Project overview

Project title:

Raising awareness and publicity of the importance of forest functions in the landscape and near-natural watercourses in urban areas as a part of basin ecosystem services

Project applicant:

Mendel University in Brno

Grant provider:

European Economic Area Foundation

Programme:

CZ02 - Biodiversity and ecosystem services/ Monitoring and integral planning and inspection of the environment/ Adaptation to climate changes

Programme area:

PA 2 - Biodiversity and ecosystem services

Content of the project:

The project aims to educate general public on the value of selected parts of basin ecosystem services. Using generally comprehensible form the result and outcomes of the project present recreational significance of near-natural and revitalised riverbeds in urban area, adding to their water management and ecosystem effect.   Within the open landscape it popularises social functions of forests and forestry. The professional results of the project will be field research based country-wide overviews of A) parts of water courses in urban areas and suburban recreation zones with significant synergistic water management, ecology and recreology effects; B) examples of forest stand with high social and country-forming significance.

Group of interest:

The project is focused on various target audience: public administration employees; seniors, students and school children, researchers as well as general public. The main outcomes of the project will be scientific books, international scientific conferences, professional seminars and thematic photography exhibitions. Except for the information vale the outcomes will serve the propagation of Norwegian funds, Ministry of the Environment, Mendel University in Brno and included cities and counties.

The benefits of the project:

The overall benefit of the project is to increase the awareness and knowledge and educate about the functions of forests in the country and near-nature riverbeds in urban area as a part of ecosystem services of river basin. A significant partial aim is to localize and describe representative examples of incorporation of watercourses into urban ecosystems.  The presentation and information outcomes of the project are international scientific conference, scientific seminar for public administration and general public, a scientific book, its offprints for individual counties and a touring photography exhibition. The aim of these outcomes is to address scientific and general public and in a general and comprehensive way explain the significance of near-nature character and landscaping of riverbeds. Within the individual outcomes will be presented the individual biological, technical and biotechnical elements used riverbeds landscaping, shortly explained their water management function and defined their recreation significance. The expected benefit will differ according to individual target audience.

Duration of project implementation:

16. 1. 2015 to 30.6.2016 

Brief description of the donor:

Within the EEA and Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway contribute to the decrease of social and economic differences and to reinforcement of bilateral relations with accepting countries in the EU.  These three countries closely cooperate within the EU in terms of Agreement on European Economic Area (EEA).
For the period of 2009 - 2014 the EEA grant reached 1.79 milliard EUR. Norway contributed to this sum in approximately 97 % from the total. Grants are supposed for non-governmental organisations, research and academic institutions and for subjects from public and private sector in 12 new member states of the EU, Greece, Portugal and Spain. A wide range of state grant subjects cooperate with the programme. The projects are to be realised due the end of 2016.
The key areas of support are protection of the environment and climate changes, research and scholarships, civil society, public health and children, gender equality, justice and cultural heritage.

Brief description of the applicant:

Mendel University in Brno (MENDELU) is the oldest univerity education on agriculture and forestry in Czech countries. MENDELU aims to interconnect the education activities with new scientific knowledge and practice, to ensure effectiveness of outcomes of research-scientific activities within publication activity and transfer of technology and to increase the link between research-scientific activities and practice needs. Research and development are an essential part of MENDELU. The mission of MENDELU is to link the basic and applied research in environmental, biological, technical, forestry and food industry areas with education programmes of European quality. A MENDELU research programme follows modern trends of contemporary development of  basic scientific disciplines, mainly biology, and their applications into practice. MENDELU consists of 5 faculties and one university department.