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Puigdemont, presidente Catalogna: faremo rispettare l'esito del referendum sull'indipendenza

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Thu, 10 Aug 2017 12:00:00 +0200

La Catalogna marcia verso il referendum del 1 ottobre per l'indipendenza dalla Spagna. I gruppi separatisti hanno consegnato al Parlamento regionale la legge per la convocazione del voto, che Madrid definisce illegale e promette di fermare a tutti i costi. "Piuttosto che rinunciare al referendum mi faccio arrestare", risponde il presidente catalano Carles Puigdemont.

Mario Magarò lo ha intervistato a Barcellona –




RAI News
 
Mario Magaró
 
02-08-2017.-



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Catalogna, Rajoy ha preferito la guerra sporca al dialogo politico

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Thu, 05 Oct 2017 10:00:00 +0200

Il premier spagnolo è chiamato a risolvere una crisi che ha creato. E che il suo partito ha gestito con mezzi non sempre convenzionali: dal dossieraggio a una polizia parallela dentro al ministero dell'Interno.




LETTERA43
 
02-10-2017
 
GIOVANNA FAGGIONATO

 
Mariano Rajoy non mollerà nemmeno questa volta. A meno che non lo costringano a farlo i partiti di opposizione, questo testardo galiziano di provincia, alla guida del Partido Popular da 17 anni, al governo di Madrid da sette, tenterà ancora una volta di presentarsi come il bastione della nazione spagnola. Poco importa che il referendum del primo ottobre abbia mostrato il suo fallimento politico a livello internazionale con la stampa a testimoniare le violenze della Guardia Civil – «tristi, ma proporzionate» le ha definite, «siamo un esempio per il mondo» - su cittadini desiderosi solo di votare. Poco importa che la sua politica abbia creato indipendentisti dove non ce n’erano e abbia semplicemente impedito di capire cosa vogliono realmente i cittadini catalani: una mossa controproducente per tutti coloro che desiderano la Spagna unita.

IMPERMEABILE AGLI SCANDALI. Dopo aver guidato il Paese attraverso la crisi, da leader di un partito al centro della maggiore inchiesta di corruzione della storia nazionale e dopo aver accettato di governare di nuovo senza una maggioranza politica, si farà scivolare addosso anche la pessima gestione dell’autoproclamato referendum catalano, quello che, come ha spiegato alle 20 del primo ottobre, «non è mai esistito». Impermeabile a ogni scandalo, a ogni questione di opportunità, proverà, dopo essere sopravvissuto a incidenti stradali e aerei - il primo gli lasciò cicatrici sul volto, nel secondo si ruppe un dito -, a superare anche la crisi catalana. Una crisi che in questi anni però non ha fatto che alimentare con metodi legali e non, in una guerra sporca che è la cosa più lontana dal dialogo politico invocato in questi giorni.
 
Le tensioni odierne, ormai è noto, sono figlie in prima battuta del ricorso alla Corte costituzionale presentato del Partido popular contro il nuovo Statuto negoziato dal governo di Barcellona con l'esecutivo Zapatero, ratificato da un voto parlamentare e approvato attraverso un referendum della popolazione della Catalogna, seppure ancora una volta con un'affluenza minore della metà degli aventi diritto. Da lì in poi la questione catalana si è avvitata su se stessa in un crescendo di radicalizzazione. Ma intanto Rajoy è arrivato al governo e, mentre i giovani spagnoli passavano giorni e notti a Puerta del Sol a protestare contro una classe politica corrotta e contro un'austerity che colpiva gli ultimi, il Partido popular proseguiva la sua guerra con altri mezzi.

MEZZI NON CONVENZIONALI. Jorge Fernández Díaz, fedelissimo di Rajoy, cattolico numerario dell'Opus Dei ma anche catalano tendenzialmente moderato, da ministro degli Interni a partire dal 2012 e almeno fino al 2017 ha messo in piedi una sorta di di polizia parallela formata da alcuni ufficiali di polizia anche giudiziaria. Il gruppo ha condotto indagini per anni al di fuori dei meccanismi dello stato di diritto, coinvolgendo anche personale di agenzie investigative private. L'obiettivo era ottenere informazioni in merito alle indagini sul caso Gurtel: l'inchiesta che ha portato a scoprire i fondi neri del Partido popular coinvolgendone le prime file, Rajoy compreso, e da cui Calle Genova è riuscita ad uscire più o meno in piedi perchè il computer dove avrebbero dovuto esserci le prove dei finanziamenti rivelati dall'ex tesoriere Luis Barcenas era stato formattato. Ma, e forse è anche più grave, la polizia politica di Diaz si occupava soprattutto del dossieraggio dei nemici del centrodestra di governo e in particolare degli indipendentisti.
 
«NIXON S'È DIMESSO PER MOLTO MENO». «Per qualcosa di molto inferiore», ha scritto El Diario, «Nixon si è dimesso». La vicenda è stata prima raccontata sulla stampa e pochissimo al di fuori dei confini nazionali. Poi è diventata un documentario per mano di due giornalisti di Mediapro, la casa editrice del quotidiano online progressista Publico. Ma nel chiuso circuito mediatico spagnolo solo l'emittente catalana e quella basca hanno deciso di trasmetterlo. Ed è facile capirne il motivo.
 
Tra i politici finiti nel mirino della polizia di Diaz figurano il leader di Podemos Pablo Iglesias, Jordi Pujol, presidente del governo di Catalogna dal 1980 al 2003, e anche l'attuale vicepresidente della Generalitat, Oriol Junqueras, leader della formazione della sinistra indipendentista Esquerra Repubblicana: l'uomo che con l'ex presidente Artus Mas ha progettato il referendum del primo ottobre. Per trovare gli scheletri nascosti dei suoi nemici, il ministro degli Interni si appoggiava al capo dell'ufficio antifrode catalano, Daniel de Alfonso. Ma, secondo alcune conversazioni registrate tra i due, Diaz teneva informato anche Rajoy.

LA FABBRICAZIONE DI FALSI DOCUMENTI. Come succede spesso in questi casi, i dossier mescolavano verità - peraltro facili visto che la classe dirigente catalana è stata coinvolta in numerosi casi di corruzione - e bugie. In mancanza di documenti che provassero la corruzione degli oppositori, infatti, i poliziotti agli ordini del capo dell'Interno si sono spinti anche a fabbricarne di falsi. Da qui vengono le fatture fasulle venezuelane che per un po' hanno inquinato il dibattito sul leader di Podemos. E un altro falso documento è stato utilizzato contro l'ex leader catalano Pujol. L'uomo che ha guidato la regione per 30 anni, peraltro invocandone sempre l'autonomia, è tuttavia finito al centro di un'inchiesta per evasione fiscale e ha confessato di avere all'estero, nel principato di Andorra, milioni di euro sconosciuti al Fisco iberico. I bocconi avvelenati o semplicemente a orologeria sono stati preparati soprattutto in vista della consultazione catalana del 2014.

FONDI PUBBLICI PER INDAGINI FRAUDOLENTE. La presenza della polizia parallela è emersa solo nel 2016 e appena il 21 settembre 2017 la commissione di inchiesta parlamentare che se ne è occupata ha approvato con 172 voti a favore - quelli dei socialisti, di Podemos e degli indipendentisti - la sua relazione finale. Come riporta Publico, i deputati hanno certificato che il ministro degli Interni ha utilizzato fondi pubblici e funzionari statali per indagini fraudolente contro gli oppositori politici. Anche i membri di Ciudadanos, che pure si sono astenuti, ne hanno riconosciuto l'esistenza. Ben inteso, questo non toglie niente all'egoismo fiscale, all'integralismo e alla assenza di razionalità delle rivendicazioni indipendentiste. Ma spiega in parte come siamo arrivati fino a qui, e perché è difficile che Rajoy ne tiri la Spagna fuori. E non è una buona notizia.
 


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La Catalogna protesta nel cuore dell’Europa, che soffre delle sue stesse malattie

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Sun, 31 Dec 2017 12:00:00 +0100



IL FATTO QUOTIDIANO
 
11-12-2017
 
FABIO MARCELLI
Giurista intennazionale
 
 
La questione catalana presenta un forte interesse scientifico dal punto di vista del diritto internazionale, innescandosi nel solco formato da recenti manifestazioni di prassi internazionale, quali quelle per l’indipendenza del Quebec o del Kosovo. Preciso che non sono un sostenitore dell’indipendenza catalana a ogni costo e che ciò non avrebbe comunque molto senso, dato che non sono né cittadino spagnolo né tantomeno catalano. Sono però cittadino europeo, oltre che italiano, e in quanto tale interessato al rispetto della democrazia e dei diritti politici su tutto il nostro continente e oltre. Per tale motivo sono rimasto negativamente impressionato dalla selvaggia repressione scatenata dal governo Rajoy contro milioni di cittadini spagnoli e catalani che stavano semplicemente esercitando in modo pacifico un proprio elementare diritto democratico e cioè dichiarare o meno la loro preferenza per l’instaurazione di una Repubblica catalana indipendente.
 
Si può in altri termini discettare riguardo alle conseguenze giuridiche di tali atti, che taluni ritengono di nessun rilievo da tale punto di vista. Non si può invece negarne il valore politico né si può accettare la repressione avvenuta quel giorno né la conseguente criminalizzazione del movimento indipendentista, culminata con il mandato d’arresto internazionale, successivamente ritirato, dell’ex presidente catalano con i suoi quattro ministri. Mandando contro una buona parte del popolo catalano che voleva solo votare democraticamente truppe armate di manganelli e pallottole di gomma, il governo spagnolo ha senza dubbio violato la Convenzione europea dei diritti umani, dando un ulteriore pessimo segnale in un’Europa nella quale si moltiplicano inquietanti fenomeni di esaltazione del passato fascista che si sperava e pensava superato per sempre. Un passato fascista che in Spagna ha un solo nome: franchismo.
 
Tali fenomeni inquietanti hanno peraltro la loro radice nella crescente disaffezione della gente nei confronti della politica e della sua ispirazione generalmente antipopolare in Europa. Peraltro, la stessa consultazione referendaria del primo ottobre ha evidenziato l’esistenza di un malcontento estremamente diffuso, in Catalogna ma probabilmente anche altrove, che parte da un inevitabile giudizio negativo sul governo spagnolo per la corruzione in cui sta affogando e le sue spietate politiche neoliberali, ma esprime anche insoddisfazione e disagio a fronte di un quadro costituzionale che si è rivelato del tutto asfittico e inadeguato. Situazione di grave inadeguatezza, ulteriormente aggravata e evidenziata dall’improvvida decisione della Corte costituzionale sullo statuto catalano, decisione fortemente voluta e ispirata da quello stesso Rajoy.
Significativa appare del resto la circostanza che le organizzazioni colpite dalla repressione abbiano deciso di portare la propria protesta proprio a Bruxelles e cioè nel cuore dell’Europa. Se è vero che proprio l’Europa soffre le stesse malattie dello Stato spagnolo e di altri stati, quali soggezione alle politiche neoliberali e alle lobby che le predicano, corruzione, insufficiente funzionamento dei meccanismi democratici che provoca disaffezione crescente dalla politica e anche rigurgiti di fascismo e di razzismo, è pure vero che essa dovrebbe giocare un ruolo di mediazione politica in situazioni come quella catalana impedendo lo slittamento verso conflitti sempre più aspri e incontenibili. Occorre quindi auspicare che le istituzioni europee, dando senso alla loro stessa esistenza, vogliano accettare un ruolo di promozione del necessario dialogo politico tra il popolo catalano e il governo spagnolo, nel nome dei principi democratici iscritti nei propri trattati istitutivi oltre che, beninteso, del buon senso più elementare.
 
 


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INDIPENDENTISMO E LIBERTÀ D’ESPRESSIONE. Spagna: una questione di giustizia irrisolta e multiforme

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Sun, 13 May 2018 19:15:00 +0200

AFFARI INTERNAZIONALI
3 Maggio 2018
 
ELENA MARISOL BRANDOLINI
 
Da alcuni mesi, in Spagna la giustizia occupa la scena mediatica. È successo con la vicenda catalana, in cui il ricorso ai tribunali e alla legalità ha sostituito la politica fin dal principio. Poi si è compreso che si trattava solo della punta dell’iceberg e quello che c’era sotto è venuto a galla un po’ alla volta. Si è visto allora che la giustizia spagnola presenta vari problemi.

Sul piano della legislazione, come dimostra il recente caso della sentenza nei confronti degli uomini della ‘Manada’, autori di violenza sessuale, ma puniti per il reato di abuso, differenza prevista nel codice penale. O nella legislazione anti-terrorista, che ha così tanto ampliato il campo di applicazione per cui ora “tutto è Eta”: una rissa da bar che coinvolge due poliziotti della Guardia Civil, la canzone di un rapper, l’interruzione del transito su un’autostrada. Sul terreno dell’ordinamento, con istituti come l’Audiencia Nacional erede del tribunale franchista e quindi inesistente altrove. Su quello infine della debole separazione fra i poteri dello Stato, con una tendenza alla ‘giudiziarizzazione’ della politica e con il rischio di farne il mezzo di competizione tra i partiti della destra spagnola.

A farne le spese è la libertà d’espressione

A farne le spese è la libertà di espressione che la sezione spagnola di Amnesty International segnala essersi ridotta. Perciò la censura si allarga, rasentando il ridicolo nel sequestro di fischietti e magliette di colore giallo nella finale di calcio della Copa del Rey. A farne le spese sono le persone che rischiano il carcere, stanno per finirci o ci sono da tempo, imputate di delitti che non hanno commesso.

E’ il caso di rappers, utenti delle reti sociali, comici, militanti di movimenti. E’ il caso dei nove prigionieri politici catalani in regime di carcerazione preventiva: Oriol Junqueras, Dolors Bassa, Carme Forcadell, Quim Forn, Raül Romeva, Josep Rull, Jordi Turull,  e i Jordis, Jordi Sánchez e Jordi Cuixart, leader del movimento indipendentista, in cella da oltre sei mesi per avere convocato una manifestazione sotto il dipartimento di Economia.

Contro l’indipendentismo, il giudice istruttore Llarena del Tribunal Supremo ha costruito un vero e proprio teorema accusatorio, teso a dimostrare l’uso della violenza nei fatti occorsi nell’autunno 2017, per cui 13 dei 25 imputati nella macro-causa lo sono per ribellione, delitto punito con 25-30 di carcere. La violenza, pur se non esercitata direttamente dagli accusati, sarebbe quella da questi indotta nel comportamento della polizia spagnola il giorno del referendum per farne rispettare il divieto, o quella che si sarebbe potuta determinare per la presenza intimidatoria di un grande assembramento di persone il 20 settembre. Un’imputazione per un delitto inesistente, a detta di diversi giuristi stranieri e di alcuni spagnoli; contestata da Amnesty International che critica il regime di carcerazione preventivo in cui si trovano i Jordis. Per la semplice ragione che è mancante del suo presupposto, la violenza appunto, poiché il movimento indipendentista catalano è sempre stato pacifico e di massa.

La processione dei capi d’accusa

Tanto che la giustizia spagnola starebbe meditando un’eventuale riconsiderazione di questa imputazione attribuita ad alcuni degli esiliati, fino a sostituirla con l’accusa di sedizione, che prevede pene inferiori. Questo, in attesa di riuscire a dimostrare il delitto di malversazione di fondi pubblici, di cui sono accusati tutti i componenti dell’ex-governo per il referendum. Considerando che la Generalitat aveva il bilancio controllato dal governo spagnolo fin dal 2015 e commissariato negli ultimi giorni del settembre scorso. Contraddizione che ha aperto un inedito conflitto tra il ministro del Tesoro Montoro, che deve mostrarsi commissario efficiente, e il giudice Llarena, che teme di vedere compromesso l’altro aspetto del suo impianto processuale.

Per entrambi i delitti la giustizia spagnola ha infatti chiesto l’estradizione degli imputati esiliati: di Carles Puigdemont, prima a Bruxelles e ora in libertà condizionata in Germania, di Clara Ponsatí in libertà condizionata nel Regno Unito, di Toni Comín in libertà condizionata a Bruxelles e di Marta Rovira rifugiatasi in Svizzera, imputati di ribellione; di Lluís Puig e Meritxell Serret a Bruxelles accusati di malversazione; mentre per Anna Gabriel non c’è richiesta di estradizione dalla Svizzera, perché imputata di disobbedienza.

Il movimento indipendentista si è sempre appellato a una mediazione europea senza successo, perché la Commissione ha continuato a sostenere che si tratta di una questione interna allo Stato spagnolo. La strategia di Puigdemont è stata quella d’internazionalizzare il conflitto, per evidenziare il carattere politico della persecuzione giudiziaria. Il suo arresto in Germania e quello successivo di altri cinque dirigenti dell’indipendentismo hanno suscitato più di una perplessità nelle opinioni pubbliche europee e sui media internazionali. Il tribunale tedesco non ha riconosciuto gli estremi di violenza per l’estradizione di Puigdemont; la giustizia britannica si è presa del tempo per esaminare le carte relative all’imputata Ponsatí; in Belgio, la giustizia sta istruendo la richiesta relativa agli altri imputati; la Svizzera ha già detto che non concederà estradizioni per ragioni politiche. E il Comitato dei Diritti Umani dell’Onu, sollecitato da Jordi Sánchez perché era stato impedito a presentarsi come candidato a president della Generalitat, raccomanda che ne siano garantiti i diritti politici. Una vicenda tutta spagnola su cui peserà il giudizio di almeno altri quattro paesi europei.
 
 


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IL CASO PUIGDEMONT: LA "PROVA DEL FUOCO" DEL MANDATO D'ARRESTO EUROPEO

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Mon, 06 Aug 2018 13:15:00 +0200

 
DIRITTO PENALE CONTEMPORANEO
 
4 luglio 2018 |
Luigi Foffani
 
 
 
Per leggere la decisione dell'OLG del 5 aprile 2018, clicca qui.
Per leggere la decisione definitiva dell'OLG del 12 luglio 2018, clicca qui.
 
1. La mattina del 25 marzo 2018 Carles Puigdemont, ex-Presidente della Generalitat de Catalunya, viene fermato alla guida di un automobile su un’autostrada dello Schleswig-Holstein, pochi chilometri dopo l’ingresso nel territorio della Repubblica Federale Tedesca. Puigdemont – che risiedeva a Bruxelles dal 28 ottobre 2017, per sfuggire al mandato di cattura del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo – si era recato in Danimarca per una conferenza e stava rientrando in Belgio attraverso la Germania. Contro di lui viene emessa una richiesta di mandato d’arresto europeo (MAE) per i delitti di “ribellione” (“rebelión”: art. 472 CP esp) e peculato (“malversación de caudales públicos”: art. 432 e 252 CP esp).

L’Oberlandsgericht dello Schsleswig-Holstein, con la decisione del 5 aprile 2018 respinge senza esitazione la richiesta di mandato d’arresto europeo per quanto riguarda il delitto di “rebelión”: tale delitto infatti non ricade in alcun modo nel “campo d’applicazione del mandato d’arresto europeo” descritto dall’art. 2 della Decisione quadro del 13 giugno 2002 “relativa al mandato d’arresto europeo e alle procedure di consegna tra Stati membri” (2002/584/GAI) ed anche la richiesta di estradizione appare a prima vista inammissibile per la mancanza di una “beiderseitige Strafbarkeit” (“doppia incriminazione”).

Diversamente invece non sarebbe inammissibile – secondo l’OLG Schleswig-Holstein – la richiesta di mandato d’arresto europeo in relazione al secondo delitto (peculato, “malversación de caudales públicos”, “Veruntreuung öffentlicher Gelder”), che sarebbe riconducibile alla fattispecie di corruzione richiamata dalla Decisione quadro; ma la richiesta del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo – secondo l’OLG – “non contiene una sufficiente descrizione delle circostanze, sulla base delle quali il reato sarebbe stato commesso, con una necessaria concretizzazione del rimprovero penale, che renda possibile la sua riconducibilità al comportamento addebitato all’imputato. […] Non è chiaro peraltro se lo Stato sia stato realmente gravato di questi costi, nella misura in cui questi siano stati effettivamente pagati con fondi del bilancio regionale e se l’imputato abbia occasionato queste spese”.

La decisione dell’OLG Schleswig-Holstein risulta pienamente corretta e convincente, sulla base della disciplina europea e nazionale del mandato d’arresto europeo e dell’estradizione.
 
2. Quanto al primo e più importante punto (il supposto delitto di “rebelión”) è del tutto evidente l’inesistenza in concreto del requisito della “doppia incriminazione” (“beiderseitige Strafbarkeit”, “double criminality”), necessario per dar corso alla richiesta di estradizione ai sensi del § 3 comma 1 della legge sulla cooperazione giudiziaria internazionale in materia penale (Gesetz über die Internationale Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen, IRG).

Il comportamento tenuto da Puigdemont e dagli altri leader indipendentisti durante tutto il percorso politico-istituzionale che ha portato al referendum dell’1 ottobre 2017 e alla successiva dichiarazione unilaterale di indipendenza del 27 ottobre sarebbe infatti – sulla base di una ipotetica applicazione al caso in esame del diritto tedesco – penalmente irrilevante. Il delitto di “Hochverrat gegen den Bund” (“alto tradimento contro lo Stato federale”) – punito dal § 81 StGB con l’ergastolo o con una pena detentiva non inferiore a 10 anni – richiede infatti che si sia concretamente perseguita la separazione di una parte del territorio nazionale “con violenza o tramite minaccia di violenza” (“mit Gewalt oder durch Drohung mit Gewalt”). L’OLG Schleswig-Holstein richiama correttamente la giurisprudenza del Bundesgerichtshof tedesco, che richiede per l’applicazione in concreto di una così grave fattispecie incriminatrice – ed anche della molto più lieve ipotesi della “violenza contro un organo costituzionale” (“Nötigung eines Verfassungsorgans“: § 105 comma 1 StGB) – che la violenza impiegata o minacciata dai rivoltosi abbia concretamente annullato la libertà di decisione nel caso specifico dell’organo costituzionale destinatario della violenza. Un’ipotesi che – come correttamente rileva l’OLG Schleswig-Holstein – mai si è concretamente verificata durante il processo indipendentista dei mesi scorsi, né nei confronti del Parlamento catalano, né nei confronti delle Cortes spagnole.

Ma a ben vedere anche sulla base del diritto spagnolo – che l’OLG Schleswig-Holstein non prende in considerazione, in quanto una simile analisi non rientrava nelle sue competenze – l’imputazione formulata dal Tribunal Supremo spagnolo risulta del tutto inverosimile. Il delitto di “rebelión”[1] (art. 472 e 473 CP) punisce infatti con una pena elevatissima (reclusione da 25 a 30 anni, poiché il Tribunal Supremo contesta a Puigdemont e agli altri imputati l’aggravante di aver “distratto i fondi pubblici dalla loro legittima destinazione”) “los que se alzaren violenta y públicamente para cualquiera de los fines siguientes” (“coloro che si sollevino violentemente e pubblicamente per qualsiasi delle seguenti finalità”), fra le quali finalità viene prevista espressamente “declarar la indepedencia de una parte del territorio nacional” (art. 472 n. 5° CP esp.).

L’unico elemento di questo gravissimo delitto che possa ragionevolmente ritenersi integrato dal processo indipendentista catalano è l’evento, ossia la dichiarazione unilaterale di indipendenza del 27 ottobre 2017, in esecuzione del risultato del referendum dell’1 ottobre (dichiarato preventivamente illegittimo dal Tribunal constitucional). È indiscutibile dunque l’esistenza della finalità tipica del delitto di “rebelión” a carico di Puigdemont e degli altri imputati, ma è altrettanto evidente l’assoluta inesistenza della condotta materiale tipica di tale grave delitto e soprattutto di un qualsivoglia nesso di causalità fra la condotta e l’evento che rappresentava l’obiettivo di tale illecita finalità.
L’art. 472 descrive la condotta tipica come il fatto di “alzarse violenta y públicamente” per conseguire una delle finalità penalmente rilevanti della “rebelión” (quale appunto la separazione della Catalunya dallo Stato spagnolo). In realtà chiunque sia stato in Catalunya nei mesi scorsi ha potuto rilevare il carattere assolutamente pacifico del processo indipendentista: l’unica violenza è stata quella delle ripetute cariche di polizia dell’1 ottobre per tentare di impedire l’esercizio del voto in quello che il Governo spagnolo ed il Tribunal constitucional avevano definito come un referendum illegale e incostituzionale.

Ma quand’anche si fossero verificate delle manifestazioni pubbliche di violenza nelle settimane e nei mesi antecedenti al referendum e alla successiva dichiarazione unilaterale di indipendenza, e quand’anche si potesse dimostrare la riconducibilità degli atti di violenza alle decisioni assunte dall’ex Presidente della Generalitat e dalla cupola dei partiti e movimenti indipendentisti – come tenta di dimostrare il provvedimento del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo – ciò che comunque sarebbe inesistente ed indimostrabile sarebbe il nesso di causalità fra gli atti di violenza (condotta tipica del delitto di “rebelión”) e l’evento rappresentato dalla dichiarazione unilaterale di indipendenza della Catalogna. Quest’ultima infatti è derivata da un voto espresso dalla maggioranza del Parlamento catalano il 27 ottobre 2017 in esecuzione del risultato del referendum dell’1 ottobre e la maggioranza in questione era esattamente quella corrispondente ai seggi conseguiti dai partiti indipendentisti alle ultime elezioni catalane. I partiti indipendentisti (Junts x sì e CUP) avevano espressamente dichiarato già in campagna elettorale l’intendimento di giungere a promuovere un referendum sull’indipendenza, nonostante la ferma e reiterata opposizione del Governo spagnolo e le prese di posizione in senso contrario del Tribunal constitucional. Il voto del Parlamento catalano del 27 ottobre 2017 è null’altro che la naturale e fedele conseguenza delle elezioni catalane del 27 settembre 2015, per nulla influenzato dalle ipotetiche manifestazioni di violenza che il Tribunal Supremo spagnolo imputa all’azione politica dell’allora Presidente della Generalitat e degli altri leader indipendentisti.

In conclusione, dunque, del delitto di “rebelión” previsto dal Codigo penal spagnolo può essere contestata a Puigdemont e agli altri imputati solo ed esclusivamente la finalità – dichiarata pubblicamente, perseguita con coerenza ed infine conseguita, sia pure in termini assolutamente effimeri e più simbolici che reali – di separare la Catalogna dallo Stato spagnolo. Troppo poco, evidentemente, per ritenere integrati gli elementi costitutivi di un gravissimo delitto che il legislatore spagnolo aveva pensato e descritto con riferimento a vicende di tutt’altra natura, come un tentativo di colpo di stato, un’insurrezione armata, un sollevamento di gruppi militari o paramilitari[2], ecc.

È vero che il delitto di “rebelión” è stato costruito dal legislatore spagnolo come una fattispecie a dolo specifico, che non richiede la realizzazione materiale della finalità secessionista; ma è altrettanto evidente che – se non si vuole cadere nella deriva di un “Gesinnungsstrafrecht” di matrice chiaramente autoritaria – la consumazione di un reato di tale gravità non può non presupporre una condotta violenta non solo soggettivamente indirizzata, ma anche oggettivamente idonea, a realizzare la predetta finalità secessionista.

Mutatis mutandis, sarebbe come se i consigli regionali di Lombardia e Veneto, anziché assumere alcuni mesi or solo la legittima iniziativa di un referendum popolare per promuovere una maggiore autonomia delle rispettive Regioni, avessero voluto organizzare un referendum per la secessione dallo Stato italiano: la reazione delle autorità governative statali sarebbe stata verosimilmente quella di promuovere un conflitto di attribuzioni fra i poteri dello Stato davanti alla Corte costituzionale; ma certo a nessun ufficio di procura sarebbe venuto in mente di promuovere un’azione penale per “attentato contro organi costituzionali o contro le assemblee regionali” ex art. 289 c.p. o addirittura un’“insurrezione armata contro i poteri dello Stato” ex art. 284 c.p. Ciò che è avvenuto in Spagna, viceversa, è stata una repentina criminalizzazione del conflitto politico-territoriale catalano attraverso un uso assai discutibile e spregiudicato dello strumento penale.

L’evidente forzatura interpretativa della ricostruzione operata dal Tribunal Supremo spagnolo è verosimilmente alla base di ciò che l’OLG dello Schleswig Holstein non scrive nella propria decisione, ma sembra implicitamente ritenere: il venir meno nella vicenda in esame del principio della fiducia reciproca fra gli ordinamenti che è alla base della Decisione quadro sul mandato d’arresto europeo e di tutto il sistema della cooperazione giudiziaria europea e la convinzione (anch’essa implicita) che in Spagna non vi sarebbero oggi le condizioni per un giusto processo (“fair trial”) nei confronti di Puigdemont per il delitto di “rebelión”. Una convinzione implicita che trova conferma nel fatto che da molti mesi numerosi esponenti del decaduto Governo catalano ed altri leader indipendentisti si trovino in custodia preventiva per la medesima contestazione del delitto di “rebelión”.
 
3. Quanto infine al secondo punto della decisione dell’Oberlandsgericht dello Schleswig Holstein, suscita perplessità l’affermazione – sostenuta nella richiesta di mandato d’arresto europeo avanzata dal Tribunal Supremo spagnolo e ripresa in termini adesivi dalla decisione dell’OLG – secondo la quale il delitto di peculato (“malversación de caudales públicos”, “Veruntreuung öffentlicher Gelder”), contestato dal Giudice istruttore del Tribunal Supremo a Puigdemont e ad altri esponenti del decaduto Governo catalano, sarebbe riconducibile alla fattispecie della corruzione presente nel catalogo dei reati presupposto del mandato d’arresto europeo.

Non vale infatti sostenere che la Convenzione ONU sulla corruzione del 2003 ed altre iniziative internazionali intendono la corruzione in senso ampio ed atecnico, come comprensiva anche di altre figure di reato del settore pubblico, come appunto la “malversación de caudales públicos”. Un conto infatti è una convenzione internazionale che – nel generico intento politico di contrastare fenomeni di corruzione intesa nel senso più ampio del termine (in senso sociologico più che giuridico-penale) – chieda ai legislatori nazionali di incriminare anche altre ipotesi di reato diverse dalla specifica fattispecie della corruzione; cosa completamente diversa invece è una Decisione quadro che – comportando l’adozione di misure restrittive della libertà personale nella forma del mandato d’arresto europeo – va interpretata in senso tecnico e restrittivo in ordine al “campo d’applicazione del mandato d’arresto europeo” di cui all’art. 2 della Decisione quadro.

In ogni caso gli strumenti della cooperazione giudiziaria internazionale avrebbero comunque potuto essere utilmente attivati in forma di richiesta di estradizione, poiché sussiste senz’altro, nell’ipotesi in esame, il requisito della doppia incriminazione: la “malversación de caudales públicos” di cui agli art. 432 e 252 CP esp. – sostanzialmente equivalente alla fattispecie di peculato ex art. 314 c.p. it. – trova infatti corrispondenza nella più generale fattispecie di “Untreue” o “infedeltà patrimoniale” (§ 266 StGB), suscettibile di trovare applicazione anche nel settore pubblico in presenza di condotte di “Veruntreuung öffentlicher Gelder” (“gestione infedele di fondi pubblici”).

La richiesta del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo non trova tuttavia accoglimento – come già segnalato all’inizio di questo commento – per la carente descrizione, da parte dell’autorità richiedente, delle circostanze di fatto sulla base delle quali si sosterrebbe la responsabilità dell’imputato da estradare[3]. Un ulteriore ed evidente sintomo di quella implicita carenza di fiducia – da parte dell’autorità giudiziaria a cui è rivolta la richiesta di estradizione – circa la fondatezza dell’impianto accusatorio costruito dal Giudice istruttore del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo contro i leader del processo indipendentista.
 
4. In conclusione: dopo questa decisione interlocutoria – alla quale ha fatto seguito una rinnovata richiesta delle autorità giudiziarie spagnole, che insistono con fermezza nella pretesa di sottoporre a processo l’ex Presidente della Generalitat Carles Puigdemont – siamo in attesa della decisione definitiva dell’OLG dello Schleswig Holstein. Qualunque sarà la decisione definitiva, essa segnerà comunque una pietra miliare – in un senso o nell’altro – nella storia del mandato d’arresto europeo e della cooperazione giudiziaria europea.
 
5. Nelle more della conclusione di questo breve commento è sopraggiunta finalmente la decisione definitiva dell’OLG Schleswig-Holstein del 12 luglio 2018, che sostanzialmente conferma la decisione precedente, negando l’estradizione per il delitto di “rebelión” ed ammettendola invece per la “malversación de caudales públicos”. Una settimana più tardi – il 19 luglio – il Giudice istruttore del Tribunal Supremo Pablo Llarena ha deciso, con suo autonomo provvedimento, di rifiutare l’estradizione “dimezzata” [4] e di ritirare tutte le richieste di estradizione e di ordine d’arresto europeo nel frattempo indirizzate in Belgio, Scozia e Svizzera contro altri politici indipendentisti di primo piano rifugiatisi all’estero per sfuggire all’arresto in Spagna.

Sembra dunque chiudersi definitivamente – con un passo indietro dell’autorità giudiziaria spagnola (a malincuore e non senza considerazioni polemiche nei confronti della pronuncia della magistratura tedesca) – la partita europea e internazionale per la soluzione penale della questione independentista catalana[5] e la palla ritorna nuovamente nel campo della politica: una politica che – con nuovi attori protagonisti (tanto a Barcellona – con la Presidenza della Generalitat di Quim Torra – quanto a Madrid, dopo la caduta a sorpresa del governo di Mariano Rajoy e l’arrivo alla Moncloa di Pedro Sanchez) – tenta di riprendere – con estrema prudenza da ambo le parti, ma con qualche nuova timida speranza – la difficile via del dialogo e della ricerca di una soluzione politica condivisa alla crisi costituzionale aperta dalla domanda di indipendenza di una parte (sia pur lievemente) maggioritaria della società civile e politica catalana.
 
_____________________________________ 
 
[1] Sul quale v. per tutti in dottrina il recentissimo contributo di M. Cugat Mauri, La violencia como elemento del delito de rebelión, in Liber Amicorum. Estudios Juridicos en Homenaje al Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. Juan M. Terradillos Basoco, Valencia, Tirant Lo Blanch, 2018, p. 567-582.
[2] Esempio paradigmatico fu il tentativo di colpo di stato militare che ebbe luogo il 23 febbraio 1981, nel quale una parte dell’esercito spagnolo comandato dal tenente colonnello Tejero fece irruzione nel Parlamento durante il voto di fiducia al Primo Ministro Adolfo Suarez, prendendo in ostaggio parlamentari e governo, mentre altri gruppi militari invadevano alcune strade di Valencia con carrarmati e soldati ed intendevano inviare una divisione di carristi a Madrid per occupare la capitale.
[3] Di fronte per di più a dichiarazioni pubbliche della stessa autorità governativa spagnola (l’ex Ministro delle Finanze Montoro) che a suo tempo aveva riconosciuto che per la realizzazione del referendum indipendentista catalano non erano stati impiegati fondi ricavati dal bilancio pubblico. 
[4] Probabilmente si è tenuto in conto in questa decisione il rischio che per il solo delitto di “malversación de caudales públicos” difficilmente sarebbe stato sostenibile un lungo protrarsi della custodia cautelare in carcere di Puigdemont, e che una volta liberato questi avrebbe potuto esercitare senza limiti il proprio mandato di parlamentare catalano e finanche essere nuovamente eletto come Presidente della Generalitat.
[5] V. ad es.: Llarena da por perdida la batalla europea de la rebelión, in La Vanguardia, ed. online, 19 luglio 2018. 


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International biodiversity data symposium to mark the kickoff of the EU BON project

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:45:15 +0200

The EU BON project is pleased to announce the International Symposium "Nature and Governance – Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface", which was held in Berlin from 11 to 12 February. The symposium aimed at clarifying and popularizing EU BON's objectives prior to the official EU BON Kick-off Meeting held from 13 to 15 February 2013.

The symposium was hosted by the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and brought together high-ranking speakers and guests from across the world to talk and discuss the different aspects of the EU BON Project. Among the main issues covered was the future of biodiversity information, the challenges in front of new data policies, new approaches in collecting information, and ways to engage the public in biodiversity monitoring and assessments.

The EU BON project was started on 1 December, 2012, and will continue for 4.5 years. The aim of EU BON is to build a substantial part and contribute to the Group on Earth Observation's Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), through an innovative approach of integration of biodiversity information systems. The project, built as an answer to the need of a new integrated biodiversity data, will facilitate access to this knowledge and will effectively improve the work in the field of biodiversity observation in general.

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For more information on the symposium and the events planned, please visit our programme page.

All interested parties are most welcome to attend the symposium or to follow it on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.

Additional information

EU BON (2012) stands for "Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network" and is a European research project, financed by the 7th EU framework programme for research and development (FP7). EU BON seeks ways to better integrate biodiversity information and implement into policy and decision-making of biodiversity monitoring and management in the EU.

GEO BON stands for "Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network". It coordinates activities relating to the Societal Benefit Area (SBA) on Biodiversity of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Some 100 governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations are collaborating through GEO BON to organise and improve terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity observations globally and make their biodiversity data, information and forecasts more readily accessible to policymakers, managers, experts and other users. Moreover, GEO BON has been recognized by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. More information at: http://www.earthobservations.org/geobon.shtml.



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Stellenausschreibung: Wissenschaftliche/r Mitarbeiter/in für das EU BON Projekt am Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:21:00 +0200

Job alert: Research assistant at Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
The Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin offers a job opportunity with the EU BON project (WP1+WP2 tasks) - fluency in German is a must!
The position is set for a two-year contract with a possibility for further extensions.
More information about the position, the application process and job requirements is available below and in the document attached.
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Zur Unterstützung der Beteiligung des MfN an EU BON ist am Museum für Naturkunde Berlin zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt eine vorerst auf 2 Jahre befristete (mit der Option der Verlängerung)
Position eines/einer Wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiters/in mit 75% der regelmäßigen wöchentlichen Arbeitszeit Entgeltgruppe E13 TV-L Berlin zu besetzen
Aufgabengebiete:
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeit und eigenständige Durchführung spezifischer Aufgaben innerhalb des EU BON Projektes, vor allem innerhalb der Arbeitspakete 1 (Datenquellen) und 2 (Datenintegration), i.b.
- Datenrecherche und Erstellung von Übersichten für EU BON relevanter Daten- und Informationsquellen;
- Bewertung und Lückenanalyse bestehender Datenbanken und Informationssysteme zur Biodiversität;
- Harmonisierung, Aktualisierung und Koordinierung taxonomischer Referenz-Datenbanken i.b. für Europa;
- Unterstützung der Einführung und Verbesserung von Datenstandards zur Verbesserung der Integration und Interoperabilität unterschiedlicher Datenebenen
- Mitwirkung bei Erprobung neuer Datenerhebungsansätze und –verfahren, auch im Gelände
- Planung und Durchführung von Projekttreffen und -veranstaltungen
- Erstellung von Ergebnisberichten und wissenschaftlichen Präsentationen / Veröffentlichungen.

Bewerbungsschluss:  28.02.2013


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The large-scale EU project EU BON: Towards integration with its global counterpart GEO BON

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:22:18 +0200

The official Kickoff meeting of the Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON) project, organized by the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, took place on 13-15 February 2013 to formally mark the beginning of the project and to set goals and objectives for the future. Among the hottest issues discussed was the integration of EU BON's framework with the Global Earth Biodiversity Observation Network project GEO BON and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Another intention set for the future is the enhanced communication and synchronization between the various partners and work packages.

The main objective set for EU BON is to facilitate with its contributions, and thus build a substantial part of GEO BON. EU BON Advisory Board, comprising ten leading experts in data management, biodiversity conservation and earth observation realms has been set up. Dr. Wouter Los - Chairman of the Expert centre for Taxonomic Identification (ETI), and 2nd Vice Chair of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Governing Board (GBIF) was elected as a chair of the EU BON Advisory Board. It has been decided, with the directions and help of the EU BON's Advisory Board, to achieve that a substantial amount of work should be done towards a more comprehensive vision of the relationship between the two projects and the place EU BON takes as a major contributor.

Another aim delineated is working towards collaboration between the currently fragmented biodiversity data sources in Europe in an attempt to create an integrated network and framework for the benefit of the project objective itself, and GEO BON eventually. Dialogue and association with similar or relevant biodiversity projects and initiatives, on European and Global levels, are also encouraged. Organizing a conference is on the project's to do list.

Enhanced communication between the different partners and work packages has been outlined as the engine for achieving of the projects main objectives. A second official meeting has been already assigned for 2014 to measure the progress of EU BON and to set further goals. Meanwhile partners are already organizing workshops to work towards reflecting the directions for development currently set.



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New "LinkOut" tool by National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) providing easy link to PubMed and GenBank data

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:48:00 +0200

A new "LinkOut" feature introduced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) NCBI’s allows the easy linking to content on PubMed and GenBank.  Dryad has already introduced the feature benefitting from easy and fast linking of associated content to the two resources.

PubMed and GenBank, from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), are hugely popular resources for searching and retrieving article abstracts and nucleotide sequence data, respectively.  PubMed indexes the vast majority of the biomedical literature, and deposition of nucleotide sequences in GenBank or one of the other INSDC databases is a near universal requirement for publication in a scientific journal. LinkOut allows the data from an article to be distributed among repositories without compromising its discoverability.

Dryad, intends to expand on this feature in a couple of ways. First, it is planned to make Dryad content searchable via the PubMed and GenBank identifiers, which because of their wide use will provide a convenient gateway for other biomedical databases to link out to Dryad.  Second, open web standards will be used to expose relationships between content in Dryad and other repositories, not just NCBI.

Original source: Dryad news and views



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Make us visible! – take full advantage of the project’s social media

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:23:00 +0300

Join the online community of EU BON and create buzz around the project. Take full advantage of our social network channels to interact with stakeholders and contribute to the EU BON discussion. Get an easy access and the latest updates on news and events around the project. You are a click away from making a difference to the project’s visibility.

Like, follow or join EU BON Social Media and get involved in the community now!

Like us on Facebook
• Get the latest news in pictures and videos 
• Interact and join a community of like-minded supporters
• Find out about events and group activities
Follow us on Twitter
• Get short and up-to-the-point updates on the latest news
• Take part in live discussions during conferences and conventions
• Join and interact with a wider bioinformatics community 
Join us on Google+
• Join a growing social community 
• Get the latest project and news alongside relevant media
• Promote the project and get involved in discussions in your circles
Join us on LinkedIn
• Get in touch with professionals in the area of research 
• Contribute to discussions
• Promote your project in a professional community

 



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A new article provides a decadal view on the importance and future of biodiversity informatics

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:06:00 +0300

A new article "A decadal view of biodiversity informatics: challenges and priorities"  published by BMC Ecology focuses on the challenges and perspectives for biodiversity informatics after a decade of development. The authors Alex Hardisty and Dave Roberts alongside 77 contributions from the biodiversity informatics community share experience and set future directions of biodiversity informatics as a tool for addressing conservation and ecological issues.

Biodiversity informatics plays a central enabling role in the research community's efforts to address scientific conservation and sustainability issues. This community consultation paper positions the role of biodiversity informatics, for the next decade, presenting the actions needed to link the various biodiversity infrastructures invisibly and to facilitate understanding that can support both business and policy-makers. The community considers the goal in biodiversity informatics to be full integration of the biodiversity research community, including citizens’ science, through a commonly-shared, sustainable e-infrastructure across all sub-disciplines that reliably serves science and society alike.

The full text of the article can be accessed here.



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ENVIMPACT CONFERENCE: "Environmental research: Experiences on best practices towards Horizon 2020"

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 08 May 2013 14:15:00 +0300

The "Environmental research: Experiences on best practices towards Horizon 2020" conference will be held the 30th of May 2013 in Brussels at the Museum of Natural Sciences.  Organizers of the event are the APRE (Agency for the Promotion of European Research), and the ENVIMPACT consortium.

The event will gather European Commission representatives,  researchers, FP7 project's participants, governmental, academic and industrial stakeholders of the Central East European countries with the aim of presenting the current and future tools and trends for dissemination and exploitation of R&D results with a special focus on the thematic areas of research in air pollution, chemical pollution and environmental technologies, especially in the Central-Eastern European (CEE) countries.

The agenda of the conference and the press release are downloadable at the link: http://download.apre.it/envimpact_presskit1.zip

The registration is free, please register at http://www.envimpact.eu/index.cfm?action=article&publication_id=922

ENVIMPACT project has been launched on 1st January 2011. This initiative is funded by the European Commission under FP7, DG Research and Innovation, with the objectives to improve the current communication  and dissemination of environmental research results deriving from Central-Eastern European (CEE) countries.



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DRYAD announces nonprofit sustainability plans

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 09 May 2013 09:59:00 +0300

The data repository invites community input on the future of data archiving at upcoming membership meeting

Dryad, a repository for data underlying the international scientific and medical literature, works with a variety of journals, societies and publishers to archive research data at the time of publication.  The project began in 2009 and has published more than 3,000 data packages.  In 2012, Dryad incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the mission to make scientific and medical research data permanently available to all researchers and educators free-of-charge without barriers to reuse.
For the past four years, Dryad has worked with its stakeholders to develop a sustainability plan to realize this vision.  Central to the sustainability plan is a one-time submission fee that will offset the actual costs of preserving data indefinitely. A variety of pricing plans are available for journals and other organizations such societies, funders and libraries to purchase discounted submission fees on behalf of their researchers.  For data not covered by a pricing plan, the researcher will be asked to pay upon submission, with waivers provided to researchers from World Bank low and lower-middle income economies. Submission fees will apply to all new submissions starting September 2013.  Dryad will also be supported in part by its membership, by grants for research and innovation, and by donors. Membership in Dryad is open to any organization that supports research and education.  Dryad is pleased to include Pensoft Publishers among its Charter Members.
The Dryad Membership meeting, to be held in Oxford, UK on Friday, May 24 is open to members, prospective members, researchers and other interested parties.  Attendees will hear about recent and upcoming developments in the repository and the nonprofit organization. In addition, there will be an Emerging Issues Forum with presentations from the community about future directions for Dryad, its members, and partner journals, including models for the technical and peer review of data, ideas for promoting the adoption of data citations, measuring data reuse, funder perspectives on the use of research grants for data management costs and the relevance of larger data networks.  
Dryad’s Membership Meeting is part of a series of free public events in Oxford spotlighting trends in scholarly communication with an emphasis on research data, including a Symposium on the Now and Future of Data Publication on Wednesday, May 22nd and an ORCID Outreach Meeting with a special joint Dryad-ORCID Symposium on Research Attribution on Thursday, May 23rd. Registration for these events closes on May 13th. Remote attendance will be available for those unable to attend in person.

For more information about submitting data, becoming a member or the sustainability plan, please visit http://datadryad.org. The website also offers an Ideas Forum where people can make their voice heard by suggesting and voting for new features and offering comments.

CONTACT:
Laura Wendell, Executive Director
lwendell@datadrayd.org
+1-919-668-4005 or +1-919-423-3889



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Improved flow of European biodiversity data

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 14:05:00 +0300

The Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC) was host to an international biodiversity informatics workshop May 29th-31st. The event was held as part of the EU-project European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON), where NBIC is a partner.

The theme for the ‘EU BON Initial Informatics Workshop’ was data architectures, standards and interoperability (improving flow of information between systems). The event gathered renowned international and national experts within data structures for biological data.

EU-project for better data flow
NBIC is the Norwegian partner in EU BON, an EU-project spanning 5 years where 30 institutions from 18 countries contribute. The objective is to build an infrastructure that improves the flow of biodiversity data in all of Europe. Furthermore, the project is a European affiliate to its global counterpart (GEO BON) and will contribute to the work of the newly established ‘Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES).

Good solutions showcased
Worldwide, a large number distinct standards and solutions for management of data on species and nature types exist, and one of EU BON’s objectives is to find solutions to get all of these systems to communicate with one another. Several attendees contributed with presentations highlighting diverse standards and solutions for interoperability. Additionally, four international players in the field of biodiversity informatics presented general international initiatives, projects and services relevant to EU BON.

What is biodiversity informatics?
Biodiversity informatics is the field of applying IT techniques to improve management and presentation of biodiversity information, making it easier to discover, use and analyze such data.



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Pan-European stakeholder consultation on the intersessional process of IPBES

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 19:38:00 +0300

From 16th to the 18th of July, a European stakeholder consultation for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services (IPBES) took place in Leipzig (Germany). The consultation was organized by three European Biodiversity Platforms: Network-Forum Biodiversity Research Germany (NeFo), the Belgian Biodiversity Platform, and the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) (further information on the conference: www.biodiversity.de/index.php/de/ipbes/nefo-aktivitaeten-zu-ipbes/workshops/pan-european-stakeholder-consultation).

IPBES will greatly influence future biodiversity policy and research, and EU BON is expected to provide a European contribution to IPBES. IPBES will be in particular of high interest, because it will need tools to integrate and analyse different data sources, to develop relevant infrastructure and to do assessments of state and trends of biodiversity at multiple scales.

EU BON was represented by several partners at the meeting and we acted as facilitators in the round-tables, gathered input for the project, participated in discussions and exchanged ideas with many representatives and colleagues. We provide you with a short summary of the meeting below.

The aims of the pan-European stakeholder consultation meeting in Leipzig were:

  1. To reach out to stakeholders to inform people and institutes and to raise awareness of the dynamics in IPBES.
  2. To discuss and obtain feedback on several IPBES-related documents that are currently being drafted. In their final form these documents will be submitted to the Panel for the IPBES 2 plenary session in 9-14 December 2013.

The meeting in Leipzig was organized around round table discussions of several draft documents of importance for stakeholders: the draft work programme, the stakeholder engagement strategy draft and the draft "Vision for pan-European IPBES support perspective". If you are interested these documents, currently for review, can be found here:  http://www.ipbes.net/intersessional-process/current-review-documents-ipbes2.html .

There were several opportunities for EU BON partners to flag the potential biodiversity data and analysis requirements for the future IPBES work program in separate discussions and to give recommendations as to what should be additionally integrated in the draft work programme.

We also brainstormed on a potential EU BON side event at the second IPBES meeting, which will be held in 9-14 December in Antalya, Turkey. Topics discussed by national delegates in that plenary will amongst other topics comprise: the first work programme, budget, stakeholder engagement, the position of observers, technical requirements and a list of thematic priorities for IPBES assessments.

Although the meeting was a success in terms of the number and diversity of participants, the consultation felt for many participants as a top down exercise. However, the importance of being involved at this stage was felt and the hope for stakeholder empowerment in the future was often voiced.



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Call for Conference Proposals

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 16:10:00 +0300

The European Science Foundation invites researchers to submit proposals for high-level research conferences to take place in 2015 within the framework of its Research Conferences Scheme in the following scientific domain:
 
* Molecular Biology+
 
In the framework of their partnership, ESF and EMBO jointly fund multidisciplinary conferences to promote links between molecular biologists and other scientists in Europe, giving them an opportunity to discuss common themes and exchange cross-disciplinary results.
 
Successful proposals will be organised within the framework of the ESF Research Conferences Scheme and will be awarded a conference grant of up to EUR 30.000.
 
Submission deadline: 1 October 2013 


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CLIMSAVE presents its Integrated Assessment Platform and final reports

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 08 Jan 2014 15:08:00 +0200

The FP7 CLIMSAVE project ("Climate Change Integrated Assessment Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe") finished at the end of 2013. The project developed the CLIMSAVE Integrated Assessment Platform which is a unique user-friendly, interactive web-based tool that enables stakeholders to interactively explore the complex multi-sectoral issues surrounding impacts, adaptation and vulnerability to climate and socio-economic change within the agriculture, forest, biodiversity, coast, water and urban sectors.  Two versions of the tool have been developed: one for Europe and one for Scotland.

Two summary reports have been produced highlighting the policy relevant final results of the project for the European and Scottish case studies. The summary reports can be accessed from:
 


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IPBES invitation to nominate experts to aid in delivering the IPBES work programme

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 14:04:00 +0200

The second plenary of the Platform met in December 2013 and agreed an ambitious work programme for 2014-2018: Details of the agreed work programme are available in the advanced meeting report of the Plenary.

The IPBES Secretariat have now issued a call for experts to help scope, advise on and deliver the work programme. Governments and relevant stakeholders can put forward nominations, from which the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel of IPBES will select a maximum of 20% of experts from the stakeholder nominations, and the rest from the government nominations.

The UK expects IPBES to make use of the best scientists/experts from all relevant disciplines - natural science, social science, economics, data and modelling and traditional knowledge, and to achieve a geographical and gender balance among those experts in the delivery of the IPBES work programme.

More information of the required topics to be covered by experts, alongside the nomination forms and how to nominate can be found in the attachments below.



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International Conference on Global Environmental Change and GEO European Projects Workshops (Athens, Greece)

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:23:00 +0200

An international conference Adaptation Strategies to Global Environmental Change in the Mediterranean City and the Role of Global Earth Observations will take place between 10-11 June 2014 in Athens, Greece. The conference will explore the potential of earth observations and thrust climate information transfer from the science to the stakeholder application realm, in order to develop suitable adaptation measures at national and regional levels.

It will identify best adaptation programs and approaches to global environmental change in Mediterranean-climate cities. The aim is to enhance and strengthen European and international cooperation in the context of the activities within the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and promote tools and options for adaptation strategies. The Conference will help local and regional authorities and stakeholders to gain insight on the role of EO-based services in adapting to climate chance impacts in urban hot-spot areas.

The eighth annual series of GEO European Projects Workshops will be consequently held on 12-13 June as a follow-up of the conference. The worksops are intended to bring all those interested in and actively contributing to the Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS) from all over Europe together, in order to present their work and discuss how Europe can contribute to this international effort, especially in the wake of the launch of the new EU Framework Programme for Research, Horizon 2020, and the renewal of the mandate of GEO for another 10 years through the endorsement of the 2014.

Registrations opens: 16 February 2014

Information and registration: www.mariolopoulosfoundation.gr/medcity2014

First Announcement (pdf flie)



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Have your say for the future of biodiversity protection: BESAFE invites you to take part in the project’s second stakeholder workshop

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 15:10:00 +0200

Care about biodiversity protection and science-policy dialogue? The second BESAFE stakeholder workshop might be just the thing for you.

The BESAFE project invites all interested policy makers, NGO representatives, decision makers and people, who argue ('lobby') for biodiversity protection to take part in its second stakeholder workshop, focusing the results from the project case studies and the best ways to make them useful through a stakeholder focused web-based tool.

The workshop will be held on 13 and 14 May 2004 at the Park Inn Brussels Midi, Brussels, Belgium. To register and participate is easy just follow this link, which will take you to an easy to follow and use registration page.

On the afternoon of 13 May BESAFE will present the results of the project’s case studies and then their use and implications will be discussed with stakeholders. The morning of 14 May is reserved for a learning workshop on the best ways to unlock and present project results. As committed stakeholder involvement is crucial to BESAFE’s success, we hope that you will be able to join us in Brussels!

In a nutshell, BESAFE investigates the effectiveness of different types of arguments in convincing policy makers to take action for biodiversity protection in a variety of circumstances. The project has two specific focus areas: the interactions of environmental protection policies between governance scales, and the contribution that ecosystem services BESAFE is committed to produce practically usable results and to make them available and easily accessible through a web-based tool. This is a goal we can clearly only achieve through input and feedback from stakeholders. BESAFE is therefore set up as an interactive project in which we inform and consult those on a regular basis.

Deadline for registration is the 1st of April 2014, but registration will be closed earlier when our limit of 25 stakeholders is reached. Due to this limited capacity, registration is subject to approval.

 



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SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN Newsletter Issue 1: a project for more sustainable research cooperation between the EU and the ASEAN

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 14:48:00 +0200

The SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN project aiming at establishing a more sustainable and integrated research and innovation cooperation between the EU and the ASEAN region in the areas of climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials has now published its first project newsletter.

This first issue of the SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN Newsletter contains information about the outcomes from the first project Networking and Cluster Session that took place on 23 January 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as features a news item about the forthcoming sessions scheduled for 28 Match 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. More can be found in the Newsletter available here.

The SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN coordinating action will focus on climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials issues and will aim to enhance collaboration between researchers in the EU and the ASEAN region. Addressing these issues in a coherent way is vital for sustainable development that leads to economic prosperity, social cohesion and environmental integrity. Both regions have developed innovative ideas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt to climate change, improve resource efficiency and manage raw materials.



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New EU BON publication: Improved access to integrated biodiversity data for science, practice, and policy - the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON)

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:38:00 +0200

The latest EU BON publication in the open access journal Nature Conservation is now a fact. The article titled "Improved access to integrated biodiversity data for science, practice, and policy - the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON)" provides an overview of the project's background, research interests and vision for the future.

Abstract

Biodiversity is threatened on a global scale and the losses are ongoing. In order to stop further losses and maintain important ecosystem services, programmes have been put into place to reduce and ideally halt these processes. A whole suite of different approaches is needed to meet these goals. One major scientific contribution is to collate, integrate and analyse the large amounts of fragmented and diverse biodiversity data to determine the current status and trends of biodiversity in order to inform the relevant decision makers. To contribute towards the achievement of these challenging tasks, the project EU BON was developed. The project is focusing mainly on the European continent but contributes at the same time to a much wider global initiative, the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), which itself is a part of the Group of Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). EU BON will build on existing infrastructures such as GBIF, LifeWatch and national biodiversity data centres in Europe and will integrate relevant biodiversity data from on-ground observations to remote sensing information, covering terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats.

A key feature of EU BON will be the delivery of relevant, fully integrated data to multiple and different stakeholders and end users ranging from local to global levels. Through development and application of new standards and protocols, EU BON will enable greater interoperability of different data layers and systems, provide access to improved analytical tools and services, and will provide better harmonised biodiversity recording and monitoring schemes from citizen science efforts to long-term research programs to mainstream future data collecting. Furthermore EU BON will support biodiversity science-policy interfaces, facilitate political decisions for sound environmental management, and help to conserve biodiversity for human well-being at different levels, ranging from communal park management to the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Additionally, the project will strengthen European capacities and infrastructures for environmental information management and sustainable development. The following paper outlines the framework and the approach that are pursued.

Original Source:

Hoffmann A, Penner J, Vohland K, Cramer W, Doubleday R, Henle K, Kõljalg U, Kühn I, Kunin WE, Negro JJ, Penev L, Rodríguez C, Saarenmaa H, Schmeller DS, Stoev P, Sutherland WJ, Tuama1 EO, Wetzel F, Häuser CL (2014) Improved access to integrated biodiversity data for science, practice, and policy - the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON). Nature Conservation 6: 49–65. doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.6.6498



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EU BON General Meeting and latest paper: Improved access to integrated biodiversity data for science, practice, and policy

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 16:24:00 +0300

The "Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network" EU BON General Meeting took place between 30 March - 3 April 2014 in Heraklion on Crete, to present major project results and set objectives for the future. The meeting was preceeded by a review paper recently published in the open access journal Nature Conservation, to point out EU BON researchh interests and objectives for the future of biodiversity protection.

This is a group photo of the participants in the recent EU BON General Meeting in Crete, Greece.

The 2014 General Meeting brought together keynote speakers Jörg Freyhof (GEO BON, Executive Director), Marc Paganini (European Space Agency), Jerry Harrison (UNEP-WCMC) with the entire EU BON consortium to discuss collaborations between the project and other important initiatives in the areas of earth observation, particularly in remote sensing and in situ approaches to biodiversity data collection, as well as in the use and analysis of biodiversity data for forecasting and scenario building, and environmental policy.

"The high potential for satellite Earth Observations to support biodiversity monitoring is growing but is yet to be fully realised. The recent efforts of GEO BON, supported by the GEO Plenary and the CBD Conference of the Parties, to define a set of minimum essential observational requirements to monitor biodiversity trends will give considerable impetus for space agencies and for the remote sensing community to focus their work on a small set of well defined earth observations products that will serve the needs of the biodiversity community at large. In that context ESA is firmly engaged in supporting the development of these emerging Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs). EU BON together with ESA can be pioneers in the early development and demonstration." comments Marc Paganini, European Space Agency, on the future collaboration between the two initiatives.

The world's biodiversity is in an ongoing dramatic decline that despite conservation efforts remains unprecedented in its speed and predicted effects on global ecosystem functioning and services. The lack of available integrated biodiversity information for decisions in sectors other than nature conservation has been recognized as a main obstacle and the need to provide readily accessible data to support political decisions has been integrated into the CBD's "Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020" and the Aichi targets. The recently published EU BON review paper points out how the project will use its potential to improve the interaction between citizens, science and policy for a better future of biodiversity protection.

EU BON aims to enable decision makers at various levels to make use of integrated and relevant biodiversity information adapted to their specific requirements and scales. Disparate and unconnected databases and online information sources will be integrated to allow improved monitoring and evaluation of biodiversity and measures planned or taken at different spatial and temporal scales. This requires strong efforts not only with regard to technical harmonization between databases, models, and visualization tools, but also to improve the dialogue between scientific, political, and social networks, spanning across several scientific disciplines as well as a variety of civil science organizations and stakeholder groups.

The project is focusing mainly on the European continent but contributes at the same time to the globally oriented Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), which itself contributes to the Group of Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). EU BON will build on existing information infrastructures such as GBIF, LifeWatch and national biodiversity data centres in Europe, and will integrate relevant biodiversity data from on-ground observations to remote sensing information, covering terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats.

Original Source:

Hoffmann A, Penner J, Vohland K, Cramer W, Doubleday R, Henle K, Kõljalg U, Kühn I, Kunin WE, Negro JJ, Penev L, Rodríguez C, Saarenmaa H, Schmeller DS, Stoev P, Sutherland WJ, Ó Tuama É, Wetzel FT, Häuser CL (2014) Improved access to integrated biodiversity data for science, practice, and policy - the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON). Nature Conservation 6: 49–65. doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.6.6498



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FISHBASE APRIL 2014 MIRROR UPDATES

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 06:46:52 +0300

The April 2014 mirror updates of FishBase (www.fishbase.ca and www.fishbase.us); are now available online.

FishBase stats to date: ( 32800 Species, 303100 Common names, 53900 Pictures,
50200 References, 2110 Collaborators, 700000 Visits/Month )

 

 

 

 

 



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Surface Temperatures at the Continental Scale: Tracking Changes with Remote Sensing at Unprecedented Detail

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:09:00 +0300

Temperature is a main driver for most ecological processes, and temperature time series provide key environmental indicators for various applications and research fields. High spatial and temporal resolutions are crucial for detailed analyses in various fields of research. A disadvantage of temperature data obtained by satellites is the occurrence of gaps that must be reconstructed. Here, we present a new method to reconstruct high-resolution land surface temperature (LST) time series at the continental scale gaining 250-m spatial resolution and four daily values per pixel. Our method constitutes a unique new combination of weighted temporal averaging with statistical modeling and spatial interpolation. This newly developed reconstruction method has been applied to greater Europe, resulting in complete daily coverage for eleven years. To our knowledge, this new reconstructed LST time series exceeds the level of detail of comparable reconstructed LST datasets by several orders of magnitude. Studies on emerging diseases, parasite risk assessment and temperature anomalies can now be performed on the continental scale, maintaining high spatial and temporal detail. We illustrate a series of applications in this paper. Our dataset is available online for download as time aggregated derivatives for direct usage in GIS-based applications (Reconstructed MODIS Land Surface Temperature Dataset - http://gis.cri.fmach.it/eurolst/).

Source: Metz M, Rocchini D, Neteler M. (2014) Surface Temperatures at the Continental Scale: Tracking Changes with Remote Sensing at Unprecedented Detail.Remote Sensing 6(5): 3822-3840. doi: 10.3390/rs6053822

 



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Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) approaching training courses

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 13:28:00 +0300

The Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) has been established by prominent taxonomists and other international partners during the EU funded project European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT). The major aim of DEST is to transfer knowledge between current and future generations of taxonomists by providing high quality education and prepare students for future taxonomic careers.
 
Overall, DEST involves a network of around 100 training providers from 60 institutions. Within the framework of the EDIT project, DEST organised training sessions in 30 European institutions for 185 students from all over the world (116 of which EDIT-granted). Since March 2011, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences remains responsible for the continued management of DEST, organization of courses and related logistical matters. During the academic year 2011-2012, DEST provided training to 100 students through 16 courses, while 130 students participated in 19 training courses during 2012-2013.
 
DEST continues to provide high-quality training to future taxonomists. Below are the deadline for registration for several approaching courses in Modern Taxonomy:

Philosophy of Biological Systematics (8-12 September 2014)
Course venue: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
Training provider: Dr. Kirk Fitzhugh, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, U.S.A.
Registration deadline is being extended untilFriday 20 June 2014
 
Zoological Nomenclature training course (22-26 September 2014)
Course venue: Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, Franc
Training provider: Prof. Alain Dubois, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris
Registration deadline is being extended untilFriday 20 June 2014

Botanical Nomenclature training course (26-30 January 2015)
Course venue: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, U.K.
Training provider: Katherine Challis, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Registration deadline: 10 October 2014


To read more about the courses and to register, visit the official DEST webpage: http://www.taxonomytraining.eu/content/modern-taxonomy-course-programme-2013-2014



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European Space Agency's call for proposals: Data User Element INNOVATOR

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 10:38:00 +0300

European Space Agency (ESA) has released its call for proposals for the next projects in the Data User Element (DUE) INNOVATOR arena. Projects are expected to contributed to various international efforts, and CliC and the Cryosphere in a Changing Climate Grand Challenge are specifically mentioned. We encourage those of you interested in submitting a proposal to consider tying your efforts to some of the ongoing and developing CliC activities.
 
The full call for proposals can be downloaded here.
 
The DUE INNOVATOR III will consist in a suite of up to 12 projects of maximum two year time duration and of value up to 200 K euro each. The  DUE INNOVATOR III projects will give to the end-users, industry and research communities the opportunity to develop and demonstrate innovative Earth Observation (EO) services and products using existing ESA, ESA third-party mission and other EO datasets. These original projects, if successful, may constitute future large scale activities within the Agency's Data User Element (DUE) programme.
 
The DUE INNOVATOR III application areas and service themes are open, but require a targeted end-user community that will directly benefit from these new services and products. At least one end-user entity shall be actively involved in each DUE INNOVATOR III project and will be responsible for providing the detailed service and product requirements, as well as support the interpretation and validation of the service products, and assess the adequacy of and benefits of the service.
 
Each project will be carried out up to 24 months and will consist of three phases: - Specification and demonstration; - Implementation and validation; - Evaluation and evolution scenario. EO topics already covered by past or ongoing projects within the ESA DUP/DUE, EOMD, GSE, EU Framework Programmes or National programmes will not be considered for funding. Spanish Tenderers are advised that although Spain is participating in EOEP-4, its contribution is already earmarked for specific elements in EOEP-4 aiming at ensuring continuity with activities stemming from the previous period. Therefore, for this ITT, entities which have their registered office in Spain are not entitled to take part in a bidding consortium, either as Prime Contract or as subcontractor.


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8th GEO European Projects Workshop (GEPW-8): Presentations and photgraphs are now available

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 16:02:00 +0300

The  8th GEO European Projects Workshop (GEPW-8) took place in Athens, Greece, on 12 and 13 June, hosted by the Greek GEO Office - National Observatory of Athens and co-organized by the Mariolopoulos-Kanaginis Foundation for the Environmental Sciences.

The event was intended to bring all those interested in and actively contributing to the Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS) from all over Europe together, in order to present their work and discuss how Europe can contribute to this international effort, especially in the wake of the launch of the new EU Framework Programme for Research, Horizon 2020, and renewal of the mandate of GEO for another 10 years through the endorsement of the 2014 Geneva Declaration.

Oral presentations, a book of abstracts and the photos from the event are now uploaded and available for download on the events website.



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The Spiral Project Handbook: Effective interfaces between science, policy and society

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 13:40:00 +0300

The Spiral Project Handbook: Effective interfaces between science, policy and society was developed as part of the SPIRAL project. SPIRAL is an interdisciplinary research project that studies science-policy interfaces between biodiversity research and policy to draw lessons and improve the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
 
This handbook provides a manual for projects and individuals interested in designing or improving interfaces between science, policy and society. It is challenging – but important – to establish appropriate connections between the diverse insights and perspectives of scientists and other knowledge holders, and the needs and interests of decision-takers, implementers and other knowledge users. These connections and interactions are the "science-policy interface" (SPI). Designing and improving SPIs of EU-funded research projects is the aim of this handbook.
 
The handbook is structured around five main issues. It starts with a brief introduction to what SPIs are, and what they are not. Then moves on to the issue of why SPIs are needed before looking at certain important attributes of SPIs, namely credibility, relevance, legitimacy and iterativity. In the next part of the handbook, some steps and recommendations for designing, maintaining and improving the SPIs of EUfunded research projects are outlined. As part of this some factors facilitating successful SPIs are discussed.
 
SPIRAL was funded under the EU 7th Framework Programme, contract number 244035.
 
Original Source:
 
Young, J.C., Watt, A.D. van den Hove, S. and the SPIRAL project team1. 2013. Effective interfaces between science, policy and society: the SPIRAL project handbook. http://www.spiralproject.eu/content/documents

 



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Citizens’ Observatories: Five EU FP7 Projects Focused on Citizen Science

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 15:28:00 +0300

Five  projects focused on citizen science began their life in autumn 2012 as a part of the topic ENV.2012.6.5-1 "Developing community based environmental monitoring and information systems using innovative and novel earth observation applications". Their goals include developing novel technologies and applications in the domain of Earth Observation; exploiting portable devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) and enabling effective participation by citizens in environmental stewardship based on broad stakeholder and user involvement in support of both community and policy priorities.

These projects are:

CITI-SENSE - aiming to empower citizens to both contribute towards, and participate in environmental governance, by developing up to 30 Citizens’ Observatories supporting a range of services related to environmental issues of societal concern with participatory sensing tools and methods being central.

OmniScientis - combining the active participation of the stakeholders, especially citizens, with the implementation of innovative technologies to improve the governance of odour nuisance. OMNISCIENTIS implements an odour monitoring and information system allowing feedback in real-time, based on a web-based Service Platform.

Citclops - developing an observatory based on citizens’ science applications for the bio-optical monitoring of coast and ocean. Specifically, the Citclops action develops systems to retrieve and use data on the colour, transparency and fluorescence of seawater using low-cost sensors and smart phones along with contextual information.

COBWEB - seeking to design, develop and validate the necessary software infrastructure to facilitate and make possible the opportunistic harvesting and quality control of crowdsourced environmental data.

WeSenseIt - enabling citizens to become active stakeholders in information  capturing, evaluation and communication for the water environment including flood risk.

Together these projects will enable sharing of data and information through advanced data management strategies based on open e-collaboration, addressing questions of privacy, data standards, quality and reliability. 

The Facebook  page ‘Citizens’ Observatories’ group acts as one focal point for the development and promotion of ‘Citizens' Observatories worldwide‘ as an essential tool and a common perspective to better observing, understanding, protecting and enhancing our environment.

For more information on the diferent projects, please visit the dedicated Citizens' Observatories webpage: www.citizen-obs.eu

 



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Global Biodiversity Outlook 4: a mid-term assessment of progress towards the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 13:15:00 +0300

The 4th Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO 4) was officially launched on 6 Oct 2014, during the opening day of the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 12) in Pyeongchang, Korea. Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a periodic report that summarizes the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention.

GBO 4 is a comprehensive report that serves as a mid-term analysis towards the 20 "Aichi Biodiversity Targets". The report states significant progress towards meeting some components of the majority of the Aichi  Biodiversity Targets. Some target components, such as conserving at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and  inland water areas, are on track to be met. However, in most cases this progress is seen as not sufficient to achieve the targets set for 2020, and additional action is required to keep the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 on course. 

The full report can be accessed here: http://www.cbd.int/gbo4/

 



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BioVeL in Practice and in Future

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 13:45:00 +0300

BioVel is organizing a one-day workshop "BioVeL: In Practice and in Future". The event will take place on 13 Nov 2014 in Institut Océanographique, Paris, France. It aims at sharing BioVel experience obtained during the project's efforts to build a virtual laboratory for biodiversity research. Plans for the future of BioVel will be also presented. 

 

BioVeL partners are pleased to invite you to
"BioVeL in Practice and in Future"

November 13, 2014, 9:00-4:30
Institut Océanographique, 195 rue Saint Jacques, Paris 5e

This one-day event aims at sharing with participants what we did and what we’ve learned during our efforts to build a virtual laboratory for biodiversity research. We will also present our plans for the future and invite the audience to take a role in it.

BioVeL is a pilot implementation of some of the core ideas from the LifeWatch Preparatory Phase. In the past three years we’ve worked with the biodiversity research community to construct, test, and revise some essential elements of a robust e-infrastructure for biodiversity and ecosystem research. At the meeting we want to present the results we have produced and the experience we’ve gained, as well as discussing the coming tasks for our community.

The event will be structured around the 3 key goals that encapsulate the BIH2013 initiative.

  • Integration: Making better use of existing data and tools.
  • Cooperation: Working together towards a holistic understanding of biodiversity
    and ecosystems.
  • Promotion: Informatics leadership to serve the needs of science and society.

Detailed programme here
Registration required here

Follow us on Twitter: @bioveleu
For more information, write contact@biovel.eu

 

 

 

 



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Gap analysis and priorities for filling identified gaps in data coverage and quality

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 15:37:00 +0200

High-quality biodiversity data is essential for answering key questions on biodiversity in Europe, for example regarding the state and trends of species or for evaluating ecosystem services and functions on various scales. A new EU BON report "Gap analysis and priorities for filling identified gaps in data coverage and quality" evaluates the state of available biodiversity information and points out gaps of available biodiversity information sources.

The report aims to assess relevant data sources on biodiversity on a European and global scale. The assessment particularly evaluates the gaps of available biodiversity information sources and, after outlining the most important ones, identifies priorities for improving the data availability and gives recommendations of how they can be closed.

The report is divided into three main sections, starting first with an overall overview of gaps and limitations of biodiversity datasets. After outlining some general limitations of biodiversity data in Europe, the key findings from the specific analyses are summarized along with recommendations of how existing gaps can be closed. The last part presents a chapter containing the specific gap analysis for a selection of several main global and European datasets. The datasets represent some main sources for biodiversity data, either for specific realms (terrestrial, marine, freshwater), taxonomic groups, thematic fields (taxonomy, genetic databases) or networks of European test sites.

 



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DEST with new website and training programme for 2014-2015

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 13:36:00 +0200

The Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) has now launched its new website and training programme for 2014-2015. DEST has been established by prominent taxonomists and other international partners during the EU funded project European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT: 2006 – 2011). Since March 2011, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences committed to sustain the continued management of DEST, organization of courses and related logistics.
 
To see the Modern Taxonomy programme offering intensive theoretical courses in various subjects go to:
 
Or have a look at the Expert-in-training programme enabling trainees to develop and strengthen skills through on-the-job-training:


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Article alert: Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 11:02:00 +0200

A new EU BON acknowledged paper "Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review" has been recently published in the journal Ecological Informatics.

Abstract: 

Many geospatial tools have been advocated in spatial ecology to estimate biodiversity and its changes over space and time. Such information is essential in designing effective strategies for biodiversity conservation and management. Remote sensing is one of the most powerful approaches to identify biodiversity hotspots and predict changes in species composition in reduced time and costs. This is because, with respect to field-based methods, it allows to derive complete spatial coverages of the Earth surface under study in a short period of time. Furthermore, remote sensing provides repeated coverages of field sites, thus making studies of temporal changes in biodiversity possible. In this paper we discuss, from a conceptual point of view, the potential of remote sensing in estimating biodiversity using various diversity indices, including alpha- and beta-diversity measurements.

Original Source: 

Rocchini D, Hernández-Stefanoni J L, He KS (2014) Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review. Ecological Informatics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.10.006



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The PREDICTS database

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 09:36:00 +0200

A new paper describing the PREDICTS database has been published and is now available in open-access publication in Ecology and Evolution.

PREDICTS - Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - is a collaborative project aiming to use a meta-analytic approach to investigate how local biodiversity typically responds to human pressures such as land-use change, pollution, invasive species and infrastructure, and ultimately improve our ability to predict future biodiversity changes.

Abstract:

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – 

Original Source:

Hudson L. N. et. al. (2014) The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts. Ecology and Evolution, Vol 4, 24: 4701–4735. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1303

 



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Job Alert: EEA - Project Manager - Biodiversity indicators

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:02:00 +0200

The European Environment Agency (EEA) is organising an open competition with a view to recruiting a contract agent to work as Project Manager within the area of biodiversity indicators and assessments and further with a view to establishing a reserve list.

THE AGENCY

The EEA is an Agency of the European Union (EU) and one of the decentralised Union bodies. The EEA aims to support sustainable development and to help achieve significant and measurable improvement inEurope’s environment, through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-making agents and the public.

More information is available on the official EEA page: http://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/jobs/eeavacancy.2015-01-14.3625557226

 



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Article Alert: Indirect interactions among tropical tree species through shared rodent seed predators: a novel mechanism of tree species coexistence

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2015 18:11:00 +0300

A new aticle published in Ecology Letters  looks into the indirect interactions among tropical tree species through shared rodent seed predators. The reasearch is part of the work of EU BON postdoc Carol X. Garzon-Lopez.

Abstract: The coexistence of numerous tree species in tropical forests is commonly explained by negative dependence of recruitment on the conspecific seed and tree density due to specialist natural enemies that attack seeds and seedlings (‘Janzen–Connell’ effects). Less known is whether guilds of shared seed predators can induce a negative dependence of recruitment on the density of different species of the same plant functional group. We studied 54 plots in tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, with contrasting mature tree densities of three coexisting large seeded tree species with shared seed predators. Levels of seed predation were far better explained by incorporating seed densities of all three focal species than by conspecific seed density alone. Both positive and negative density dependencies were observed for different species combinations. Thus, indirect interactions via shared seed predators can either promote or reduce the coexistence of different plant functional groups in tropical forest.

Carol X. Garzon-Lopez et. al. (2015) Indirect interactions among tropical tree species through shared rodent seed predators: a novel mechanism of tree species coexistence. Ecology Letters. doi: 10.1111/ele.12452



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New life for old data: Integrating and visualizing primary biodiversity data from prospective and legacy taxonomic literature

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 18 May 2015 15:38:00 +0300

XML markup of taxonomic research and specimen data is a valuable tool for structuring the incessantly accumulating biodiversity knowledge. It allows for the opportunity to collectively use the currently fragmented information for more detailed analysis.

A new research paper, published in theBiodiversity Data Journal, demonstrates how XML markup using GoldenGATE can address the challenges presented by unstructured legacy data, like those presented in the widely used PDF format. The paper demonstrates how structured primary biodiversity data can be extracted from such legacy sources and aggregated with and jointly queried with data from other Darwin Core-compatible sources, to present a visualization of these data that can communicate key information contained in biodiversity literature.

Specimen data in taxonomic literature are among the highest quality primary biodiversity data. Innovative cybertaxonomic journals such as the Biodiversity Data Journal are using workflows that preserve the data's structure and semantic specificity and disseminate electronic content to aggregators and other users that makes these data reusable.

Such structure however is lost in traditional taxonomic publishing and currently, access to that resource is cumbersome, especially for non-specialist data consumers.

The question is: how do you manage this vast distributed repository of knowledge about biodiversity to make it easily available reusable for future research?

To answer this challenge this project queried XML structured articles published in Biodiversity Data Journal along with historical taxonomic literature marked up using GoldenGATE, and represents the results as a series of standard charts. XML structured documents are maintained by the Swiss NGO Plazi and are freely available online.

In such form, data associated with specimens becomes much more valuable as it can reveal key information about a particular species, and even about the scientists who investigate them. Charts indicate at a glance, for example, what time of year and elevation range a species is likely to be found at, useful information if you want to search for it in the field.

Our accumulated biodiversity knowledge includes an estimated 2-3 billion specimens in natural history collections and 500 million pages of printed text. These are the data we need to answer questions that are relevant to our world today, like setting conservation priorities and anticipating the effects of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem functions that affect the lives of people.

"In short, we have half a billion pages worth of biodiversity knowledge and are just learning how to query it. The real power comes when data from many articles are combined, queried, and reused for new purposes. Potential applications span the scientific, policy, and public spheres. When we all have better access to the information that already exists in the global corpus of biodiversity literature, this helps us do a better job of exploring what we don't know and wisely applying what we do." explains the lead author Dr Jeremy Miller, Naturalis Biodiversity Center.

###

This project was supported by pro-iBiosphere and EU BON, two FP-7 (European Union Seventh Framework Programme, 2007-2013) grants (No 312848 and 308454).

Original source:

Miller J, Agosti D, Penev L, Sautter G, Georgiev T, Catapano T, Patterson D, King D, Pereira S, Vos R, Sierra S (2015) Integrating and visualizing primary data from prospective and legacy taxonomic literature. Biodiversity Data Journal 3: e5063. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.3.e5063

 



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FishBase Mirror Updates for April 2015

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 29 May 2015 11:05:12 +0300

FishBase on the US and CA servers (www.fishbase.us and www.fishbase.ca) are now updated to version April 2015.

 



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9th GEO European Projects Workshop is on & streamlined live

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:30:00 +0300

The 9th GEO European Projects Workshop is now taking place on 15 and 16 June 2015 in Copenhagen, co-organised by the Danish Meteorological Institute, the European Commission and the European Environment Agency.

While registration is now closed, due to demand the event will be recorded and streamed live on http://stream.dvc.dk/9thgeo/ for those who are interested to follow.

The objective of the GEO European Projects Workshop is to bring together European players interested in and actively contributing to the Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS). The aim is to enable participants to present their work and discuss how Europe can contribute to this international effort. Its timing has been set to maximise early insight and awareness of the new Implementation plan for the next decade of GEO as well as input to and awareness of Horizon 2020 work programme for 2016 and 2017.

Building on the experience from previous GEO European Projects Workshops, it is intended to continue working towards greater involvement of the European private sector, especially SMEs, in GEO.  The workshop will also focus on user engagement, and the priorities for future flagship initiatives, foreseen to be strengthened in the next phase of GEO, in order to fulfil GEO's ambition to provide information for decision making.

More information available on the official event page: http://geo.pbe.eionet.europa.eu/



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EU BON presented in a special biodiversity and ecosystems session during the 9th GEO European Projects Workshop

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 19 Jun 2015 15:00:00 +0300

The 9th GEO European Projects Workshop took place on 15 and 16 June 2015, in Copenhagen, Denmark. A special session dedicated to biodiversity and ecosystems was held as a part of the meeting, where EU BON and other topic relevant projects were presented.

The session was started by Gary Geller with an introduction and overview. Particularly the importance of the long-term sustainability of the projects and the linkages to the overall aims of GEO were stressed, as well as the opportunity of the session to find further synergies among the GEO-related projects.


Participants at the biodiversity and ecosystems sessions during the 9th GEO European Projects Workshop; Credit: Florian Wetzel

EU BON was presented at the meeting by the project coordinator Christoph Häuser, who outlined the core elements for an integrated biodiversity information system. There is the challenge to provide a sound framework to overcome the fragmentation of available biodiversity information to obtain better information for political decision making.  EU BON with its 31 partners tackles this challenge and its main objective is to serve as a European contribution to GEO BON.

Other projects presented during the session were EU H2020 projects ECOPOTENTIAL and GLOBIS‑B, both already in the list of associated partners of EU BON.  The third H2020 project presented here was SWOS, a Satellite-based Wetland Observation Service.

One of the major outcomes of the session was the agreement that further follow-ups of the discussions are needed and that the projects should have further exchange among each other.

 

 

 

 



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New Paper: Earth observation as a tool for tracking progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 21 Jul 2015 10:51:00 +0300

A new EU BON derived open access paper looking into Earth Observations (EO) and the Aichi Targets was recently published  in the journal Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation.

The paper reviews the ABTs and EBVs against direct and indirect, operational and emerging, EO data products. The review was conducted by consulting expert opinion and categorically rating the Targets based on the adequacy of currently available EO technology to build indicators per target. The potential RS-EBVs were also matched with their respective EO data products.

To summarize this information a monitoring framework is proposed where RS-EBVs are used to harmonize observations prior to the indicator stage. Potential obstacles to implementing this framework and challenges to its adoption by the wider science and policy community are discussed. Finally, upcoming satellite missions which could offer potential for assessing global biodiversity status and trends beyond the 2020 timeframe of the CBD's current Strategic Plan for Biodiversity are discussed.

Original Source: 

O'Connor B. et. al. (2015) Earth observation as a tool for tracking progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. DOI: 10.1002/rse2.4



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Data Management in Citizen Science Projects: share your experience!

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:45:00 +0300

It has been recognized that issues regarding the sustainability and interoperability of data collected by citizens hinder the re-usability and integration of these data across borders. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), is following up on these findings with a detailed study of interoperability arrangements, hosting and data management practices of Citizen Science projects. These activities include a survey designed to capture the state of play with regard to data management practices on the local, national and continental scales. The questions are especially inspired by the recently proposed data management principles of the Group on Earth Observations and those of the Belmont Forum.

Beyond the pure stocktaking and awareness raising, the results should establish a base line for prioritizing follow-up activities and measuring progress. The results will also inform the discussion on the potential roles of the European Commission – and especially the JRC – in Citizen Science.

After discussions with members of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) and the international Citizen Science Association (CSA), it was decided to open the scope of the questionnaire to the international community, so that non-EU and globally acting organizations could also benefit from the outcomes.

The survey will be open until 31 August 2015, and the results of the subsequent analysis will be available by the end of September.  We invite all those involved in Citizen Science projects to take the survey in order to provide us with invaluable information and insight into Citizen Science projects and best practice.

Take the Survey! >> https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/CSDataManagement



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