Light pollution is a well-known problem because of its negative impacts on human health, flora, and fauna. From an ecological and engineering point of view, the literature states to consider the ...following aspects: (1) the light intensity; (2) the composition of the spectrum; (3) the time and duration of lighting to optimize the time of illumination with the available technologies; (4) the periods of lighting and the control cone; (5) the height and spacing between the light sources to optimize the space between the light sources, to reduce the flow of light and unnecessary energy consumption; (6) the environmental impact studies on-site; and (7) the analysis of real needs and less standardized approaches, examining the evolution of use and habits of light consumption. Accordingly, we want to present the SMART LIGHT-HUB (INTERREG) project, which pretends, during the next 3 years (2019–2021), to deliver smart lighting systems to reach the widest possible public, such as companies active in the relevant subject areas. We are setting up an R&D network in the Grande Région (Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and France) to facilitate the emergence of new collective solutions to needs that are not addressed in the private and public sectors, in terms of lighting. We are planning exchange workshops, which serve to complete the project, concerning the interested parties on the ground (public authorities, chambers of commerce and industry, local authorities, public–private sector, private companies, etc.) and external participants representing the final consumers. We also want to work on restoring a protected nighttime environment (i.e., continuous areas of “nocturnal/black corridors” for animals that cannot tolerate artificial light).
The taxonomic identification of organisms based on the amplification of specific genetic markers (metabarcoding) implicitly requires adequate discriminatory information and taxonomic coverage of ...environmental DNA sequences in taxonomic databases. These requirements were quantitatively examined by comparing the determination of cyanobacteria and microalgae obtained by metabarcoding and light microscopy. We used planktic and biofilm samples collected in 37 lakes and 22 rivers across the Alpine region. We focused on two of the most used and best represented genetic markers in the reference databases, namely the 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA genes. A sequence gap analysis using blastn showed that, in the identity range of 99–100%, approximately 30% (plankton) and 60% (biofilm) of the sequences did not find any close counterpart in the reference databases (NCBI GenBank). Similarly, a taxonomic gap analysis showed that approximately 50% of the cyanobacterial and eukaryotic microalgal species identified by light microscopy were not represented in the reference databases. In both cases, the magnitude of the gaps differed between the major taxonomic groups. Even considering the species determined under the microscope and represented in the reference databases, 22% and 26% were still not included in the results obtained by the blastn at percentage levels of identity ≥95% and ≥97%, respectively. The main causes were the absence of matching sequences due to amplification and/or sequencing failure and potential misidentification in the microscopy step. Our results quantitatively demonstrated that in metabarcoding the main obstacles in the classification of 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA sequences and interpretation of high-throughput sequencing biomonitoring data were due to the existence of important gaps in the taxonomic completeness of the reference databases and the short length of reads. The study focused on the Alpine region, but the extent of the gaps could be much greater in other less investigated geographic areas.
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•Metabarcoding needs discriminating information in sequences and database coverage.•Requirements were tested by analyzing 16S-18S rRNA genes in 59 Alpine water bodies.•A high % of sequences and species is not included in the molecular databases.•The extent of sequence and taxonomic gaps differed in the major taxonomic groups.•Incomplete coverage of taxonomic databases hinders the application of metabarcoding.
Since 1992, culture has been an official competence of the European Union. De facto, the EU has the legitimacy and means to intervene and change collective representations and social dynamics, ...including in border regions, in order to bring people together and build a Europe 'united in diversity'. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the cross-border dynamics in cultural matters, and to examine the realization of cultural projects as a driving force in the process of cross-border integration. The approach is based on a spatial analysis of the cultural projects co-financed by Interreg over the 2000-2020 period, enabling to provide an overview of the cross-border cultural initiatives undertaken. The results reveal first that strong spatial disparities exist between programming spaces in terms of cultural investment. Second, that cross-border cultural cooperation mainly involves municipalities, and not primarily cultural actors. Third, although a diverse range of cultural projects have been developed over the last twenty years, the emphasis has been more on tourism projects. These achievements bring into question the role of Interreg programming in cultural matters in the dynamics of cross-border integration, since it fosters an economic approach to culture at the expense of social and identity issues.
In this paper, focusing on the European Territorial Cooperation (INTERREG) example, the author compares three selected policy themes to understand what drives cross-border cooperation (CBC) in ...different contexts. The main argument is that cultural, economic, political, institutional, and geographical drivers of CBC play different roles in determining the intensity of CBC across different themes. To test this argument, three separate regressions are run for the policy themes of education, small and medium sized enterprises, and infrastructure. The regression results support that the intensity of CBC in each particular thematic area is driven by a unique combination of factors. This finding provides important insights on CBC policy-making in the European Union and potentially beyond. Follow-up studies can inform the design of future CBC policies and prioritization of thematic CBC interventions.
Best practices are prevalent in all fields of planning and act to highlight effective and implementable examples, set standards, and generally assist 'evidence-based' policy-making. In doing so, they ...frame what futures are desirable and play a role in shaping the planned environment. Despite this power, little is known about how certain policies come to be considered best practices. This article takes a case of best practice making in an EU INTERREG project and illuminates the processes and justifications used to select and formulate best practices. Reviewing project documents and interviewing those involved in selecting possible best practices, demonstrates who decides what should be exemplified, how the decisions are taken, and on what grounds choices are made. The varied and subjective reasonings we find to justify best practices calls into question their perceived neutrality and sturdiness as policy-making instruments. However, selecting best practices, as a process itself, is not without benefits for participants as the reflective element enabled unique forms of learning, opening up wider questions about what function best practices have in making policy.
Preparations for the EU's post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework have brought increased interest to the functional approach as a major paradigm of the EU policies towards cross-border areas. This ...approach aims to focus cross-border programmes on territories where there is a high degree of cross-border interaction. Cross-border functional areas (CBFAs) can be a potential instrument for this, fostering further reduction of cross-border barriers and enhancing flows of people, goods, materials and knowledge. However, certain aspects of this notion are rather vague. This includes both the way how to turn the rather discursive concept of the CBFA into more material-institutional practices, and how CBFAs can be identified in practice to successfully implement the EU's cohesion policy. This paper debates the concept of the CBFA and proposes understanding CBFAs as spatially specific territorial complexes, located on two (or more) sides of a state border(s) that are not defined by administrative borders, but by cross-border functional linkages, a system of cooperative relationships and the existence of governance mechanisms. The paper proposes a novel approach for CBFA's identification based on a four-level model, taking into account the selected criteria. The proposed framework enabled to identify CBFAs and potential CBFAs at the borders of Poland.
Borders have significant potential as tourist attractions, and there are many aspects of unique border locations capable of attracting people's attention. One such attraction would be the tripoint, ...i.e. a place where the borders of three different countries meet physically at a single point. One of the newest such features in Europe - where the borders of Poland, Slovakia and Czechia meet in the Beskid Mountains - provides an example of far-reaching border-related changes in the EU, the creativity of local authorities as supported by EU funds, and the creation of a new transboundary meeting space with a strong integration-related identity. It also exemplifies the concept of a new tourist space beyond traditional tourist destinations. The development of tourism at tripoints is modelled ideographically. Spatio-temporal analysis with scalar dimensions shows the spatial relationships between tripoints and tourism development: the central point, the immediate vicinity, the proximal neighborhood (or local zone) and the regional zone. The tripoint examined here supports a proposal for a spatial planning model at tripoints in Europe.
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