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Last changed: 04/03/2010
The export of so-called WEEE continues to cause a stir, for used equipment is reused and disposed of under catastrophic conditions in import countries. A new study commissioned by UBA says that the consumer must also do something to solve the problem.
Biomass production and use and global trade in bioenergy sources have seen strong growth in Germany and elsewhere, due to ambitious development targets. In Europe and internationally, this is leading to conflicts between objectives which may frustrate political efforts towards climate, biodiversity and resource protection. This research project aims to elaborate concrete proposals for standards and certification systems and for their implementation at national, European and global level, and to feed them into international processes.
The indicator ”Ecological Footprint” represents the difference between the resources consumed in a country and its available biocapacity. A study commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency analysed the data base and methodology for calculating this indicator and concluded that both must be improved.
Practicing sustainability - and protecting natural resources and the environment. On around 120 pages, a brochure provides figures and facts about the use of natural resources in Germany. Indicators and trends show the areas in which efficiency gains are emerging and those in which resource efficiency still needs to be increased.
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, with the objective of stopping the loss of biodiversity, highlighting successes in conserving it and creating awareness of the fact that human welfare depends on biological diversity.
The consumption of natural resources is growing globally, posing a threat to ecosystems and raising fears of devastating social consequences. By increasing our resource efficiency substantially and closing substance cycles, we can prevent conflicts and disasters. The World Resources Forum 2009 in Davos and the Natural Resources Day in Berlin sought to direct current environmental policy focus to the issue of resource protection and sustainable use of resources.
This paper shows how the public and private sector can raise resource productivity in global value chains by providing some spotlights on international perspectives and showcasing best practice examples. It was written by the UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) as part of the project ”Resource Productivity and Resource Savings – A Future Dialogue” (”Zukunftsdialog Rohstoffproduktivität und Ressourcenschonung”) commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency.