The objectives of the Municipal Environmental Campaign U.A.N., the first and only municipal environmental organisation in Germany, are to help municipalities, municipal associations and companies with the solution of local environmental challenges. The U.A.N. is non-governmental and only attends to those environmental challenges that can be solved, or at least influenced, on the local level.
The U.A.N. gives suggestions, information, instructions and assistance for municipal environmental work. It carries out seminars and workshops and encourages the exchange of experience between its members. Furthermore, the U.A.N. offers services in various environmental fields.
By acquiring a sustaining membership, municipalities, associations, companies, departments of organisations, but also individual people can support the work of the U.A.N.
Sustaining members get for free:
- all member information, e.g. circular letters
- a subscription for the environmental information service „Rathaus und Umwelt“ (“town hall and environment”)
This environmental information service reports on municipal-relevant issues, problems and developments in the environmental area. It is based on the analysis of information from economy, industry, authorities and organisations, parliaments and research establishments.
- a copy of every publication by the U.A.N.
- reduced registration fee to all informational events and seminars of the U.A.N.
- a discount on all U.A.N. service offers
For further information, please contact Wiebke Abeling (+49 (0)511 / 30285-68) or send an e-mail to
abeling@uan.de.
The main work of the Municipal Environmental Campaign U.A.N. is project related. At the moment there are the following projects for and with municipalities:
Network of “Watercourses in Urban Areas“
More and more cities, municipalities and citizens rediscover their waters – as natural area in an urban environment, as a place of recreation, as a formative element in urban development, as a meeting place for cultural activities and last but not least as an opportunity for environmental education for young people and children.
The objectives, people have when they turn back to their waters on a wider scale are manifold. The questions to be dealt with, recur. Therefore a network “Watercourses in Urban Areas“ will be established by the Kommunale Umwelt-AktioN U.A.N. supported by the Federal Foundation for Environment (DBU). The establishment of the network is conducted by a group of volunteering experts with practical local experiences.
The network supports practitioners in implementing revitalisation projects at watercourses in urban areas. It to highlights ways of implementation, make existing experiences usable for anyone interested and create a network with close links to various associations and other co-operational partners. All in all the network shall help to improve knowledge on and activities at water courses in urban areas.
Contact persons at the U.A.N. are Katrin Flasche (
flasche@uan.de).
wib (Water Framework Directive Information Forum)
Since the beginning of the year 2005 the U.A.N. has been working on this project, which is mainly financed by the Environmental Ministry of Lower Saxony. The intention of wib is to support the municipalities in the implementation process of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and to raise the interests of municipalities and make sure these are considered. The municipalities, as relevant stakeholders, should be actively involved in the implementation process. The development process in the municipalities should be brought forward and during the implementation of the WFD the ecological, economical and social concerns at regional level should be considered.
The wib is a point of contact, information pool and communication platform for municipalities regarding questions on the WFD. Therefore an important component will be to inform the municipalities. In addition, seminars, workshops and exchanges of experience are offered regarding various topics concerning the municipalities. The water framework directive information forum also supports the municipalities in the so-called sub-basin councils. The wib wants to find answers to frequently asked questions and wants to develop practise-orientated solutions together with the municipalities. Good examples from practical experience as well as lots of information on the WFD are provided on the website
www.wrrl-kommunal.de.
Contact persons at the U.A.N. are Katrin Flasche (
flasche@uan.de), Christiane Bork-Jürging (
bork-juerging@uan.de) and Robert Baron (
baron@uan.de)
Wastewater Information Forum
Supported by the Ministry for Environment of Lower Saxony, there is a remake of the Wastewater Information Forum at the U.A.N. since January 2007. One objective of the project is the editing and propagation of information all around the issue wastewater, particularly on local wastewater purification. The Wastewater Information Forum wants to be the contact for questions and problems which might occur at the construction and operation of such plants. It can also assist with technical knowledge. It is not only at the disposal of experts and communities, but of the interested layman, who runs an own plant `in his backyard´, too. Within the scope of the Wastewater Information Forum informational events and seminars on various topics of wastewater treatment are organised. The workshops contribute to solutions in the range of local wastewater treatment. There, participants shall exchange their experiences among themselves and information will be provided in an practice-oriented way. Furthermore, it is planned to enhance the software on small-sized wastewater treatment plants (DiWaKom) and to contribute to the internet portal
www.abwasser-dezentral.de.
Contact persons at the U.A.N. are Katrin Flasche (
flasche@uan.de), Marion Keilack (
keilack@uan.de) and Kathrin Panckow (
panckow@uan.de).
Climate change and Local Authorities
“Climate Change and Local Authorities” is supported by the patronage of Mr Christian Wulff, the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony. The project aims to place the topics of “Climate Change” and “Climate Protection” on the agenda of the Local Authorities as well as sensitising the citizens on the topic of “Climate Protection”. Therefore we introduce workable options for Local Authorities and accumulate information for distribution to all interested L.A.´s in Lower Saxony. Furthermore we support the exchange of information and cooperation between Local Authorities and other networks such as NGO´s. The project is accompanied by an advisory board made up of members from head organisations of local governments as well as members from energy and finance companies.
For further details please visit our website
www.kuk-nds.de.
Contact persons at the U.A.N. are Ruth Drügemöller (
druegemoeller@kuk-nds.de), Florian Unger (
unger@kuk-nds.de) and Lars Uhde (
uhde@kuk-nds.de).
RURENER (Network of small RURal communities for ENERgetic-neutrality)
The RURENER project is a network of small rural communities (villages and small towns) that want to become carbon neutral at the local level. The Network will bring tools and methods to support its members’ energy strategy set-up and evaluation. It will allow them to share experience, learn from each other and promote their action through mentoring and twining activities. Thanks to this support, small rural municipalities will implement concrete action plans at the local level aiming at energy efficiency. Production of renewable energy sources, investment to save energy in buildings, education, information, etc. will be at the heart of the local energy strategies. The different actions set up will lead to better use of local resources and opportunities and bring innovative local development to small rural communities throughout Europe. RURENER will disseminate actions and results to recruit new members and become a living network of villages and small towns committed to Energetic Neutrality objectives.
There are 12 project partners, from; France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Romania, Hungary and the UK.
Supported by:
For further details please go to
www.rurener.eu.
Contact person at the U.A.N. is Wiebke Abeling (
abeling@uan.de).
ENMaR (European Network of Municipalities and Rivers)
It was an Interreg IIIC project to demonstrate differences, similarities, problems and opportunities in implementing the Water Framework Directive (WFD) at the local level in the European river basins involved. These were the Mersey (England), the Emån (SE), the Gauja (LV), the Miño (ES) and the Weser (DE). The network enabled municipalities in these regions to share knowledge and good practise. ENMaR aimed to encourage regional development through the WFD. Spatial planning, water services, tourism, forestry and agriculture were main themes of ENMaR as these determine regional development. ENMaR was adopting the integrated approach of the WFD.
With information and support from ENMaR the local authorities in the participating regions will be better able to implement water policy in a sustainable way, to participate actively in local river basin management, to make integrated and multidisciplinary planning decisions, to take advantage of improved water quality for regeneration, tourism promotion and to influence agricultural and forestry impacts.
For further information, please go to
www.enmar.org. Contact person at the U.A.N. is
Wiebke Abeling (
abeling@uan.de).
International wastewater partnerships
The idea of international wastewater partnerships was set up in the year 2000. It is an inter-municipal programme designed to help municipal institutions both home and abroad to fulfil their environmental obligations in the field of water management, meaning water supply, sewage treatment and the implementation of the water framework directive, in line with the legal requirements.
The municipalities taking part in an international wastewater partnership undertake to co-operate fully with one another in respect of water framework directive, water supply and sewage treatment matters. The main focus of these co-operations is the exchange of knowledge and experience. The partnership municipalities should support each other e.g. by information transfer and consultancy relating to the solution of technical, operational or financial problems. The wastewater partnerships gain their special values from practical experience and the specific local conditions.
The U.A.N. works as a general information and contact forum for the wastewater partnership municipalities, arranges inter-regional exchange of experience, and organizes seminars on particular problems encountered in water management and protection.
Contact person at the U.A.N. is Wiebke Abeling (
abeling@uan.de)
North Sea SEP (Sustainable Energy Planning)
The project was initiated by a group of interested specialists from different fields: green industry, regional planners and stakeholders of regional and municipal development.
The idea of this project is to focus on the specific problems municipalities and counties faced in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
North Sea Sustainable Energy Planning is considering main points of relevant strategic EU policies, such as the ESDP (fostering e.g. Indigenous Development, Diverse and Productive Rural Areas), the Lisbon and Gothenburg Strategy (creating a dynamic economic environment and ensuring sustainable development) and translating it to the field of alternative energies and energy efficiency (RES -directive).
Supported by:
For further details please go to
www.northseasep.eu.
Contact person at the U.A.N. is Wiebke Abeling (
abeling@uan.de)
Repowering InfoCentre
As a nationwide service provider for administrative districts and municipalities, the Repowering InfoCentre provides information on the replacement of older wind turbines with new, high-output turbines in the municipal planning area.
The Repowering InfoCentre is run in the cooperation with the German Association of Towns and Municipalities (Deutscher Städte- und Gemeindebund). The project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety for a total period of three years.
For further details please go to
www.repowering-kommunal.de. (in German only).
Contact person at the U.A.N. is Marlies Bahrenberg (
bahrenberg@uan.de)
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