling control in MBR”, covering the following topics:

  1. “Towards advanced understanding of MBR fouling”

For more information please visit: http://www.uniovi.es/EWM2008/

 

1st INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Fluorinated Surfactants: New Developments, 26-28 June 2008, Idstein, Germany

The Workshop's main objective is to bring together specialists from around the world in order to present and discuss new developments regarding synthesis and application of new fluorinated surfactants, degradation and analysis, environment, toxicity and regulation.

Abstracts for oral and poster presentations (one-page) should be submitted to the secretariat before 1 April 2008.

For further information about the Workshop and abstract submission, please visit the website http://pft.fh-fresenius.de .

 

International ESTROM 2008 Conference: Environmental Research and Mitigation of Water Pollution in Romania and in the Lower Danube Region in the context of the EU Water Framework Directive, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania, 3-5 September 2008.

The symposium will be organized in the framework of a Swiss-Romanian cooperative program on water pollution and aquatic science issues.  A wide range of chemical and biological topics will be covered with a significant emphasis on the European Union Water Framework Directive.

More information is available on the internet: http://www.estrom.ch/

 

ECSM'08 - European Conference on Sludge Management, 4-5 September 2008, Liège, Belgium

The two-days conference on sewage sludge management will particularly focus on dewatering, drying and thermal valorisation. The event aims to attract a large audience composed of researchers, engineers, water agencies, private companies and governmental delegates sensible to sewage sludge management. The major topics that will be addressed are:

More details about the Conference are available on: http://www.ulg.ac.be/bioreact/ECSM08/

 

RTD RESULTS: USE, EXPLOITATION AND COMMUNICATION EXPERIENCES

 

Cultural Heritage: available conference proceedings

The 7th European Conference on the Cultural Heritage aimed to consolidate the achievements and assess the impact of EU research projects related to the movable and immovable cultural heritage. The Conference emphasised the exploitation and dissemination of research results on cultural heritage including issues addressing the acceptability of new approaches to sustainability and new technologies.

The proceedings of the 7th European Conference 'SAUVEUR' SAFEGUARDED CULTURAL HERITAGE Understanding & Viability for the Enlarged Europe (Prague, Czech Republic, 31 May - 3 June 2006) are available under the following link: www.arcchip.cz/ec-conference/.

 

SUSAN interim results:

The FP6 project SUSAN 'Sustainable and Safe Re-use of Municipal Sewage Sludge for Nutrient Recovery' is delivering promising results out of the pilot-scale trials. The key technology, thermochemical-based treatment of sludge ashes, aims to remove heavy metals while phosphorous is recovered for further use as fertilizer in agriculture.

Investigations carried-out by a highly motivated group of partners demonstrated the feasibility of the main technology as well as the suitability of other relevant aspects such as fertiliser manufacture and its bioavalability complemented by subsequent agricultural investigations. More detailed explanations are provided in the SUSAN newsletter - February 2008 available on:

 http://www.susan.bam.de/eng_publications.htm .

Industrial partners involved in the project have decided to further invest in the development of this technology and to explore the possibilities to build up a larger demonstration facility. All partners are interested to continue further investigations and technological developments and are actively looking for additional financial support after the completion of the current RTD project in October 2008.

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Christian Adam (Christian.Adam@bam.de)

 

MORE INFORMATION: click here

 

LEGAL NOTICE

The information and views set out in this newsletter are those of the author(s) and do not reflect necessarily the official opinion of the European Communities. Neither the European Communities institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made on the information contained therein. This newsletter may be freely distributed.

See also http://europa.eu.int/geninfo/disclaimer_en.htm

 

EDITOR:

European Commission

DG Research, Unit I03

Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Belgium                                     © European Communities, 2007

e-mail : Avelino.Gonzalez-Gonzalez@ec.europa.eu            Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged