FG Umweltplanung
Refine
Document Type
- Doctoral thesis (21)
- Report (1)
Has Fulltext
- yes (22)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (22)
Year of publication
Keywords
- Klimawandel (7)
- Klimaänderung (7)
- Climate change (5)
- Nachhaltigkeit (5)
- Geoinformationssystem (4)
- Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt (4)
- Hochwasser (3)
- Sustainability (3)
- Vietnam (3)
- Anpassung (2)
Institute
- FG Umweltplanung (22)
Background: Food sustainability is becoming increasingly important for the achievement of sustainable development goals, especially in light of recent global challenges of climate change, geopolitical conflict and the increasing vulnerability of food systems. The world is emphasising the importance of holistic approaches to agriculture and food systems to tackle these challenges. Germany’s Sustainable Development Strategy for 2030 associates SDGs 2, 3 12 and 15 with sustainable agriculture and food systems as crucial elements to achieve these goals. However, with the lack of knowledge in this area, and the scarcity of tools to monitor and assess food sustainability, it has become crucial to investigate potential holistic approaches and frameworks to assess the sustainability of food systems.
Purpose: This study uses the national framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as the only available valid holistic framework, to explore the sustainability of the bread system in Germany. It operationalises the SDGs to bakery level to identify significant indicators that could, potentially, be used to assess the sustainability of artisan bakeries, and identify to which SDGs the bakeries contribute.
Methods: This study utilises a mixed-methods research design to address the multi-disciplinary nature of the food sustainability concept. It critically evaluates the SDG framework and identifies a set of indicators, which are expanded with further indicators to address the cultural dimension of bread as a cultural heritage. To collect data, a 26-item questionnaire was issued to 586 artisan bakeries with a response rate of 8.8% (n = 52); the 52 bakeries own 562 branches. This was followed by interviews with an acceptance rate of 19% (n = 10). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data, while the interviews were transcribed from German to English and coded using NVivo 11.
Results: Sustainable bread is redefined from a holistic perspective encompassing theory, policies and artisan bakeries. The results confirm that bakeries positively contribute to bread sustainability in Germany, as well as towards achieving the national SDGs. Progress areas include energy efficiency, sustainable packaging, local procurement, heritage promotion, waste reduction and ecolabels. Interestingly, individual bakeries appear to be slightly more sustainable than chains due to their flexibility in adapting to new practices and their use of organic products; however, chain bakeries are slightly less sustainable, but are proven to be more efficient in terms of productivity and market reach.
In most studies on flood risk in Nigeria, priority is given to urban flood risk than rural flood risk. Smallholder farmers who mostly inhabit rural areas and flood plains are known to be at great risk of flooding, but to date, there have been no studies on the impacts they experience and how they cope with these impacts.
To establish the existence of significant change in precipitation in the study area, statistical analysis of precipitation data was conducted using linear regression and non-parametric Mann Kendall test. Landsat satellite images for 1986, 2003 and 2016 were obtained from the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) website and used to collect and analyze data related to land use.
To determine flood risk in the context of land use change, the HEC-HMS model version 3.5 was used. Land use maps corresponding to 1986, 2003, and 2016 LULC conditions were analysed and prepared for the calculation of CN values using Soil Conservation Service (SCS-CN) method. CN map was prepared by integrating the maps of hydrologic soil groups and land use in ArcGIS software.
Based on selected morphological parameters, a flood risk map was developed for the study area. The morphologic flood risk showed that most parts of the basin face moderate flood risk. Higher runoff values were observed under 2016 LULC conditions mainly due to intense deforestation relative to those of 1986 and 2003. The results indicated that runoff and peak discharge are significantly affected by deforestation instead of changes in the rainfall pattern. Flood inundation maps of the study area were prepared for the flood events of 2012 and 2015. Maximum depth for the 2012 and 2015 flood events was calculated as 10.58m and 7.39m, respectively.
The socioeconomic aspects of the research were conducted using household survey method. Using snowball sampling techniques, 400 flood-affected households were selected. The results show that the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers in the study area remains very low and hampered by several factors such as poverty and weakened social networks. The synopsis of the examined variables leads to the following conclusion: Instead of climatic factors – as one indicator of vulnerability – it is social inequality and poverty in the region as well as the structural economic differences between various groups that mainly drives vulnerability in the study area.
Sub-Saharan African cultural landscapes are adversely impacted by various development pressures, which calls for a holistic and integrated approach in their management. Mining development has been ranked highly by UNESCO World Heritage Centre, as one of the most common factors threatening the conservation and management of World Heritage properties around the world. For instance, out of 141 World Heritage properties which submitted their state of conservation reports in 2015, 18% were affected by mining activities. Out of these, 84% of the properties that were threatened by mining development were either cultural landscapes, natural properties and or mixed properties. African World Heritage cultural landscapes are the ones highly affected and threatened by planned and on-going mining and exploration activities.
Therefore, research was carried out using the Mulanje Mountain Cultural Landscape of Malawi and Mapungubwe Cultural landscape of South Africa. Specifically, the study aimed at examining the existing cultural landscape management theories and concepts in order to understand the key elements to be integrated into the suggested strategic management planning methodological framework. It also aimed at evaluating the impact of mining development on the conservation and management of African cultural landscapes. The study also investigated the stakeholder’s views and perception about the impact of mining activities on cultural and natural heritage values of the landscapes.
To achieve the research objectives, the literature was reviewed, firstly to determine the dimensions of cultural landscapes, and secondly, to determine the dimensions of mining development in World Heritage cultural landscapes. The study used two case studies as an effective comparative research strategy in the investigation of the conflicting issues of mining development against the conservation of the attributes of the two cultural landscapes. A case study research strategy was combined with other research methodologies. These included interviews, focus-group-discussions, observations, field site surveys, qualitative content analysis, and thematic analysis.
The study has revealed that stakeholder participation and inclusion is a key element in the integration of mining development in cultural landscape planning. This research has contributed to the methodological gap in cultural landscape management planning by developing and applying an integrated strategic management planning methodological framework. The application of this framework has shown that the governance in place for Mulanje Mountain cultural landscape conformed to the requirements of a long-term and holistic planning process and the participation and empowerment of multiple stakeholders in that process.
Scale dissonances between local and world heritage : the rural landscape of the Palladian villa
(2021)
This research critically analyses the visual representation of the Palladian villa landscape as UNESCO World Heritage. I bring to light certain dissonances around the understanding of this landscape as heritage between global and local perspective. I have explored the ways in which the rural landscape of the Palladian villas is produced by ICOMOS experts, local institution and inhabitants in the contemporary context of the suburban areas of the Veneto region in Italy. Dissonances are arising when the landscape transforms and the visual integrity, or the iconic image of the landscape get lost. I observed that, the loss of the visual integrity, considered as negative by ICOMOS experts, gives space to peculiar heritage social practices from below.
I am problematizing two main aspects of the conservation scheme of this site: the selective visual representation of history and the musealization of agriculture for touristic proposes. I am exploring the potential of reframing and renaming the conservation scheme of the World Heritage Site. I suggest using inhabitant’s visual representation to reframe the UNESCO management plan and considering the peculiar local agricultural practice as a “continuing cultural landscape”. I interpret my empirical and theoretical contribution as a semantic shift in the way the Palladian rural landscape is understood as World Heritage toward an inclusive and situated heritage conservation that extend beyond expert’s conservation philosophies. The research contributes to the deconstruction of modern notions of rural landscape and heritage in the field of heritage studies and landscape conservation especially within the implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
Despite the continuous effects of natural hazards on cultural heritage and growing body of research on disaster risk assessment, cultural heritage still suffers from the lack of integrated risk assessment methodologies. Within the context of natural hazards, earthquakes need to be differently considered mainly due to the sudden massive destruction without warning and the unpredictability of the exact occurrence time and place. So far, limited sources have been adequately dedicated to developing risk assessment methodologies for cultural heritage. The challenge is to integrate the principles and methods of risk assessment in heritage conservation on one side, and to incorporate particular characteristics of cultural heritage and World Cultural Heritage properties (e.g. the Outstanding Universal Values and associated conditions of authenticity and integrity) into the risk assessment procedure, on the other.
There are numerous cultural properties that have been extremely affected by seismic events, such as the historic city of Bam in Iran. The World Heritage site of ‘Bam and its Cultural Landscape’, as a unique example of a traditional human settlement, is investigated in this research. Because Bam and its Cultural Landscape is located in a high-probability earthquake region and appeared to be highly vulnerable to seismic events, an integrated risk assessment for the property needs to be developed in response to potential earthquakes.
Recognising the challenge, a Cultural Heritage Risk Index for Bam is performed to measure the level of risk by aggregating the risk components, which are ‘hazard’ (earthquakes), ‘exposure’ (significance of the site elements), and ‘vulnerability’ (susceptibility and coping capacity). According to the risk index, an earthquake risk map is generated by applying Geographic Information System (GIS) to demonstrate a common understanding of the level of potential impacts on the property. Furthermore, a multiple impact identification matrix supports determining the potential impacts of an earthquake as well as its related secondary hazards and human-induced threats that need to be addressed in a risk preparedness plan.
The findings of the research emphasis that in addition to the hazard itself, diverse factors associated with the heritage significance, structural susceptibility, and institutional capacity highly influence the level of risk. The outputs of the risk assessment allows determining site-specific risk reduction strategies, particularly seismic susceptibility reduction and coping capacity building. This provides specialists and practitioners from multiple sectors engaged in the protection of (World) cultural heritage with a practical tool to facilitate risk communication and appropriate risk management planning.
Urban adaptation is a critical issue for many of the developing countries of Southeast Asia. Vietnam is likely to be among the countries most adversely affected by climate change. Moreover, its largest city, Ho Chi Minh City is considered worldwide as one of most vulnerable to a multitude of climate-related hazards, including flooding, sea-level rise and extreme heat events. Similar to other rapidly developing megacities in Southeast Asia, Ho Chi Minh City has undergone enormous changes in recent decades and has rapidly developed into an emerging megacity shaped by global processes and local settlement patterns. Recently, the need to adapt to the multiple stressors of rapid urbanisation and climate change has become increasingly evident. Adaptation to climate change in urban areas depends on decision-makers’ understanding of the current and future impacts of climate change. Land-use planning as a place-based and problem-solving strategy has been recognised as a key tool in this respect, to mainstream climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction into urban development. Yet a key challenge is a lack of relevant information on exposed populations and assets at risk to planners and policymakers. The dissertation outlines the development of an integrated framework predominantly based on an urban structure type approach. This approach was used to manually interpret high resolution, remotely sensed imagery in order to portray and understand patterns of settlement and urban structure layout of the current and emerging landscapes of Ho Chi Minh City. The approach is able to capture the highly dynamic spatiotemporal, social and structural changes associated with rapid urbanisation. The overall findings show the applicability of the developed framework to produce important input indicators for risk adapted land-use planning. These are ultimately useful to determine hotspots for administrative interventions and to assist prioritising in spatial and urban planning decision-making.
Cameroon’s forest is one of the richest ecosystems in the Congo Basin and in Africa as a whole in terms of its biodiversity. These forest types are currently subjected to multiple categories of threats. By enacting a new forestry law in 1994, the government of Cameroon intended to intensify efforts toward the protection and conservation of this rich biodiversity. This study aimed to compare two forest management systems, a state management system (the case of Takamanda National Park) and a community-based management system (the case of Bimbia- Bonadikombo Community Forest), to determine which management system better conserves and protects the forest against biodiversity loss. The study applied a methodological framework that made use of selected indicators and criteria to evaluate the extent of sustainability of the two forest management systems and challenges faced in implementing them. Both quantitative and qualitative results were realized through the administration of questionnaires, semi-structure interview and in-depth contents analysis of Law No.94-1 of 20th January 1994 that lays down forestry, wildlife and fisheries regulations and the 1996 Environmental Management Law that directs Cameroon’s compliance to the international standard of protecting the environment.Results indicated that community-based system of forest management is a much more sustainable approach of forest management than a state management system. Based on the criterion of cultural values attributed to natural resources in the community-based management zone (Bimbia- Bonadikombo Community Forest), 78.2% of the local communities were more willing to protect biodiversity as opposed to 48.3% from state management zone (Takamanda National Park). This study found that the level of participation in the community-based management system was much more inclusive and transparent. On the other hand, in the state management system, a high level of corruption, lack of transparency, delayed and irregular salaries of forest guards and minimal participation of local communities in forest management decision-making was noted and likely responsible for the ineffectiveness and unsustainable management efforts in this system. The study recommends the adoption and implementation of a more inclusive, transparent and accountable management in the state managed system (Takamada national park), particularly the full involvement of respected Elites, Chiefs and Traditional Councils.
Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) to climate change is a people-centred approach designed for the enablement of communities to collectively develop strategies to respond to local impacts that directly affect their lives and livelihoods. Nevertheless, CBA requires political support and the integration into larger-scale adaptation plans and policies; as the scope of local initiatives is rather small, they cannot substitute national or city-level adaptation efforts, but they may be a supplement as short- or medium-term response measures. Despite the success of single CBA pilot projects, the institutionalisation of CBA and its integration as a bottom-up approach into larger-scale adaptation plans and policies is definitely a challenge: firstly, the potential of CBA is still overlooked by decision-makers and planners; secondly, the decentralisation of decision-making is still underdeveloped in many countries and communities are not yet empowered and enabled to actively participate; and thirdly, there is lack of approaches to 'scale-out' and 'scale-up' successful CBA pilot projects.
Consequently, this doctoral thesis aims at going beyond the work of theorists and focuses on the identification of ways to institutionalise CBA. In the theoretical section of this thesis, an academic concept of CBA is formulated; the scope of CBA is defined and challenges for taking CBA beyond the pilot stage are identified. In a further step, a governance and management concept for the integration of CBA as a bottom-up approach into top-down planning approaches is developed. In order to do that, suitable existing governance and management concepts are identified and transferable concept components are combined.
The first result of this concept development step is an ideal-typical 'CBA Governance Management Model' (CBA-GMM), which combines concepts for a policy instrument and a pro-poor funding mechanism, for a governance approach, based on multi-level and network governance, as well as for a management approach that altogether may theoretically help to enable CBA activities. In a next step, the CBA-GMM is applied to the real case of Vietnam. After the assessment of the political and institutional framework, its strengths, constraints and challenges with regard to the institutionalisation of CBA, an 'Applied CBA Governance Management Model' for Vietnam (CBA-AGMM) is developed, which proposes a concept for the integration of CBA into the strongly hierarchical structure of the Vietnamese administrative and decision-making structure. This doctoral thesis shows that it is theoretically possible to integrate CBA as a bottom-up approach into larger-scale adaptation efforts, while it honestly reflects the constraints for putting it into practice.
Urbanisation is an extreme case of land-use change. The geographical patterns of urban expansion of a city have a direct relationship with its environmental quality, particularly water flows, flooding and urban thermal stress. A key question for urban policy and planning is how to direct these changes in ways that minimise environmental impacts and risks. Since many of the main impacts of climate change in Ho Chi Minh City additionally exhibit a land use dimension, such as the increased frequency of urban flooding events or the intensification of the already existing urban heat island effect, land-use planning and land-use controls can be seen as the most appropriate adaptation management strategy.
These recommendations have been developed under the German Ministry for Education and Research Funded research project ‘‘Integrative Urban and Environmental Planning for Adaptation of Ho Chi Minh City to Climate Change” which is funded as part of the research programme ‘‘Sustainable Development of the Megacities of Tomorrow’’ by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in close cooperation with the Department of Nature Resources and Environment, Ho Chi Minh City.
The main objective was to respond to the needs of the Department of Nature Resource and Environment, Ho Chi Minh City by providing guidance and recommendations that can be used by land-use planners and policy makers to reduce the potential adverse effects of both urbanisation and the current and future effects of climate change. The recommendations have been compiled as a stand-alone document that can be read and understood on their own, however they also contain references to the additional document entitled “Land-use Planning Recommendations - Adaptation Strategies to a Changing Climate in Ho Chi Minh City” referenced within this document as LUPR.Eleven specific focus areas were selected (labelledfrom A to K) in combination with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. For each area the current situation is described and detailed planning recommendations are provided.
Improvement of flood risk assessment under climate change in Ho Chi Minh City with GIS applications
(2014)
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in VN. The city is the most important center of economy, society and culture in the southern region of Vietnam. However, due to characteristics of natural conditions with low topography and borders touch the sea so that since the late 20th century with the rapid economic and urban development there are environmental problems have arisen. One of the problems is flooding issue caused by high tide. With these natural conditions and sea level rise of climate change in the future, Ho Chi Minh City is considered as one of the most affected and damaged cities in the world.
Therefore, many policies have been set out from the national to local levels in Vietnam to prepare for adaptability of impacts and risks of the sea level rise and the climate change. And this has also been considered in Ho Chi Minh City as the development policies of the city authorities have to consider in the context of the sea level rise and the climate change. A number of researches have been conducted to assess the impact of climate change to Ho Chi Minh City in the future. However, these researches are still need to be enhanced further.
The flooding problem is a major issue of the sea level rise in Ho Chi Minh City. And to make a good result, the flood model needs a lot of requirements that ensure fine quality of input data, suitable model and a relied procedure. In the available research, the input data is not really the highest quality in the available context in Ho Chi Minh City. As the flood model is implemented, one of the input data requirements of the model is information detail of elevation in the flooded area. And this is more necessary than in geophysical urban areas such as Ho Chi Minh City. And to assess fully flood risk issues for flooding caused by tidal phenomenon in Ho Chi Minh City, the determination of many characteristics of flood model is very useful for users who need to apply the results of the model for the planning development in Ho Chi Minh City in the future. Besides adopting a uniform environment as GIS for managing all the data of flooding problem and making conditions for the development of decision support systems is very necessary for flood management in the future.
The research has been carried out and its results have been generated on the flood risk assessment associated context of the sea level rise due to climate change with high emissions scenario A1FI in 2030 for the current houses, the population and the land use types. The results have shown a lot of the areas where are inundated in the future with the increasing flooding duration, depth and frequency even though they are not flooded at the current because there are some protective structures. This will be helpful for suggesting a forecast of the development direction to decision makers in Ho Chi Minh City for next time period.
And the last part is the proposal for decision and policy makers, authorities and planners as well. Moreover, the results of this research can be used as the references and the foundations for further researches and so that the problems that Ho Chi Minh City may be encountered due to flood risk caused by climate change to the economic and social aspects of the development in Ho Chi Minh City will encounter. And the problem of adaptation to climate change will be more completed and more thoroughly so that it is to minimize the damage of climate change for the city.