PROGRES – Environmental Research (UK, 2017–2021)

PROGRES – Environmental Research (UK, 2017–2021)

Project ‘Progres - Environmental Research, follows the previous interdisciplinary project ‘Prvouk’. The present proposal corresponds with the framework and research concepts of the Institute for Environmental Studies – Faculty of Science, Environment Center of the Charles University, Department of Social and Cultural Ecology of the Faculty of Humanities, Department of Atmospheric Physics of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Environmental Law of the Faculty of Law, Centre of Environmental Education of the Faculty of Education and Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine of the Third Faculty of Medicine. The aim of the project is to conduct a conceptual and interdisciplinary study regarding the biotic and abiotic interactions between environmental compartments. 

Financial support:

Charles University

Project duration:

2017–2021

Coordinator of the project in CUEC:

Jan Frouz

Project description:

Project "Progres - Environmental Research", follows the previous interdisciplinary project ‘Prvouk’. The present proposal corresponds with the framework and research concepts of the Institute for Environmental Studies – Faculty of Science, Environment Center of the Charles University, Department of Social and Cultural Ecology of the Faculty of Humanities, Department of Atmospheric Physics of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Environmental Law of the Faculty of Law, Centre of Environmental Education of the Faculty of Education and Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine of the Third Faculty of Medicine. The aim of the project is to conduct a conceptual and interdisciplinary study regarding the biotic and abiotic interactions between environmental compartments. The proposed study will incorporate aspects of human influence on the environment and reciprocal effects of environment on the human population, including decisive legislation processes effecting these interactions. In this context, the important subject of the consequence of anthropogenic burdens in the environment will be studied. The general aim of the programme will be to interconnect individual participants represented by the environmentally oriented departments form the faculties of the university and, by the way of this, continually increase the quality of studies regarding the subject of environment at the university level. It is also expected that extensive international cooperation with foreign partners will be available for the project. The project reflects current requirements stemming from the latest studies to involve up-to-date approaches and linking partners from different sub-areas in order to allow the extension and intensification of acquired knowledge in both basic and applied research within the university. The proposal represents a considerably multidisciplinary project including numerous domains in the context of studying and understanding various complex environmental compartments. These domains consist of disciplines of natural sciences represented by ecology, environmental chemistry, geology, meteorology and climatology, atmospheric chemistry, physics, hydrology and preventive medicine; as well as disciplines of humanistic and social sciences including sociology, political science, law, economics and didactics. The list of disciplines demonstrates the unique horizontal and complex connection of various scientific domains related to the environment. Such an approach also reflects the contemporary trend in which the natural sciences can be hardly separated from the social and humanistic sciences in order to appreciate and appropriately understand the complex structure and functionality of the environment. The interaction of various disciplines with different methodological approaches enables the intensification of understanding of subjects such as biodiversity, anthropogenic burden, environmental behavior as well as attitudes of the human society and tools for behavior regulations. The project, as well as the previous one, includes combination of modern approaches and methods based on advanced instrumentation and sophisticated procedures applied for the study of biotic and abiotic compartments of the ecosystem and its interaction with the human society. Such interactions will be studied using various modern methods, including advanced mathematical modeling, data mining, creation and implementation of various scenarios of the development of society as well as other advanced methods applicable to humanistic science. In this regard, the key components of the study will consist of: the interaction between main biotic and abiotic components of the environment; the contamination and decontamination of the environment; identification of risk factors and their influence on the environment and human health; modelling of the global and regional climate and other key parameters of ecosystems; environmentally relevant consumptions; material and energetic metabolism of economy and its environmental and social aspects; Analysis of the processes of industrial modernization and its relation to the environment; specification of safe social and economic space via the determination of global thresholds and the respective indicators; description and comparison of legislations and proposals of legal arrangements; the perception of environmental problems by the society and possible tools to influence the processes; environmental education and public awareness. All these aspects reflect contemporary trends and problems of the environment including global changes. 

Realization team :

Jan Frouz and all staff of the Centre

Outputs:

Outcomes of the project will consist of published scientific studies within the frames of the above mentioned disciplines that will deepen our knowledge in several areas of the environmental sciences. The outcomes will be applicable to environmental technologies, concept- based decision making regarding the environment and human health, preparation of environmental legislature, protection of biodiversity and educating the public about environment.

 

Contact

Charles University
Environment Centre
José Martího 407/2
160 00 Praha 6
Czech Republic

tel.: +420 220 199 460

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

How to find us

Personal data protection

Information about data protection

Data Protection Officer
Mgr. Jan Jindra

E-mail: gdpr@cuni.cz
Phone: +420 224 491 740