home

Energy transition and nature conservation – EWeNat

Project title: The energy transition and conflicting interests of energy policy goals, social acceptance and nature conservation requirements (EWeNat)

Focus

  • Environmental and landscape-compatible expansion of renewable energies
  • Creating an awareness of the necessity of reducing energy consumption and discussing the future lifestyle related to this
  • Guidelines for a nature conservation communication strategy

Contact

Technische Universität Berlin
Institute for Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
Department of Landscape Planning and Development
Straße des 17. Juni 145, 10623 Berlin
Prof. Dr. Stefan Heiland
Tel.: +49 30 314-79094
stefan.heiland(at)avoid-unrequested-mailstu-berlin.de

Funding

FKZ 3514 80 1800
Departmental research plan 2014
Term: 01.12.2014 – 31.01.2016

Society's attitude to the energy transition is characterised by considerable contradictions which are not so easy to reconcile. Leading on from this, the research project looks at the contradictions and consequences which arise from these differing requirements. Guidelines were derived from this for a nature conservation communication strategy to promote the necessity of energy saving to the same degree as the acceptance of an energy transition that is compatible with landscape and nature.

In the first step, discussions took place with experts of a wide range of specialisms and affiliations – including nature conservation associations, plant operators, public campaigns and experts from environmental psychology, acceptance research and sociology for planning, communication, sufficiency issues and public participation – to identify the causes of objections and barriers to implementing an environmental and landscape compatible energy transition. The next step involved looking for ways of overcoming these barriers in order to demonstrate options for solutions. The project consisted of organising, implementing and documenting the results of expert interviews, a one-day expert workshop (to define and discuss key questions and to integrate different disciplinary and interest-led points of view) as well as a three-day conference with the aim of discussing and communicating the results more widely to selected stakeholders.

The primary aim of the project was to contribute to:

  • reflection on new problem areas in the context of the energy transition
  • aspects of nature and resource protection including expected future/anticipated conflict areas
  • acceptance of the expansion of renewable energies,
  • the environmental and landscape-compatible design and implementation of this expansion
  • creating an awareness of the necessity of reducing energy consumption and discussing the future lifestyle related to this
  • developing guidelines for a nature conservation communication strategy

Results

The presentations from the workshop on the Island of Vilm as well as the results publication are available to download on the BfN website. The expert opinions produced during the project (not barrier-free) can be downloaded from the website of the Department of Landscape Planning and Development:

  1. Hemmende und fördernde Faktoren des individuellen energieschonenden Verhaltens im Kontext landschaftsverändernder und naturschutzfachlicher Konsequenzen der Energiewende (A. Blöbaum) (Inhibiting and promoting factors of individual energy conserving behaviour in the context of landscape changes and nature conservation consequences of the energy transition)
  2. Strukturelle Rahmenbedingungen des Energieverhaltens (D. Ohlhorst) (Structural framework conditions of energy behaviour)
  3. Naturverträgliche Energiewende Voraussetzungen, Strukturelle Rahmenbedingungen und Hemmnisse für Stromeinsparungen und Effizienzsteigerungen in Haushalten Möglichkeiten und Grenzen für eine erfolgreiche Kommunikation (U. Holzmann-Sach) (Requirements for an environmentally compatible energy transition, structural framework conditions and obstacles for power saving and increased efficiency in households. Opportunities and limits to successful communication).
  4. Expertise Social Media (J. Hölderle)

Work packages

Work packages

  1. Basic survey: synoptic evaluation of completed, ongoing and planned BfN projects and literature analysis
  2. Expert discussions:From January-March 2015, 34 experts chosen from different disciplines were interviewed by telephone. The interviews were conducted based on a questionnaire. Evaluation of the interviews supplied ideas for developing the key questions for the expert workshop in April.
  3. Expert workshop (April 2015): Around 20 experts from different disciplines discussed the project's research questions at an expert workshop in Leipzig. The evaluation of the conference provided indications of the topics to be looked at in more detail for expert opinions.
  4. Issuing four written expert opinions on the following topics:

    (1) Environmental psychology expert opinion / Dr. Anke Blöbaum: "Hemmende und fördernde Faktoren des individuellen energieschonenden Verhaltens im Kontext landschaftsverändernder und naturschutzfachlicher Konsequenzen der Energiewende" (Inhibiting and promoting factors of individual energy conserving behaviour in the context of landscape changes and nature conservation consequences of the energy transition)
    (2) Political science expert opinion / Dr. Dörte Ohlhorst: "Strukturelle Rahmenbedingungen und Hemmnisse für Stromeinsparungen und Effizienzsteigerungen in Haushalten“ (structural framework conditions and obstacles for power saving and increased efficiency in households)
    (3) Communication expert opinion / Ute Holzmann-Sach: "Naturverträgliche Energiewende – Voraussetzungen, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen für eine erfolgreiche Kommunikation“ (Environmentally compatible energy transition – requirements, opportunities and limits for successful communication)
    (4) Social media expert opinion / Jona Hölderl
  5. Conference on the Island of Vilm (06.–09.10.2015): What might a communication strategy for nature conservation look like?
    The conference was aimed at communicating these findings and the discussion with a broad public and with experts
  6. Publishing the project result

Project partners

Project partners

Project management

Technische Universität Berlin
Institute for Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
Department of Landscape Planning and Development
Straße des 17. Juni 145, 10623 Berlin
Prof. Dr. Stefan Heiland
Tel.: +49 30 314-79094
stefan.heiland(at)avoid-unrequested-mailstu-berlin.de

Project partners

University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburgi
Department of Landscape Management & Regional Development
Schadenweilerhof, 72108 Rottenburg
Prof. Dr. Rainer Luick
Tel.: +49 7472 951-238
luick(at)avoid-unrequested-mailshs-rottenburg.de

Funding authority

Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN)
FG II 4.3 Nature conservation and renewable energies
Competence Centre for Nature Conservation and Energy Transition (KNE)
Alte Messe 6, 04103 Leipzig
Kathrin Ammermann
Tel.: +49 341 30977 160
Kathrin.Ammermann(at)avoid-unrequested-mailsBfN.de

Topics

Methods and Management Approaches   

Keywords

Landscape Cultural Landscape Wind Power National Survey Conferences and Workshops Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation Completed Results published 
Print this page
Drucken

How can the expansion in renewable energies be designed in harmony with nature? The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) is providing expert scientific advice on this question to the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Bundesumweltministerium, BMUB). Research by the BfN always has a practical application and generates scientific results for advising government i.e. supplies a basis for decision-making for the preparation, implementation, monitoring and further development of nature conservation measures and the Federal Government's nature conservation policy.