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Most
of the Environment Research effort was devoted to the
implementation of EMAS II regulation to a complex, democratic
institution composed by several activities, such as farming,
forestry, teaching, laboratories, services, and food science
industries, with significant environmental impacts.
Environmental impact reduction and efficient resources use
through an integrated and systemic approach of a complex
reality, towards sustainable development. The involvement of all
stakeholders (workers, students and citizens) is an additional
objective.
The project also aims to become a pilot demonstration and
testing experiment for the implementation of EMAS at SMEs and
several economic activity sectors, with predominance to
non-industrial activities. The project will produce an EMAS II
kit tool to help SMEs to attain EMAS registration.
An
additional objective is the use of EMAS to develop methodologies
for the application and auditing of the new CAP priorities at
farm level.
Finally, we aim to assess the extent to which EMAS II can
improve the participation of all stakeholders and the
development of a citizenship feeling, in order to strength
democracy, monitor the problems associated with its
implementation, and register the solutions found.
In
the first half of 2005, the project entered in its cruising
speed. The acquisition and installation of several equipments,
the institutional commitment and the internal project and school
organizational adaptation period is over and all the tasks are
running as expected. Task teams are growing steadily with the
inclusion of members of staff, which are getting interest in the
innovative topics, related with the improvement of environmental
and overall efficiency in their own fields of activity and
research. We estimate that over 50% of the staff members are
involved in the project, a large number of them were also
involved in the project diffusion, through the presentation and
publication of scientific works at national and international
conferences and the submission of papers to international
scientific journals.
This
effort was financed by the European Union under the Life
Environment EMAS@SCOOL project Life03 Env/P/000501.
Furthermore, several other initiatives/projects were started and
worked on during 2005, namely, an effort to study and develop
sustainable development strategies for agro-forest systems in
the Amazonian River Basin, under Project GUYAGROFOR “Development
of Sustainable Agroforestry Systems Based on Indigenous and
Maroon Knowledge in the Guyana Shield Region”, financed by the
European Union (FP6-INCO-DEV, contract number 510935.
In
addition, two projects, financed by the FCT on the impacts of
climate and global change on water resources started at the end
of 2005. Including URBHI POCI/CLI/60421/2004 - Avaliação do
risco de cheia e mobilização de poluentes como resultado de
alterações globais” and TRADWATER POCI/CLI/60784/2004 –
“Utilização do saber tradicional na gestão sustentável da água
para diferentes cenários de alterações climáticas”.
A
study of the biogeography of both the Center of Portugal and the
Coimbra City are being performed, including a detailed spatial
dispersion abiotic factors and plant communities. |
