Academy’s advice and position paper

18 Oct Delivering Ireland’s Water Services for the 21st Century

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Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE)
2011
A joint position paper and report prepared by the IAE and Engineers Ireland (EI) submitted to Government in the context of a proposed fundamental change to the control and management of the service and the introduction of universal water metering and charging. The report supports the establishment of a national water utility company and the charging for water services.  It recommends continuing Government subvention during the transition period, until the utility company becomes self-financing.
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18 Oct Reform of the Water Sector in Ireland – Response to Consultation on the establishment of a Public Water Utility

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Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE)
2012
In response to the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government’s request for views on their Water Services Reform, Phase 1, Report and Position Paper (Jan. 2012) the IAE and Engineers Ireland on 24th February 2012 issued them with their joint “Response to Consultation on the establishment of a Public Water Utility, (i.e. Irish Water) The IAE and Engineers Ireland welcomed the Position Paper and called for a robust and transparent funding model which includes for the substantial legacy issues on the Local Authorities’ books. The importance of the early and on-going conduct of Regulatory Impact Assessments and Risk Analyses is recommended using the knowledge of the sector and its key issues, resident in existing practitioners. It is also recommended that legacy liabilities are met from the Exchequer, rather than recovery through higher water charges, burdening customers and impacting negatively on national competitiveness.
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18 Oct Circular economy – improving the management of natural resources

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Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW)
2014
This brochure gives an insight into the current implementation of Circular Economy at national level by presenting three country case studies and their different approaches to achieving the same goal of a more sustainable planet. China, besides being a huge economy, has the political power for a top-down approach to shape a completely restructured industrial and social system. Germany on the other hand is subject to external constraints in the form of EU directives along with national, regional and local demands. Finally Switzerland adopts a step-by-step approach based on finding solutions through the involvement of all stakeholders. In the section Analysis and Comparison, the three countries are investigated according to a number of indicators and consideration is given to the kind of indicators that could serve for a meaningful annual audit of countries’ Circular Economy performance. In the concluding section we give recommendations for possible future actions to take relevant steps towards the vision of a Circular Economy.
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18 Oct Soil – A Geological Resource, Economic Driver and Ecosystem Service Provider: recommendations for pooling scientific expertise in soil and land management

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National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech)
2014
Soil is fundamental to human existence. It forms the uppermost layer of the Earth’s crust, supporting life and comprising a base of mineral and organic materials together with water, air and living organisms. The soil is where the lithosphere (our planet’s crust and upper mantle) meets the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water) and biosphere (flora and fauna). Its position at the interface between these four environmental compartments makes soil a highly sensitive and complex system. The rate at which new soil can be created is limited, meaning that soil loss is often irreversible. Even in the best-case scenario, when land is misused or degraded it can take decades or even centuries to restore soil to a state where it performs its full range of functions. Because the amount of land is finite it is no longer sustainable to consider that new soil may be brought into cultivation, e.g. by clearing forested lands. Arable land is, thus, a finite resource that should be used responsibly.
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18 Oct Georesource Water – The Challenge of Global Change. Approaches and requirements for an integrated management of water resources in Germany

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National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech)
2012
Freshwater (from now on simply referred to as “water”) is a precious good. It is one of the essential georesources. The most obvious uses of water properly occur in private households: we do the laundry and dishes; we cook, drink and water the plants. The largest share of water is, however, used by agriculture and industry. In particular, considerable amounts of water are used for power plant cooling in energy production. Groundwater accounts for about one third (30.1 percent) of global water resources, while only a small share is contained in lakes (0.26 percent), wetlands (0.03 percent) and rivers (0.006 percent). A much higher portion is trapped in ice and snow and is thus barely available for utilisation.
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18 Oct Spatial Planning on the island of Ireland

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Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE)
2016
Sets out the key concepts on which development of Spatial Planning Frameworks should be based and highlights teh main challenges to be addressed in developing these frameworks
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18 Oct Infrastructure for an island population of 8 million

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National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech)
2010
The purpose of the report is to identify and make recommendations on the long-term infrastructure which will be required to serve a significantly and rapidly increasing all island population and to achieve world-class competitiveness for the island. Adopting a long-term perspective ensures that proper economic choices are made and avoids the risk of revisiting incremental decisions based on short-term pressures.Firm recommendations, in respect of spatial planning, key infrastructural investment requirement and protection of essential natural resources, were made.
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18 Oct Strategy of Promoting Interest in Young People for Science and Engineering

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National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech)
2009
Germany is threatened by a dearth of professionals skilled in MINT occupations. This can have far-reaching consequences for the innovative capacity of science and industry. Therefore it is the declared goal of acatech, the German Academy of Science and Engineering, to promote interest in science and engineering and to increase the number of graduates in all MINT fields. acatech's proposed strategy for promoting interest in science and engineering focuses primarily on graduates in technical fields, since the lack of professionals in this area is particularly pronounced and engineers play a key role in sustaining and increasing Germany's economic power.
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18 Oct Future Education Switzerland

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Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW)
2009
In the future, over two thirds of a class should gain a qualification for tertiary education. At the same time the development of interpersonal skills need to be supported. Education should not just provide the knowledge to perform professional duties; it should also provide a deeper understanding in order to deal appropriately with the world and society. This is what the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences are proposing in their under the lead of SATW established white paper “Zukunft Bildung Schweiz” (Future Education Switzerland). It defines the requirements on the Swiss education system in 2030 using a scenario to describe the future understanding of education in Switzerland. Based on this it makes recommendations on the Swiss education strategy and describes its implementation in a roadmap.
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18 Oct Common Visions for the Universities of the Future

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Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV)
2009
How will the Danish universities be prepared to meet the challenges they are facing due to globalization? How do we develop universities that strengthen Denmark as a knowledge nation? What role should universities play in society? With increasing international competition we need strong universities that share a common goal. ATV recommends that universities take more responsibility, discuss additional funding models and have a better dialogue with industry.
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