Maand: april 2022

Bron: enrd.ec.europa.eu België: 2022-04-11 14: 52: 00 , ENRD News [ad_1] The European Commission organised an online workshop on public and private Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services on 31 March 2022. Presentations from the day are available on the event page. The European Commission in its new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 (EUFS) released in July 2021, committed to provide advice and technical guidance to Member States on the development of payment schemes for ecosystem services (PES) in the form of a guidance document. This workshop was organised as a follow up of this commitment. The outcomes of the workshop will be integrated in a guidance document on PES, to be prepared by the Commission. [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van enrd.ec.europa.eu

Bron: www.belgium.be België: 2022-04-07 15: 46: 29 , [ad_1] De federale overheid lanceert een campagne die je uitnodigt vijf eenvoudige tips te volgen om je energieverbruik te verminderen. "Want elf miljoen kleine beetjes… dat maakt een groot verschil". De campagne met de krachtige slogan "Ik heb impact!" doet je beseffen dat slim omgaan met energie vandaag belangrijker dan ooit is. Zo helpen we Oekraïne en worden we minder afhankelijk van gas en olie uit Rusland. De energieprijzen zijn nog nooit zo hoog geweest. Slim omgaan met je energieverbruik bespaart je ook geld zonder dat je aan comfort hoeft in te boeten. En ook voor het klimaat is het een goede zaak. Iedereen kan een bijdrage leveren. Als iedereen zijn gas- en olieverbruik een beetje vermindert, kan de impact enorm zijn! Een radiospot wordt uitgezonden op de belangrijkste nationale zenders en een website ondersteunt de campagne, die tot half mei zal lopen. De website geeft ook advies over hoe je je kan voorbereiden op de komende winter, te beginnen met het isoleren van je huis. De campagne verwijst ook naar alle regionale initiatieven voor renovatiepremies. "Ga slim om met energie en help zo Oekraïne". Meer informatie vind je op de campagnewebsite: www.ikhebimpact.be [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van www.belgium.be

Bron: enrd.ec.europa.eu België: 2022-04-01 11: 54: 25 , ENRD News [ad_1] The second meeting of the ENRD Thematic Group (TG) on Rural Revitalisation took place online on 31 March 2022. Presentations from the day are available on the event page. Participants shared views and feedback on the working documents developed by the TG and discussed recommendations on the key elements and features to help shape the future rural revitalisation platform. The potential TG contribution to the Rural Pact Conference (15-16 June) was also discussed. Check the event page regularly for further updates, including videos and reporting from the day. [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van enrd.ec.europa.eu

Bron: enrd.ec.europa.eu België: 2022-03-31 16: 14: 23 , ENRD News [ad_1] LEADER is effective at developing solutions to address economic and social development challenges and opportunities at local level. This was a conclusion from the newly-published EU-wide European Commission study on the impact of LEADER on territorial development.  The bottom-up methodology has been able to provide complex and locally tailored solutions to many rural development challenges using relatively limited resources. The study suggests that LEADER’s strongest areas are job creation and maintenance, local added value of products and enterprise modernisation. While the findings of the study are overwhelmingly positive, certain areas for improvement were identified, particularly with regard to knowledge exchange between different levels of the governance and delivery system. These include improved communication and clarity of roles within LEADER, simplification of procedures, enhanced collaboration and new indicators to better capture LEADER outcomes. [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van enrd.ec.europa.eu

Bron: www.eea.europa.eu België: 2022-04-01 10: 55: 58 , News [ad_1]   Despite a noticeable drop in air pollution from road transport in 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdown measures, breaches of European air quality standards remain a common occurrence across the European Union (EU), according to the EEA briefing ‘Europe’s air quality status 2022.’  The EEA briefing presents the latest official data for 2020, plus provisional data for 2021, on concentrations of key air pollutants measured at more than 4,500 monitoring stations across 37 European countries. The analysis focuses on those pollutants most harmful to human health, including particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) ozone (O3) and benzo[a]pyrene, and assesses concentrations against EU air quality standards and WHO air quality guidelines. Particulate matter remains a challenge Despite reductions in emissions, in 2020 most of the EU’s urban population was exposed to levels of key air pollutants that are damaging to health. Critically for health, 96% of the urban population was exposed to concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) above the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m3. In contrast, less than 1% of the urban population was exposed to PM2.5 concentrations above the EU annual limit value of 25 µg/m3, highlighting the discrepancy between current EU policy objectives and the scientific evidence on when health effects occur. Central-eastern Europe and Italy reported the highest concentrations of particulate matter and benzo[a]pyrene (a carcinogen), due primarily to the burning of solid fuels, like coal and wood, for domestic heating and the use of fossil fuels in industrial production. Pandemic impact on air quality Data shows that lockdown measures introduced in 2020 to stop or minimise the spread of COVID-19 led to reduced activity in the road transport, aviation and international shipping sectors, which in turn led to falls in emissions of air pollutants. NO2 levels fell as a direct result of reductions in road transport. In major cities in France, Italy and Spain, annual mean concentrations of NO2 fell by up to 25% in 2020, while in the month of April, concentrations fell by as much as 70% around roads normally busy with traffic. Nevertheless, 89% of the urban population was exposed to levels of NO2 above the WHO guideline.   Background: impact on health Despite ongoing overall improvements in air quality, air pollution is still a major health concern for Europeans. Exposure to fine particulate matter causes cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and other diseases that lead to premature deaths. In some bigger cities, high concentrations of NO2 persist due to road traffic, with NO2 linked to asthma and breathing problems. Later this year, EEA will publish its official estimate of the impact of air pollution on human health in 2020. Under the European Green Deal’s Zero Pollution Action Plan, the European Commission identified a number of actions to help address Europe’s air quality. This includes a revision of the ambient air quality directives, aiming, among other things, to align the EU air quality standards more closely with WHO recommendations.   This EEA briefing was... Lees meer

Bron: enrd.ec.europa.eu België: 2022-03-31 16: 39: 50 , ENRD News [ad_1] Up-skilling and re-skilling of agri-food workers is the goal of a new EU Pact for Skills that has been launched to offer a lifelong learning perspective for both employers and employees as well as to make the agri-food sector more attractive to young people. A partnership of EU associations, companies, universities, and national federations is backing the Pact which can assist family farms and micro and small food processing companies as well as large multinationals and other agri-food firms. Evidence-led approaches are considered vital to the Pact’s success and hence, a first step for the partners is to gain a better understanding of the range of job profiles and related skill needs in Europe’s agri-food sector. [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van enrd.ec.europa.eu

Bron: enrd.ec.europa.eu België: 2022-03-31 17: 26: 44 , ENRD News [ad_1] Food safety standards for international trade need to stress sustainability, according to Member States’ agricultural ministers, in order to help address environmental challenges and changing consumer expectations regarding health, food and nutrition. In the conclusions approved at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in February, ministers recognised the crucial role of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) in facilitating the transition to sustainable food systems, and reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to maintaining high standards and fair practices. The Codex Alimentarius ("food code") is a set of standards, guidelines and codes of practice facilitating consumer health and fair trade. They cover a many different agri-food matters related to CAP funding support such as animal feed, antimicrobial resistance, nutrition and labelling, and pesticides. [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van enrd.ec.europa.eu

Bron: enrd.ec.europa.eu België: 2022-03-31 17: 28: 41 , ENRD News [ad_1] A new livestock feed is forecast to help farmers reduce emissions from the EU agri-food sector and contribute to the European Green Deal’s Fit for 55 climate action package. A 2021 report from the UN Environment Programme concluded that livestock emissions from manure and gastro-enteric releases account for roughly a third of human-caused methane emissions. The new feed additive, containing 3‐nitrooxypropanol, went through a detailed scientific analysis by the European Food Safety Authority which concluded that it can cut methane emissions in dairy cows by between 20% and 35%, without affecting production. [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van enrd.ec.europa.eu

Bron: enrd.ec.europa.eu België: 2022-03-31 17:30:43 , ENRD News [ad_1] DG AGRI’s Food for Europe podcast series has a new episode which explains the aims of the Long-term vision for rural areas from the perspective of ‘working for a more attractive and prosperous countryside in Europe’. This 13th episode of Food for Europe takes listeners to Italy’s Emilia Romagna region to meet a young parmesan producer as well as an architect who has returned from London to develop ecotourism in the mountain region. The podcast is available in English, French, and German. [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van enrd.ec.europa.eu

Bron: enrd.ec.europa.eu België: 2022-03-31 17:33:22 , ENRD News [ad_1] Strategic development of European large lakes is the topic of a spatial planning initiative that promotes integrated rural development through coordination of EU funds such as the CAP. Rural territorial development approaches can be supported using CAP co-finance for relevant actions including water management and business development in lake territories. A recent ESPON Roundtable on integrated territorial development in large lake regions has considered this in its recommendations on better management of European large lakes. [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van enrd.ec.europa.eu

Bron: enrd.ec.europa.eu België: 2022-03-31 17: 34: 18 , ENRD News [ad_1] The EU-funded research project Networking European Farms to Enhance Cross Fertilisation and Innovation Uptake Through demonstration (NEFERTITI) is sharing findings from farm demonstration projects across 17 countries. The project is exchanging knowledge using 45 regional clusters of ‘demo-farmers’ and farm advisors, NGOs, industry, education, researchers, and policy makers. Their aim is to create added value from peer-to-peer networking in order to boost innovation that contributes to a more competitive, sustainable and climate-smart agriculture. See the project’s video library showcasing NEFERTITI demonstration farm topics which include soil assessment, water management, robotics, and livestock husbandry. [ad_2] Lees dit artikel en meer van enrd.ec.europa.eu