Agroforestry in the Netherlands is taking a momentum, the professional practice is slowly but increasingly adopting agroforestry as an agricultural practice and clear government efforts are acknowledging the importance of agroforestry asa climate adaptive option that aligns with national goals. However, farmers are still facing a wide variety of challenges which also lie on policy issues. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the current bottlenecks and barriers that farmers perceive and experience in the implementation of agroforestry in the Netherlands. This review has been carried out building upon the results of an online survey where perceived bottlenecks were identified (total N=3,500 farmers and other stakeholders). Based on the aforementioned results the current relevant EC’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) normative provisions andthe Dutch national rules and regulations that promote agroforestry are referred. We also identify the potential bottlenecks that the transition to the new CAP imposes to the implementation of agroforestry. Main bottlenecks fell under three categories, i.e. issues about technical knowledge, business models, and rules and regulations. Main subjects that were raised under the rules and regulations category were unclarity on current provisions at EU and national level (e.g. CAP), registration of crops under agroforestry and related subsidies, governance at national and provincial level. Thereafter the EC’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) normative provisions and the Dutch national rules and regulations that are acting as barriers were linked to these raised subjects. Various CAP provisions concur with previous identified policy issues that are shared with other EU member states, however many require adaptations of rules and regulations at the national, provincial and municipality level and a coordinated governance among these levels.
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Veel goede bedoelingen, maar geen tempo bij de circulaire transitie. Ruimtegebrek voor grootschalige, hoogwaardige recycling en bouwhubs, en tegelijkertijd onderbenutte ruimte op bijvoorbeeld watergebonden locaties zijn de grootste bottlenecks. Cees-Jan Pen, Juriën Poulussen en Evert Jan de Kort beschrijven negen manieren om ruimte te scheppen voor de circulaire transitie.
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From the article: The higher educational environment in Europe is changing and for the Netherlands this means that the dual educational system (universities and insti-tutes for higher professional education) will disappear. However this is not the only driver of change. Many European countries face a population that is aging and in the near future many lecturers will retire. Also the current financial crisis in Europe is causing many investments in higher education to be delayed. These and other drivers mean that universities need to organize their resources (such as buildings, lecture halls, libraries, IT etc.) in a different manner. Furthermore sup-port staff and administrators within universities need to be more flexible in the way they work to cater to the needs of a new customer group. To identify the changes that are needed and any bottlenecks that can be expected, a study was conducted at the HU University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Professors, managers, staff, and students were interviewed and based on the outcomes a method for a new way of working was developed and IT tools to support this were recommended. Subsequently the method and some of the tools were tested in a pilot with 22 students. One of the most impressive results has been the re-duction in the number of e-mails sent. During the pilot several means of commu-nication were used (mainly twitter and Facebook) while the use of e-mail was not allowed. For the lecturers involved this meant a reduction in e-mail from over 1000 mails to fewer than 200 while at the same time the amount of tweets and Facebook postings totaled around 350. This means a reduction of about 45% in the number of messages. Furthermore we also used e-learning to reduce the amount of time that teachers and students needed to be physically present at the university, thereby not only reducing overhead but also helping in realizing the sustainability goals of the university.
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3D-printen is inmiddels een volwassen productietechniek en wordt ook steeds meer ingezet voor medische toepassingen, omdat het voor medisch specialisten steeds meer vanzelfsprekend wordt dat zorg wordt afgestemd op de behoeften en wensen van de patiënt. Ook de therapeutische wereld volgt deze ontwikkelingen en willen hier meer mee doen, om zo hun patiënten optimaal te kunnen helpen. De bottlenecks voor het daadwerkelijk implementeren van 3D-printen in het alledaagse proces van de podotherapeut zitten voornamelijk in de kostprijs, snelheid van produceren, beperking aan goede materialen en de onmogelijkheid om de geprinte zool nadien aan te passen. Daarnaast zorgt de diversiteit aan mogelijkheden voor een diffuus beeld voor de podotherapeutische bedrijven omtrent wat nu de juiste productietechniek en het juiste materiaal is om te gebruiken. De praktijkvraag die in dit project beantwoord wordt is: In welke situatie is welke materiaal-productieproces combinatie van de 3D-printtechniek geschikt voor podotherapeutische zolen? Middels gebruiksonderzoek en scenario’s worden de eisen en wensen van de podotherapeuten achterhaald, welke worden gekoppeld aan de uitkomsten van het literatuuronderzoek. Deze ontwerp-proces-materiaal-combinaties worden experimenteel getest en verbeterd. Aan de hand van de uitkomsten worden ontwerp-afhankelijke richtlijnen opgesteld voor de podotherapeuten om zo een goede materiaal-proces selectie te kunnen maken voor het gebruik van 3D-printen voor podotherapeutische zolen.
This pre-study anticipates to a SIA call focussing on circular and bio-based economy in Brazil. It is linked to the Living Lab Brazil managed by Avans University of Applied Sciences. Although the dairy value chain will benefit from both circular and bio-based principles, this pre-study will be limited to circular systems. There is a vast potential for investment by the Dutch and Brazilian private sector in the dairy value chain in Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil. There is also ample room to improve production efficiency towards a more circular system. Notwithstanding the business opportunities in the Brazilian dairy sector, there are challenges in attracting and consolidating partnerships along the circular-based value chain. A better understanding of the demands, challenges and opportunities of the interested Dutch companies is highly relevant to develop sustainable circular-based dairy value chains. Therefore, the goal of our project proposal is the exploration of a potential Dutch business network that is interested to invest in the Brazilian circular dairy value chain, and an exploration of the potential business opportunities for the Dutch and Brazilian dairy sector. The consortium in our proposal is conformed as follows: (a) Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences (VHL). VHL is the leading knowledge institute. Vilentum University of Applied Sciences and the Federal University of Viçosa will participate through VHL. (b) Alta Genetics BV; (c) Groasis BV. To achieve our goal we focus on the following questions: What is the potential and what are the bottlenecks for the Dutch private sector (SME’s) to increase business opportunities in the dairy sector of MG? What are the business opportunities to develop and innovate circular-based dairy value chains through the Dutch and Brazilian private sector with dairy breeding and agro-silvopastoral farming as pilots? The outputs of this study will be: A list of potential Dutch private investors, both interested but hesitating and/or already successful. Basically we would like to identify “partners” and to build up a business network where we could match-make the Dutch companies with the Brazilian companies or clients; A pre-proposal including intentions for further collaboration; Three detailed reports with marketing and investment opportunities and/or research strategy in relation to circular-based economy in: general dairy chain, dairy breeding and agro-silvopastoral farming. The latter two topics must be considered as pilots for the entire dairy value chain.
Many Caribbean reefs have shifted from coral-dominated to algal-dominated ecosystems. The high algae cover reduces coral recruitment, making the reef unable to recover from other disturbances and resulting in flatter reefs with lower biodiversity. One of the reasons for the proliferation of algae is a mass die-off of the herbivorous sea urchin Diadema antillarum in the early 1980s. Natural recovery of Diadema populations is slow to non-existent, making active restoration of this important grazer a top priority in Caribbean coral reef management, especially since Diadema densities were reduced by another mass mortality event in 2022. The marine park organizations of Saba and St. Eustatius want to restore Diadema populations by restocking cultured individuals. However, important knowledge gaps need to be addressed before large numbers of Diadema can be restocked on the reef. Current culture methods can only produce a limited number of competent larvae. In addition, only 8% of the settlers survive and after restocking, survival on the reef is low as well. In the RAAK PRO Diadema II project, the bottlenecks in Diadema culture will be addressed by comparing larval survival across multiple culture methods and investigating the relation between larval size and post-settlement survival. Growing-out juveniles at sea is likely to help prepare them for life in the wild, while restocking at an optimal size might also increase survival. Finally, a thorough restocking site selection based on high shelter availability and settlement rates will increase the long-term Diadema densities. The acquired knowledge and developed practices will be verified in a larger scale restocking experiment involving at least 5000 Diadema urchins. By restoring Diadema populations through restocking, macroalgae will be more intensively removed and corals will have a chance to settle and to survive, increasing the ability of the reef to cope with other stressors.
