Herewith, the below
signing in representation
of their Universities and Institutions of Higher Education and Investígation
declare their will and their intention to make an active con tribution
to the research, to provide a basisfor theformulation of environmental
strategies which will help to achieve a sustainable development in
urban agglomerations and their suburban agrarian regions on the example
of Berlin, Madrid, Moscow, Mexico City, San Juan and Guayaquil, as
well as La Paz, Saloniki Patras, Havana and Rio de Janeiro.
The Toronto
Declaration World Cities and their Environment" held on 28 August
1991 in Toronto recognized the cities as an enormous unused potential
for solving ecological challenges ".
For this reason they ought to be ,,pioneers
for new methods in environmentally compatible developments and in
urban environment management".
In chapter
7, agenda 21 of the UNCED Conference in Rio 1992
the principksfor a sustainable and
ecologically friendly development of settlement as well as efficient
urban ecological management were developed.
Considering
that an important and always growing percentage of the population
is living in urban areas and that this population shows an
increased environmental consciousness, cities world-wide are faced
with the task of improving the urban bioclimatic situation. For this
reason, the immision of dust, noise and other sfressfactors must be
significantly reduced.
At the same time,
city life must bepreserved and developed.
These aspects are
subject to strong economic and social restrictions. As a result, the
urban environmentalpolicy runs into numerous andpartly serious aim
conflicts.
The switch
lo an ecologically sound economy must begin in
towns and cities.
In order lo achieve this,
practical steps must be taken to include the idea of an environmentally
sound and sustainable development in
municipal planning
and administration.
Urban and marginally
urban environments must be understood and managed as ecological systems.
Development strategies should enable cities and periurban agrarian
regions to function as comprehensive ecosystems, ensuring a reasonabk
balance between economic development and ecology.
An important goal
of urban and regional planning polícies is lo preserve and link the
vegetation areas within a city and its surrounding areas.
Indigenous species ofplants
and animals ought lo be reintegrated into the urban environment. An
additionalpossibility is lo protect natural resources (river valleys,
forests and agriculturally used areas) in
(he city and its environment
by (he way oflandscapeprotechion.
This contributes lo balanced
zones which are requiredfor urban microclimate, the preservation of
recreation areas ¡ti
close vicinityfor
use bypopulation and (he protection of bodies of water and soil..
These solutions need lo consider socio-economic and urban-demographic
realities.
The use of new knowkdge
and methods aiows for new solutions wíth urban- and eco-historical
dimensions.
The JIPA.E.P.
contains (he objectives and research assignments
mentioned below.
These research assignments
wil be carried out on the example of Berlin, Madrid and Moscow, Mexico
City, San Juan and Guayaquil, as’ well as’ La Paz, Saloniki,
Patras, Havana and Rio de Janeiro.
Innovative possibiities
of an economic-ecologically optimized use of highly adapted and funtional
vegetahion in (he urban space
are put in (he centre of attention:
Exploring
the relationships between international agreements and subsequenu
national actiotis on the exampk of chapter 7, agenda 21 of (he UNCED
Conference in Rio
1992, and the UN. Conference Habitat in Istanbul,
where the principles for a sustainabk and ecologicallyfriendly development
of settkment as well as an efflcient urban ecological management were
developed, taking especially ¡tito consideration (he planning of urban
vegetation areas, including (he naturation of buildings.
Analyzing
atid comparing national atid international strategies towards a sustainable
development ¡ti thefield
of urban ecology, taking especially into consideration (he planning
of urban vegelation areas in Germany
Spain, Russia, Greece, Bolivia, Mexico, Puerto Rico/USA, Ecuador,
Braril and Cuba.
Reviewing and evaluahing
how etivironmentalfactors are or could most effectively be integrated
into the formulation, implementahion and evaluation of sectoral policies
(construclion itidustry,
agriculture near
the city, tourism) as well as regional development policies on the
example of the planning of urban vegetation areas, including naturation
of buildings in selected cities.
Clarifying
societal attitudes to and the perception of environmental issues based
on the example of the planning of urban vegetation areas,
including the naturation
of buildings in selected cities.
Environmental-economic
case studies to improve the integration of socio-economic and S&T
aspects in the management of the complex environmental problems of
land-use changes, urbanization and a built environment.
Evaluation of proposals
for further development of various combinations of market oriented
and interventionist instruments and strategies to integrate the objectives
of economic growth (building in the city, tourism, development of
horticulture and agriculture near the city) with environmental quality
on the example of an innovative naturation of large building surfaces
with highly adapted plant material (extremophilic xerophytes).
Economic and ecological
management elements (innovative and dynamic management instruments
for municipal political decision-makers) as an alternative to using
older regulations dealing with air quality.
Instruments which
facilitate the improvement for the different economic and non-economic
fields by an consent engineering.
Possibilities of
an urban-agrarian consent engineering, for example in connection with
the conversion of intensive used agricultural areas in the further
periurban region into an extensive (ecologically and economically
friendly) cultivation are included.
Development of the
basic principles for a tool to assess technological priorities for
urban environmental improvement and their competitive advantages:
development on the example of the naturation of buildings.
Management of innovative
forms of urban naturation and the development of biotop connection
systems between the city and its periurban region through special
institutes, universities and high schools and based on the programs
in the European Union the AlE (Association for the Co-operation in
Research for Industry), the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service),
the ASP e.v. (Civil Association for the Formation ofAgricultural and
Ecological Projects), using university municipal and state funds.
Translating the
achieved results and gained experience into practice in an independent
project, e.g. in the form ofpublic-private partnership.
Contributing specalically
to the environmental education of the public and to public relations.
