About four months after the UN 2023 Water Conference, IHE Delft Rector Eddy Moors reflects on the impact of the event, which gathered some 10,000 participants at the UN headquarters in New York City and online.
Afua Owusu has won the inaugural Falkenmark award for best PhD thesis for her work on the protection and restoration of naturally flowing rivers through the provision of environmental flows (e-flows). The prize, awarded by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), recognizes outstanding contributions to hydrological understanding of water scarcity and water supply.
What part of the global population is likely to have to survive Saharan temperatures as a result of climate change? Professor Marten Scheffer (Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, WUR) analysed this question three years ago with a team of international researchers. This much-debated study was recently updated. Nature Sustainability publishes an article on the study this week.
More than 2,000 pesticides are used for agricultural production in Europe, yet knowledge about the effects of pesticide residue mixtures on ecosystems and human health is scarce and scattered. The SPRINT project investigates the occurrence and resulting impact of these mixtures on ecosystems and humans.
The water system in the Netherlands is under increasing pressure due to climate change, pollution and growing consumption of water. That means we need to make more efficient use of the available water. In the AquaConnect programme, researchers collaborate with partners in the water sector in developing a smart, circular water system.
Can a rapid warming of Earth trigger tipping points in our climate? For decades scientists have debated if today’s warming can strongly amplify itself by triggering a catastrophic release of greenhouse gases. New research, published in Science Advances, now presents evidence that such tipping points did occur in Earth’s history. The researchers show that tipping points triggered three periods of extreme warming in the distant past, millions of years ago.
The IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report on March 20, urging that only swift and drastic action against climate change can avert irreversible damage to the world. A new study published in Nature Climate Change has found that limiting climate change is also more beneficial for the economy. “Keeping climate change below 2°C will cost governments far less than dealing with the damages associated with further temperature increases,” says lead author Kaj-Ivar van der Wijst.
In southeast Kenya, near the border with Tanzania, lies a coral reef in the Indian ocean. The coral reef has degraded due to unsustainable fishing and climate change. WUR PhD student Joshua Wambugu is investigating how the local community and other stakeholders can contribute to restoring the reef and finding a sustainable livelihood.
Brabant heeft vanwege stikstof alle vergunningen voor landbouw en woningbouw stilgelegd . Hoe hard de natuur achteruit gaat is te zien op de Brabantse Wal, gelegen tussen veehouderijen, snelweg, luchtmachtbasis en haven.
Halving the use of plant protection products in agriculture, such as neonicotinoids, is part of the EU's "Farm to Fork" strategy. In a new report, the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Academies (EASAC) evaluates recent research on the effects of neonicotinoids and its implications for the current debate. One of the report compilers is researcher Claudia Lima e Silva of Wageningen University & Research.