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The new Commission proposal seeks to modernise and simplify the CAP

Towards the future CAP

The European Commission has today launched a proposal on how to modernise and simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), one of the core policies of the EU.

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Four out of five EU crop and wild flower species depend on insect pollination

Protecting Pollinators – the EU Pollinators Initiative

In response to calls by the European Parliament and Member States for action to protect and mitigate the decline of pollinators and their habitats, the European Commission has today adopted a Communication on the first-ever EU initiative on...

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Via manure application in agriculture, veterinary medicines and biocides are released into the environment, affect ing soil and water quality

Call for participation in an EU-wide monitoring campaign of manure

The JRC is looking for participants to help with its monitoring campaign of manure to help develop criteria for safe processed manure. In order to promote the sustainable recovery of nutrients from manure, it is vital to make a careful evaluation of...

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The social and ecological sustainability level of the countries of the world. Not a single country has achieved a high level of well-being in an ecologically sustainable manner. Finland is very successful when measured against indicators of social well-being, but its sustainability gap is considerable.

A future the planet can accommodate requires policy change in Finland as well

The United Nations Agenda 2030 puts binding goals on countries for the promotion of sustainable well-being. However, research indicates that Finland cannot achieve these goals because our ecological sustainability deficit is so great. The change can...

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The water shortage in Cape Town and Southern Africa is indicative of more long-term weather patterns. ©David, Adobe Stock 2018

Making sense of the situation in Cape Town

Cape Town has come dangerously close to running out of water after 3 years of persistent drought. Tight water usage restrictions have been successful in stalling 'day zero' - when the city's taps will be turned off - until 2019, buying time for...

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Irrigation using reclaimed water could significantly reduce the impact of agriculture on water supply in the EU

Commission proposes new Regulation on using reclaimed water for irrigation

A Commission proposal for a new Regulation on the use of treated water for irrigation has been adopted today.

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Harmful plastic litter (i.e food containers, packets and wrappers, drinks containers and cups, tobacco products with filters, wet wipes, balloons, and lightweight plastic bags) constitute 70% of all marine litter items in oceans and seas

JRC provides scientific policy support for new Commission proposal on single-use plastics

The JRC provided DG Environment with information on the most common marine litter items found on European beaches to help draft today's new European Commission's proposal for a Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on...

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In several parts of Europe, exceptionally warm and drier-than-usual April conditions negatively affected flowering rapeseed stands. (c) garmashevanatali – stock.adobe.com

Warm April accelerates crop development

According to the May issue of the JRC MARS Crop monitoring Bulletin, which was published today, warm and relatively dry weather in most of Europe boosted crop development and allowed spring sowing to accelerate, but also brought challenges to winter...

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Europe on the move: Commission completes its agenda for safe, clean and connected mobility. ©EU 2018

Scientific support to the third "Europe on the Move" package

On 17 May 2018 the European Commission introduced a package of measures addressing transport safety, connected and automated mobility, and clean mobility.

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The term microlitter normally refers to litter items less than 5 mm in diameter. © Photo: Julia Talvitie.

Microlitter – a challenge for wastewater treatment plants

Finnish Environment Institute Researcher and M.Sc. Julia Talvitie’s doctoral dissertation indicates that wastewater treatment plants function well overall for microlitter removal. The vast majority (approx. 99%) of microlitter of 20 micrometers is...

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Water-food-energy nexus in the Mediterranean basin. ©Fotolia_107155199_microgen

Linking the Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Sustainable Development Indicators for the Mediterranean Region

Food production and water provision are are two urgent socio-economic and environmental issues in the Mediterranean region. Because these aspects are closely linked, they need to be tackled by an integrated approach known as Water-Energy-Food (WEF)...

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Marine production in north-western Mediterranean could rise due to climate change. © Damedias – stock.adobe.com

Marine production in north-western Mediterranean could rise due to climate change

JRC scientists find in a recently published paper that significant changes in north-western Mediterranean productivity are likely due to climate change in the coming decades.

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The water content in the soil with a two meters depth would decrease by 35 millimeters if global temperature would increase by 3 K. Photo: Peisker, fotolia; montage: Martin Schrön, UFZ The water content in the soil with a two meters depth would decrease by 35 millimeters if global temperature would increase by 3 K. This corresponds to a water deficit of 35,000 cubic meters of water per square kilometer. Symbolically illustrating this change in the landscape, it corresponds to a water store with a height of 3.5 m and length and width of 100 m on every square kilometer. Photo: Peisker, fotolia; montage: Martin Schrön, UFZ

Climate change intensifies droughts in Europe

Global warming will exacerbate soil droughts in Europe - droughts will last longer, affect greater areas, and have an impact on more people. If the earth warms by three degrees Celsius, extreme events - such as the drought which struck large parts of...

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(c) Adobe Stock

Cold and wet conditions delay spring sowing; winter crops generally faring well

According to the April issue of the JRC MARS Crop monitoring Bulletin, which was published today, in many parts of Europe, unfavourable weather conditions caused delays to the sowing of spring and summer crops. In most cases, there is still time to...

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(c) Adobe Stock, by Daniel Prudek

JRC contribution to DG-AGRI short-term outlook

The Short-term outlook for EU agricultural markets in 2018 and 2019, which presents the outlook for 2018-2019 for arable crops and meat and dairy markets in the EU, was published by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture today.

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(c) EU, author D. Bavera

How to restore Europe's ecosystems in a cost effective way?

Ecosystems deliver essential goods such as food, energy, raw materials, air and water. They also regulate our climate and provide habitats for pollinators that fertilise our crops. These services are vital to our economy. Ecosystem degradation (due...

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(c) EU, by Herve Kerdiles

Global overview of agricultural production hotspots

The latest edition of the monthly Anomaly Hotspots of Agricultural Production (ASAP) Global Overview, which reports on agricultural production of hotspot countries in Southern, East, North and West Africa, the Middle East, Central and South-east...

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(c) wikimedia commons

Land degradation threatens the well-being of people and the planet

The world's first comprehensive evidence-based assessment of land degradation and restoration highlights some sobering facts regarding how worsening land degradation caused by human activities is undermining the well-being of 3.2 billion people (two...

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(c) EU

Reconnecting Nature and Culture to celebrate the European Year of Cultural Heritage

2018 is the European Year of Cultural Heritage. To mark the occasion, the Joint Research Centre, together with Universita’ La Sapienza in Rome and the Italian Botanical Society, has contributed to the European Commission's initiative “Our heritage:...

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Biomass production, supply, uses and flows in the European Union

The JRC has recently published a Science-for-Policy report that quantitatively assesses biomass production, supply, uses and flows in the European Union (EU), and outlines a methodological framework to assess the environmental impacts of biomass...

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(c) Adobe Stock, steveottie

World Water Day: exploring the solutions we find in nature

This year's World Water Day theme is all about finding nature-based answers to the water challenges we face. At the JRC, our research shows how important natural solutions are in managing resources effectively, securing access to clean water and...

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(c) Adobe Stock

Global Report on Food Crises finds that in 2017 major famines were averted but food security remains critical

The Global Report on Food Crises, presented on 22 March 2018 in Rome, indicates that major risks of famine were averted in 2017 in the four countries that were declared at risk in early 2017: Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and North Nigeria.

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Water flows of the late autumn and spring will change in the future. © Kaisa-Riikka Mustonen, University of Oulu

Climate models predict changes to flows and biota of northern rivers

The habitats of species in Finland's rivers will move northward as climate change causes temperatures to rise. In addition, seasonal fluctuation in the flow of rivers will become more irregular than it is now. Small headwater streams will experience...

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(c) Adobe Stock, by John Smith

How to measure the condition of Europe's ecosystems?

The recently published fifth MAES (Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services) report provides guidance to the EU and its Member States on how to assess the condition (or the state) of Europe's ecosystems.

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(c) Adobe Stock, by areporter

Frost damage to winter crops remains limited despite end-of-winter cold spell

According to the March issue of the JRC MARS Crop monitoring Bulletin, which was published yesterday, weather conditions have generally been adequate for the wintering and early establishment of winter cereals, despite the unusual weather conditions...

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(c) EU

Climate change promotes the spread of mosquito- and tick-borne viruses

Spurred on by climate change, international travel and international trade, disease-bearing insects are spreading to ever-wider parts of the world. This means that more humans are exposed to viral infections such as Dengue fever, Chikungunya, Zika,...

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The project BONUS BLUEWEBS evaluates how the goods and services provided by the sea are influenced by different significant changes, such as invasive species. © Riikka Puntila

What is the status of the Archipelago Sea food web?

In the coming weeks senior research scientist Laura Uusitalo and her collegues interview the local stakeholders and managers about their views of the Archipelago Sea ecosystem and its functioning, and about the aspects of marine nature and associated...

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Vaccination was found to be the best strategy for stopping epidemics. (c) Adobe Stock, REDPIXEL

Prevention is better than cure: targeted vaccination to halt epidemics

Amidst growing concerns over the low uptake of flu shots in Europe, scientists from the Italian National Research Council and the JRC confirm that vaccinations remain the best way forward when it comes to stopping the spread of infectious diseases.

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(c) Adobe Stock, by Sergey Nivens

International Women's Day: how our remarkable women got into science

At the JRC, we have been working to improve gender equality in science. Last year, women represented 35% of our staff, 18% of our managers and 50% of our senior managers. International Women's Day is – for us and many others –a reminder that...

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(c) Adobe Stock, author: Africa Studio

Soil carbon sink? It depends also on nitrogen

A study just published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Nature Climate Change shows that soils can be a net sink of greenhouse gases through increased storage of organic carbon.

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