Browsing by Subject "Naturschutz"

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Impact of rubber tree dominated land-use on biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Greater Mekong Subregion
(2017) Häuser, Inga; Sauerborn, Joachim
The present dissertation analyzes the impact of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) dominated land-use on biodiversity and ecosystem services (ESS) in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Although originating from South-America natural rubber is mainly cultivated in South-East Asia. This expansion of rubber plantations affects different ESS such as carbon storage, availability and quality of water and threatens biodiversity in this highly biodiverse region. In order to analyze these impacts the first task was to give a comprehensive overview about publications concerning ESS and biodiversity in rubber cultivation systems. A thorough literature review showed that the majority of publications concentrated on single or few ESS, which does not match the demands of decision-makers. In order to make sound decisions for land-use planning or developing Payments for Ecosystem Services Schemes a holistic view including multiple services. In order to fill this knowledge gap, the second task was to analyze the impacts of rubber on the ESS carbon storage, soil erosion, water availability and water quality and economically and socially related ESS, such as income and livelihood security. Although there are still great uncertainties about carbon storage in different land-use systems there are hints that the carbon storage in rubber plantations is lower than in natural forests. Concerning erodibility, rubber plantations increase the soil erosion risk compared to natural forests. Rubber cultivation also affects the local and regional water balance. Since rubber production in monocultures requires the use of huge amounts of pesticides and chemical fertilizers which enter the aquatic system by rainfall-induced run-off, water quality for humans and aquatic organisms is as well threatened. Undoubtedly, from an economic point of view the introduction of rubber resulted in significant increases in household income and is hence a possibility to move households and communities out of poverty. However, by deciding to grow rubber, farmers are committing themselves for decades to come and are thus dependent on a single product, which exposes them to further risks. In addition, there are ecological hazards due to crop diseases, pests, unfavorable weather conditions or changes in climate. The review of studies clearly indicates that increasing rubber cultivation in the GMS is accompanied by various problems and threats to farmers and the environment. Therefore, the development of more sustainable land-use concepts is required. Concordantly, suggestions for land-use change are based on system diversification and forest restoration, which both require economic incentives for farmers. The next part of this dissertation deals with the development of a biodiversity indicator (based on selected flora and fauna species) that can be included in existing biodiversity models to show the impact that different rubber cultivation scenarios will have on various species groups. A combination of multi-species data supplemented with literature data was used and included flora, vertebrates and invertebrates. The resulting indicator was used as input into an established ESS assessment framework. Finally, a current land-use map from 2007 was compared with two scenarios. In order to get a more detailed picture, sub-groups of biodiversity were analyzed as well. First, a sub-group of “human use species” category was assessed which included only species which are directly used by humans. Second, the sub-group “red list species”, consisting of red list plants and mammals was analyzed separately to include the conservational aspect. The results showed that when considering the indices from the category “human use species” there is less of an impact between the scenarios, because medicinal plants for example are still commonly distributed within rubber plantations, albeit with different species (generalists, ruderal flora). This leads to an important conclusion: not only the decision on “what” is analyzed (biodiversity), but also “how” it is analyzed (groups of different species) considerably influences the results. To complete this dissertation the transferability of this place-based research to other regions of the world was tested to assess the relevance beyond the study area. To do this the system of land archetypes was used, which utilizes a wide range of land-use intensity metrics and incorporates simultaneously environmental and socio-economic conditions. In a first step, the ‘project archetype’ was defined, based on a synthesis of global land system indicators. For the project Sustainable Rubber Cultivation in the Mekong Region, only few of the 32 global indicators did not closely match the local reality. The transferability potential for the GMS was quite high and therefore emphasizes the importance of the project results for this huge region.
Kommunikationsprobleme zwischen Landwirtschaft und Naturschutz in Deutschland und ihre Ursachen
(2022) Menauer, Verena Theresa; Schweiger, Wolfgang
Communication is considered a key prerequisite for anchoring nature conservation in agriculture in the long term. However, the longlasting, sometimes heated disputes between ac-tors from both sectors in Germany show clear deficits, especially in public communication. Instead of finding solutions and compromises, the fronts are hardening in many places. The study aimed to identify and detail the existing communication problems and their causes. A coherent framework of communication studies that explicitly deals with communication problems is missing. Nevertheless, there are a number of theoretical approaches and research traditions that examine individual aspects of communication problems or, complementarily, deal with the conditions for successful communication. Of outstanding importance is research on public discourse – it forms the main theoretical point of reference of this work. Studies on journalistic news selection, approaches to strategic communication and research on group identities also appear to be relevant. Within the framework of a qualitative content analysis, 160 publications from the years 2019 and 2020 of the four relevant groups of actors (interest-led actors, state actors, news and specialist journalism) and the available user comments were examined. Thus, a current inventory of the existing communication problems was created. The analysis also provided initial indications of their possible causes. Subsequently, four group discussions were held with representatives from agriculture and nature conservation. The results of the content analysis were discussed and deepened. The initial findings of the content analysis were thus deepened, questioned and supplemented by the subjective perceptions and assessments of those affected. The results show that the observed problems and their causes are manifold: Firstly, actors are often unwilling to reach a rationally motivated agreement. Instead of openly engaging with all actors involved in the dis-course, they refuse to talk or try to influence individual target groups through strategic-manipulative communication. Secondly, not all topics, events and presentation perspectives have the same chance of being publicly discussed. Both news and specialist journalistic media usually only report on negative, conflictrelated issues, their reports are sometimes tendentious and limited to presenting one of several possible perspectives. Thirdly, it became apparent that the manner of communication is not always appropriate because actors do not sufficiently substantiate their positions with arguments, respond sufficiently to topics and arguments of the opposing side or express themselves appropriately. The following aspects can be named as causes for the lack of discourse quality: (1) Farmers seem to have an enormous distrust of outsiders, but also of their own professional representation. More or less all actors are met with great suspicion. (2) Especially among agricultural actors, emotional and financial concerns seem to play a major role. As a result, they sometimes find it difficult to communicate objectively and to accept that non-agricultural actors are also heard in the pub-lic discourse. (3) The actors involved sometimes lack the necessary knowledge to be able to participate optimally in the discourse. This applies to actors from agriculture and nature conservation as well as to journalists. (4) The media, interest groups and state actors are subject to various path dependencies and internal organisational constraints that are not only, but primarily of an economic nature. In some cases, they have the consequence that actors cannot act or communicate freely and discourse-oriented. (5) Moreover, various unresolved conflicts of objectives lead to problems. For example, actors from agriculture and nature conservation are sometimes confronted with the problem of having to pursue conflicting interests at the same time. (6) Group-specific differences in behaviour and evaluation can be cited as a further cause. Future studies should focus on the aspect of lack of knowledge, which negatively impacts the discourse quality in several respects.
Nachhaltiger Anbau von Bioenergie : eine ökonomisch-ökologische Analyse für die Landwirtschaft in Baden-Württemberg
(2012) Konold, Angelika; Zeddies, Jürgen
The aim of this thesis is on the one hand to estimate the potential of energy crop production for CO2-sequestration in Baden-Württemberg. On the other hand the focus lies on the interactions that arise from the implementation of optimized na-ture conservation measures with the land management on regional level. For this the existing economic-ecological regional model EFEM (Economic Farm Emission Model), based on linear programming, is further developed. The calculations are made on farm level and are extrapolated on regional level. The model is calibrated on the database for the years 2001-2005 and the so modeled Reference_2003 than is projected to the year 2015 (BAU_2015), this to evaluate the model results without the influence of the great changes in agricultural policy in the last years. Based on the modeled situation for the year 2015 further scenarios are defined that differ in the expansion of energy cropping and nature conservation measures. In the ?biomass scenarios? only the legal nature requirements have to be met while in the corresponding ?conservation scenarios? restrictions that are optimal from a nature conservation point of view, must be considered. The sensitivity analyses for selected parameters proved that the model results have sufficient stability to make reliable statements about synergy effects and conflicts between the expansion of energy crop cultivation and requirements for natural conservation. Altogether it could be shown that with the used model approach interactions be-tween the cultivation of energy crops and nature conservation are represented sufficiently and the objectives of energy and climate policy are compatible.
Ökosystem-Funktionen als Kriterium einer Operationalisierung ökologischer Aspekte von Nachhaltigkeit?
(2000) Doppler, Susanne Maria; Böcker, Reinhard
In recent times, against the background of system-theoretical principles, the description of ecosystems as complex, dynamic systems has been strongly promoted. Therefore the capacity of selforganization of ecosystems is strengthened to be integrated into environmental planning processes. The aim of the following work is to point out the limitations and possibilities given by the scientifically-based criterion 'ecosystem-functioning' in the context of sustainability. The investigations are based on a literature-supported analysis and a theoretical argument about the 'function of ecosystems' in relation to the concept of ecosystems. The results of this argument were submitted (1) to a scientific and science-theoretical analysis and criticism as well as considered in the light of (2) environmental protection issues and ethically relevant aspects of the description and observation of the natural world. The aim of this consideration was to establish to what extent the criterion 'ecosystem functioning' is suitable. The central question about limitations and possibilities of the application of the criterion is answered as follows: The criterion 'ecosystem functioning', formulated via system-theoretical principles of dynamic systems does not meet the requirements of both the natural and ethical issues given by the paradigm of sustainability. A possible alternative is to observe ecosystems and the criterion 'ecosystem-functioning' from a utilitarian position of anthroporelativism. The implementation of this perspective in the world of nature through the criterion 'ecosystem functioning' makes it possible (1) to integrate ethical issues of sustainability and (2) to maintain natural values as well as cultural ones in the countryside for this and future generations.
Voraussetzungen und Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten sowie ökonomische Auswirkungen von Kompensationsmaßnahmen gemäß BNatSchG in der Landwirtschaft in Ballungsräumen am Beispiel der Region Stuttgart
(2021) Sponagel, Christian; Bahrs, Enno
Land take due to urbanisation has a major local and global impact on the natural balance, that are to be compensated for in many countries around the world. In Germany, this kind of impacts are to be compensated for according to the Impact Mitigation Regulation pursuant to Article 13 of the German Nature Conservation Act. In addition to land take for an intervention, such as a building site, additional land is required for the implementation of offset measures. Especially in expanding urban areas, where land scarcity is a problem, offsetting can exacerbate land use conflicts. Agriculture, in particular, is one key stakeholder in the context of offsetting. On the one hand, agricultural land, especially intensively used arable land, offers considerable potential for nature conservation enhancement. On the other hand, agriculture is also characterised by its considerable spatial impact. There is also a need for improvement in the compensation process from the point of view of nature conservation, as there are often deficits in the maintenance and implementation of measures. Existing instruments such as eco-accounts or so-called production-integrated compensation, a form of cooperation between nature conservation and agriculture, have so far been poorly established. The present study, therefore, analyses offset activities with a focus on agriculture in urban areas, drawing more particularly on the example of the Stuttgart Region. Chapters 2 and 3 of the study focus on the analysis of individual farms. In addition to in-depth interviews with farms, Chapter 2 provides a spatial analysis of agricultural land take for offset purposes using the example of the neighbouring cities of Stuttgart and Filderstadt. The insights gained are applied in Chapter 3 to analyse the acceptance of offset measures using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). In Chapter 3 the DCE is conducted with farmers in and outside the Stuttgart Region. In Chapter 4, the offset potential is determined using the example of arable land in the Stuttgart Region with the help of a geodata-based land use model. Within Chapter 5 different offset scenarios at regional level are analysed. To this end, data on the estimated offset needs of the municipalities in the Stuttgart Region up to 2030 were furnished by the Verband Region Stuttgart. They are used for modelling, and the results of the DCE from Chapter 3 are incorporated. Chapter 6 addresses the regional bundling and networking of production-integrated compensation measures with the help of expert-based maps. Using geodata, a spatially differentiated assessment is carried out from an agricultural and nature conservation perspective. The aim here is to identify areas that offer the greatest possible potential for synergies between agriculture and nature conservation in conjunction with offset measures. The spatial analysis shows that agriculture is disproportionately affected by land loss in the context of the intervention regulation compared to other land uses. Furthermore, the results show that agriculture generally accepts voluntary offset measures although this very much depends on the type of measure and legal safeguard. The results also show a considerable potential for offset measures on agricultural land, although there are strong spatial disparities in terms of costs, especially between the centre of an urban area and the peripheral areas, as demonstrated by the example of the Stuttgart Region. Consequently, the spatially unrestricted implementation of compensation can lead to a polarisation between the core of the region with therefore just a few ecologically beneficial, landscape-enhancing offset measures and the peripheral areas with numerous ecologically beneficial, landscape-enhancing offset measures. Moreover, the developed expert-based maps show that synergies are possible between agriculture and nature conservation on a significant scale. Offset measures can thus contribute to ecological sustainability in agricultural landscapes and are a relevant business option for farms. There are major challenges when it comes to communication between agriculture and authorities or municipalities: ensuring understanding and transparency in terms of the market for offset measures, and assessing the nature conservation enhancement of production-integrated compensation measures. In addition, the various forms of legal safeguard in connection with the determination of the legally prescribed care and maintenance period must be more clearly specified and communicated in the future. Voluntary or eco-accounting measures, in particular, should be used more intensively, as they allow for forward planning.