11 May 2010 - Mapping
of stone reefs and sea bed, assessment of
the biological diversity of the reefs and
computer simulations of blue corridors were
subprojects under the EU BSR INTERREG IIIB’s
Baltic Sea project BALANCE. Data gathered
under the Danish monitoring programme
for the aquatic and terrestrial environment
(NOVANA) were also applied. The photo illustrates
animals and seaweed plants at 20 m depth
on the stone reef “The Chinese Wall” in
the Kattegat.
The EU financed project
BALANCE led by Denmark for the protection
and sustainable administration of the ecosystems
of the Baltic Sea will receive the National
World Energy Globe Award for Denmark in
2010 in connection with the celebration
of UN’s international environment day on
5 June in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
The National Environmental
Research Institute (NERI), Aarhus University
has contributed to BALANCE with the development
of maps of the submarine glacial landscape
of the Kattegat, assessment of the biodiversity
on Danish reefs and the sea bed, and computer
simulations of so-called “blue corridors”
in the Baltic Sea. Contributions also include
modelling of important basic information
on currents and salinity in the Baltic Sea
regions as background for the formation
of the marine landscape of the Baltic Sea.
The BALANCE project ran from 2005 to 2007
and was managed and coordinated by the Danish
Forest and Nature Agency, now Danish Agency
for Spatial and Environmental Planning (BLST).
NERI cooperated with the Danish Maritime
Safety Administration and the Geological
Survey of Denmark and Greenland on the development
of maps and investigations of the biologically
rich submarine glacier landscape in the
Kattegat, and with the Department of Biology
at Copenhagen University. Investigations
led, among other things, to the extension
of the Natura-2000 site around the reef
“Kims Top” from 24 km2 to 261 km2.
Senior advisor Karsten
Dahl, who participated in the Danish and
some of the international BALANCE projects
together with NERI colleagues senior scientists
Jørgen Hansen and Jørgen Bendtsen,
professor Jacob Carstensen, scientists Steffen
Lundsteen and Johan Söderkvist and
technician and diver Jan Damgaard Nielsen
state that it is a great honour and privilege
that the project has now won an award.
“Apart from the individual
Danish assignments included in the BALANCE
project, NERI also contributed to the preparation
of the final BALANCE reports. We now have
new and extensive background knowledge for
the benefit of the management and protection
of the marine environment of the Baltic
Sea, which means that the objective of the
BALANCE project has indeed been met,” claims
Karsten Dahl, who commends the project management
in the Danish Agency for Spatial and Environmental
Planning for their work.
The Energy Globe Award
is one of the world’s most prestigious environmental
awards with the participation of around
1,000 competing environmental and energy
projects and is awarded annually to the
most outstanding project of the participating
countries and to one global award winner
among all participating projects.
In 2010, the award will
be presented on 3 June in connection with
the annual UN World Environment day of the
UN World Environment Programme UNEP on 5
June.
Energy Globe award
Facts about BALANCE
BALTIC – Baltic Sea Management – Nature
Conservation and Sustainable Development
of the Ecosystem through Spatial Planning
– is targeted towards the development of
knowledge-based tools for the management
of the Baltic Sea based on spatial planning
and cross-sectoral and transnational co-operation.
Scientists and authorities
from the EU countries surrounding the Baltic
Sea and from Norway participated in the
project which was initiated in 2005 and
ended at the end of 2007.
The main objectives
were:
identification, harmonisation
and quality assurance of available marine
data for the Baltic Sea, the Kattegat and
the Skagerrak
identification of marine landscapes in the
Baltic Sea and the development of habitat
maps (in four pilot areas)
assessment of the existing Baltic Sea network
of protected areas and development of a
concept for “blue corridors”
development of zone management plans for
the Baltic Sea, exemplified in two pilot
areas
The project has been acknowledged by the
results being referred to and included in
the HELCOM Baltic Sea action plan, by the
EU decision to extend the marine landscapes
to include not only the Baltic Sea but also
the North Sea, the Celtic Sea and the western
Mediterranean Sea, and nationally by being
included as background knowledge for the
designation of protected areas in, for example,
the Kattegat.
+ More
Air pollution from road
traffic increases the risk of lung cancer
10 May 2010 - A new
Danish study shows that inhabitants living
in areas with elevated air pollution levels
due to road traffic have an increased risk
of developing lung cancer.
A just published investigation
shows that the 10% of the participants living
in areas with the highest air pollution
had a 45% increased risk of lung cancer
compared to the 50% of the participants
living in areas with the lowest air pollution.
The research team has
traced the addresses of the participants
back to 1971 and then applied a model to
calculate the air quality levels of nitrogen
oxides (NOx) for the same addresses. The
model was developed by the National Environmental
Research Institute (NERI) at Aarhus University.
NERI was also responsible for the air quality
calculations in the investigation.
Participants in the
investigation are researchers from the Danish
Cancer Society, University of Copenhagen,
Bispebjerg Hospital, and from Aarhus University,
NERI and Institute of Public Health.
Air Pollution from Traffic
and Risk for Lung Cancer in Three Danish
Cohorts. Ole Raaschou-Nielsen, Helle Bak,
Mette Sørensen, Steen Solvang Jensen,
Matthias Ketzel, Martin Hvidberg, Peter
Schnohr, Anne Tjønneland, Kim Overvad
and Steffen Loft. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers
Prev; 19(5); 1284 –91, 2010
Luftforurening fra trafik øger risikoen
for lungekræft (news article in Danish,
Danish Cancer Society)
+ More
French Order of Academic
Palms awarded to NERI scientist
5 May 2010 - It is not
often that a scientist is awarded a French
order, but this is exactly what has happened
to a scientist from the National Environmental
Research Institute (NERI), Aarhus University.
On 29 April senior scientist Helle Weber
Ravn, who is employed at NERI Silkeborg,
was awarded the French Order of Academic
Palms. The order was presented by Ambassador
Bérengère Quincy at the French
Embassy in Copenhagen.
Helle Weber Ravn was
born and raised in Haderslev in Sønderjylland.
She is a graduate in pharmacy (lic. pharm.)
and recently supplemented this with a Graduate
Diploma in Management (DL) from Aarhus University.
She is conducting innoviative research to
develop new patents and scientific documentation
within the field of using biomarkers for
the detection of phytochemical differences
in plants and animals exposed to environmental
stress, e.g. pesticides. She has submitted
several international patents through Aarhus
University, and new patent applications
are on the way. It is very unusual to combine
pharmaceutical chemical expertise with the
field of biological environment, but this
has now become her strong point, and through
her cooperation with biologists and foreign
researchers from the university she has
succeeded in developing an entire new field
of expertise within the use of natural substances.
Since 1987, Helle Weber
Ravn has cooperated with scientists attached
to the “Université Montpellier 1”
and other French universities and institutions
where she has conducted research, and she
has contributed to lecturing and examining
French scientists and master students in
France and in Denmark. Several Danish pharmaceutical
and chemistry students from Danish universities
have been on study visits to France, with
support from the French embassy, among others,
and under the supervision of Helle Weber
Ravn.
The relationship with
the French Embassy goes a long way back.
From 1993-1996, Helle was employed as international
coordinator for a worldwide programme relating
to toxic algae under the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission at the UNESCO headquarters
in Paris via the Danish Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
Helle Weber Ravn describes
herself as a Francophile, she speaks fluent
French and has many French friends and acquaintances.
She has lectured within her field of expertise
in connection with the extension of specialized
studies at “Université Montpellier1”,
and she willingly takes on both cultural
and academic challenges.
About the order
The order L’Ordre des Palmes Académiques
(French Order of Academic Palms) is an acknowledgment
of chivalry of France. The order was founded
by Emperor Napoleon and is among the world’s
oldest orders of chivalry. Originally, the
Palmes Académiques was only given
to teachers or professors, but in 1866 the
order was expanded to include major contributions
to French national education and culture
made by anyone, including foreigners. Decisions
on nominations and promotions are decided
by the Minister of Education following recommendations
from the French embassies around the world.
The order was presented on 29 April during
a closed ceremony at the French embassy
in Copenhagen in the presence of Danish
and French colleagues and members of Helle’s
family. In 2010, four Danish citizens will
receive the order.
