Newsletters   Subscription   Contributions       Newsletter issue n° 8 - March 08

 

NEWS:

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

The substantial amount of proposals which have been submitted for the two calls have lead to a high competition in some of the open topics for research. The remote evaluation phase of the eligible proposals is almost completed and will be finalised after the central evaluation in Brussels by the end of April. The first evaluation results, including the Evaluation Summary Report, are expected to be sent to the coordinating institutions as soon as possible in May 2008.

After the completion of the official procedures, negotiations with the successful applicants should be opened in July 2008.

 

FP7 - Environmental Research - next call for proposals:

The preparation and further consultations on the Work Programme 2009 are progressing. It is currently planned to launch the call for proposals in July 2008 with a deadline for submission in January 2009. This period between publication and submission of proposals is longer than in the previous calls and shall provide opportunities to applicants to prepare and consolidate their projects. The budget available is of about €200 million, distributed among 52 different topics for research.

 

FP7 - Guidance documents

The set of available documents intended to provide guidance for practical project implementation has been completed with the instructions and templates for project reporting and the guidance notes on audit certification. A revised version of the negotiation guidelines is also available from the CORDIS server http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/find-doc_en.html#guidance

 

Consultation on practical guide to EU funding for research, development and innovation:

The "Practical Guide to EU funding for research, development and innovation" is intended to facilitate the access to different sources of EU funding at the appropriate stage of a project's development. The guide describes the major EU funding instruments, including explanations and practical hints about the 7th Framework Programme, the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme and the Structural Funds.

All documents are available on http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/consultation_en.html; comments and suggestions should be sent by the end of April to the following e-mail address: RTD-PRACTICAL-GUIDE@EC.EUROPA.EU

 

PUBLICATIONS and AVAILABLE DOCUMENTS

 

Communicating Science: a Scientist's survival kit - G. Carrada

Issued by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research, this freely distributed publication highlights the relevance of communicating research challenges and results to the society. Relevant sections of the publication are:

The brochure can be obtained from the EU bookshop  http://bookshop.europa.eu/ , references ISBN : 92-79-01947-3 ( http://bookshop.europa.eu/uri?target=EUB:NOTICE:KI7606019:EN:HTML ).

The publication is also available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/pdf/communicating-science_en.pdf

 

New book: "Restoring Floodplains in Europe - Policy contexts and project Experiences" Editors T. Moss and J. Monstadt

The book is based on the social science research component of the FP5 project FLOBAR 2 "FLOodplain Biodiversity and Restoration 2: Integrated natural science and socio-economic approaches to catchment flow management".

Despite the interest in restoring floodplains, very few schemes for restoring functional floodplains have been put into practice in Europe until now. The book explores the reasons behind this discrepancy between interest and applications with an original and comparative analysis of the institutional drivers and constraints of floodplain restoration in Europe. It explains why so little projects have been successfully implemented, how recent policy shifts are creating new opportunities for floodplain restoration and what lessons for policy development and project management can be drawn from in-depth analysis of past and present schemes.

More details are available at: http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843390906 

 

Water Reuse System Management Manual - AQUAREC", edited by Davide Bixio and Thomas Wintgens.


The project AQUAREC “Integrated concepts for reuse of upgraded wastewater” was funded by the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Commission. Its major aim was to investigate and develop concepts and methodologies supporting rational and knowledge-based waste water reuse strategies.


This publication presents practical information on waste water reuse concepts based on actual and proved management and operational practises. A broad approach has been considered by addressing institutional, organisational, legal, economics, financial, social and environmental issues together with technological aspects. The targeted readers are mainly practitioners concerned with implementation of waste water reuse schemes, but this publication may also become ‘the wastewater reuse manual’ for decision makers, local authorities, consultants and research bodies involved in the area.


The publication is now available as printed (catalogue n° KI-76-06-016-EN-C) or PDF document (catalogue n° KI-76-06-016-EN-Z) from OPOCE at:  http://bookshop.europa.eu/.

 

REACH - Guidance for downstream users

This Guidance Document issued by the European Chemicals Agency in 2008 describes the requirements of downstream users under regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). It is part of a series of guidance documents that are aimed to help all stakeholders with their preparation for fulfilling their obligations under the REACH regulation. These documents cover detailed guidance for a range of essential REACH processes as well as for some specific scientific and/or technical methods that industry or authorities need to make use of under REACH. The guidance documents were drafted and discussed within the REACH Implementation Projects (RIPs) lead by the European Commission services, involving all stakeholders: Member States, industry and non-governmental organisations.
 

These guidance documents can be obtained via the website of the European Chemicals Agency (http://echa.europa.eu/reach_en.html). Further guidance documents will be published on this website when they are finalised or updated.
 

The electronic version of the brochure "Guidance for downstream users is available at:

http://bookshop.europa.eu/eubookshop/FileCache/PUBPDF/ED3008258ENC/ED3008258ENC_002.pdf

 

EVENTS

 

Water Reclamation and Aquifer Recharge - Experiences in the Americas 2nd Regional RECLAIM Water Workshop, 14-16 April 2008, in Mexico City, United Mexican States.

RECLAIM WATER results are to be shared at Regional Workshops, which are events that focus on consultation of regional water experts and stakeholders. These meetings will enable intensive information exchange through personal contacts and dissemination of knowledge between the project team, operators, researchers, regulators and technology suppliers on a regional level.

The second regional workshop will take place in Mexico City and will focus on water reclamation and reuse in Mexico. It will be supported by the European Commission and by the Instituto de Ingenería (Reuse Treatment Group) of the Autonomous University of Mexico.

A wide range of national and international speakers will cover the following topics:

For registration, please refer to the RECLAIM WATER website:  http://www.ivt.rwth-aachen.de/index.php?id=773&L=3

 

KNAPPE Workshop 'Environmental Stewardship of Pharmaceuticals and Policy Instruments'  29-30 April 2008 at the Lakeside Conference Centre, Central Science Laboratory (CSL) in York, United Kingdom .

The "Knowledge and Need Assessment of Pharmaceutical Products in Environmental Waters" (KNAPPE) project is an FP 6 Specific Support Action, which aims to identify the relevant priority actions to be taken in order to reduce presence, impacts and risk of Pharmaceutical Products (PPs) in environmental waters. The partners involved in the project organised this workshop with the aim to bring  a wide range of stakeholders together in view to explore:

The two-day workshop will consist of a blend of both presentations and breakout sessions. Key note addresses will be delivered by:

Prof. David Taylor, Director of Environment and Sustainability, AstraZeneca

Dr Susan Glassmeyer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dr Kornelia Green, Head of Sector - Safety of Veterinary Medicines, European Medicines Agency (EMEA) (tbc).

The breakout sessions will provide an opportunity for exchange of ideas and suggestions of future actions for the area. They will also focus on key issues raised by the KNAPPE partners following desk-top studies.

The first discussion documents arising from these studies are available on the KNAPPE website (http://www.knappe-eu.org/)

 

Bridging the Gap: Responding to Environmental Change – from Words to Deeds, 14–16 May 2008, Portorož, Slovenia

This Conference is the fourth in a series started 10 years ago. The previous three Bridging the Gap events were held in London (1998), Stockholm (2001) and in Dublin (2004). It is organised by the Environment Agency of Republic of Slovenia in cooperation with the European Commission ( DG Environment, DG Research and the Joint Research centre), the European Environment Agency and environment protection agencies.

The three headline issues of the Conference (need for urgent action, environment in the heart of economic decision making and communication between scientists, policy-makers, politicians and civil society) will be addressed through five specific themes:

The main objective of the Conference is to identify gaps in policy, research and capacities of society in responding to emerging issues and uncertainties.

Background information and the conference's programme is available at: http://www.bridgingthegap.si/

 

EC Conference "GREEN WEEK 2008 - Only one Earth-Don't waste it!" 3-6 June 2008, Brussels, Belgium

The European Commission is organising this annual event that will take place the week of the World Environment Day.

Green Week 2008 will take a closer look at the sustainable use of natural resources, focusing on waste management, sustainable consumption and production.

The event will provide a unique opportunity for debate, exchanges of experience and best practice among non-governmental organisations, businesses, various levels of government and the public.

Registration for the event begins in April 2008 and will remain open until the start of the Conference,

The Conference's programme will be available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/greenweek/home.html

 

Technology for Safe Drinking Water in Eastern Europe, 4th Regional Technology Platform, 5-6 June 2008 in Tábor, Czech Republic

TECHNEAU (one of the major drinking water projects of the EU which started in January 2006 for a five-year period) has the goal to analyse the present water situation in different regions of the world and rethink current water supply options. TECHNEAU results are to be shared at Regional Technology Platforms (RTPs). These one-day workshops will enable intensive information exchange through personal contacts and dissemination of knowledge between the project team and local stakeholders like operators, researchers, regulators and technology suppliers.

The forth RTP will take place in Tábor in the Czech Republic. The Conference will highlight the water situation in Eastern Europe and discuss the enormous challenges the region had to face after the political and economic transformation.

The event will be supported by the European Commission, the National Institute of Public Health (CZ) and the Water Supply and Sewerage Association of the Czech Republic (SOVAK).

A wide range of national and international speakers will cover the following topics:

For further information, please refer to the TECHNEAU webpage: http://www.techneau.org/

 

Towards Sustainable Water Reclamation Solutions 3rd Regional RECLAIM Water Workshop in Singapore on 23 & 27 June 2008

The Reclaim Water Workshop is dedicated to working towards sustainable water reclamation solutions by promoting intensive information exchange among experts from all over the world.

This two-day workshop is designated as a co-located event of the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) and comprises a one-day symposium on the 23rd of June and a technical site visit on the 27th of June 2008. The event will be organized by the Public Utility Board of Singapore and by the National University of Singapore.

Speakers of the workshop are world leading water experts from the scientific as well as industrial domain. The workshop covers a wide range of water reclamation and reuse topics encompassing: - treatment technologies - water quality and risk management - case studies and application examples

For further information and registration, please refer to the RECLAIM webpage http://www.reclaim-water.org/

 

Final dissemination event of RECLAIM Water and 5th TECHNEAU RTP in Maribor (Slovenia) from September 4th-6th, 2008

Furthermore, a joint RECLAIM and TECHNEAU event will be organised in September 2008 in Maribor (Slovenia). On September 4th, 2008 the Final Dissemination Workshop for RECLAIM Water Project will be linked to the TECHNEAU Regional Technology Platform taking place on the following day (September 5th, 2008) in Maribor. On September 6th, 2008, the programme includes some site visits and on September 7th, 2008 an optional transport to the IWA Conference in Vienna will be organised. Further details about the conferences will follow.

 

XIII World Water Congress " Global Changes and Water Resources", 1-4 September 2008, Montpellier, France

The objective of the XIIIth World Water Congress is to enhance the world’s knowledge and raise global consciousness of the impact of global changes on water resources. The Congress contributes to the study of our planet’s water resources by bringing together wide-interest participation, conferences and communications. This Congress is an important occasion on a global scale for open dialogue between public and private partners, between users and decision makers and between developing, emerging and developed countries. To achieve these objectives, the Congress will organize numerous debates, presentations and exhibitions among key water stakeholders.

The three major fields embraced at the Conference are:

The Conference's programme, including additional details about the addressed topics, is available at: http://wwc2008.msem.univ-montp2.fr/

 

The 8th European Conference on Research for Protection, Conservation and Enhancement of Cultural Heritage,10-15 November 2008,  Ljubljana, Slovenia

The Conference is supported by the European Union through its 7th Research Framework Programme (under the activity 6.3 "Environmental technologies"), on the general theme "Cultural heritage research meets practice".

It follows the earlier conferences in Rome (1997), Aachen (1998), Santiago de Compostela (1999), Strasbourg (2000), Krakow (2002), London (2004) and Prague (2006).

The event will be organised locally by the National and University Library of Slovenia, the "Construction Cluster" of Slovenia, and the University of Ljubljana. The announcement and call for abstracts for oral presentations and posters are  available at the Conference website: http://www.chresp.eu .

 

First call for papers: International Conference ‘Xenobiotics in the Urban Water Cycle – XENOWAC 2009’, 11-13 March 2009, Paphos, Cyprus.

The Conference is organized under the framework of the European COST Action 636. The main objective of the Conference is to inspire scientific discussions of high quality and societal relevance, among a truly dynamic and diverse audience including a number of well respected and prominent experts, young researchers and the problem owners (end-users) in the specific fields of urban water and xenobiotics.

The Conference will provide an international forum for exchanging state-of-the-art information, and for knowledge sharing and networking, with a focus on xenobiotics. Relevant research areas include the determination of sources and fluxes of xenobiotics in the water cycle, advances in chemical analysis, risk assessment methods (toxicity, estrogenicity etc.), and the use and efficiency of treatment trains for removal of xenobiotics of concern.

Additional information is available at: http://www.xenowac2009.com/

 

RTD RESULTS: USE, EXPLOITATION AND COMMUNICATION EXPERIENCES

 

MEDINA - Membrane-based desalination: An integrated approach

The FP6 project MEDINA started by the end of 2006 and aims to tackle current reverse osmosis (RO) drawbacks in view to develop innovative solutions for the major engineering components. The focus of the research activities is on raw water characterisation, pre-filtration options, RO module settings, fouling, scaling and post-treatment and recovery of valuables concentrates. The activities also include environmental and life cycle assessments with the overall objective of developing an membrane-based integrated process.

The following deliverables are publicly available on the project's web site http://medina.unical.it/:

 

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/geninfo/legal_notices_en.htm

 

EDITOR:

European Commission

DG Research, Unit I03

Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Belgium                                     © European Communities, 2008

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