The main cause of deforestation and forest degradation is the expansion of agricultural land to produce various commodities. For this reason, the European Commission has developed a new regulation on deforestation-free products. Particularly palm oil is becoming increasingly important in terms of imports …

Remaining Useful Life (RUL) estimation is directly related with the application of predictive maintenance. When RUL estimation is performed via data-driven methods and Artificial Intelligence algorithms, explainability and interpretability of the model are necessary for trusted predictions. This is especially …

Adopted on the fifteenth anniversary of resolution 1325, Security Council resolution 2242 has recognized for the first time the substantial link between climate change and the “Women, Peace and Security” (WPS) framework. Despite this landmark resolution, the intersections of environmental factors, conflict …

Immense beyond imagination, the untamed rainforests of western New Guinea represent a biodiversity hotspot, home to several unique species of flora and fauna. The territory’s astonishing beauty and diversity is underpinned by a stunning array of natural resources. The island is also home to many indigenous …

Indigenous Papuans on the western half of the island of New Guinea, have experienced intersecting environmental, social, and political crises, within the context of a movement seeking self-determination. These ongoing crises are exacerbated by longstanding grievances over the Grasberg mine (which contains …

The government of the communities Nuangan, Lowey and Matabulu in the East Bolaang Mongondow regency of North Sulawesi, Indonesia has requested Masarang foundation to develop a forest management plan in an area called Boltim forests. The forests of Boltim are located in the mountains of the Ratatombo …

In recent years, the recognition of the importance of ecosystem services provided by peatlands has become increasingly topical (Clarke, 2006). It is now known that peatland degradation and loss of habitat has large negative impacts, particularly with regards the loss of the habitats natural carbon sink …

The disruption of nutrient cycles caused by human activities such as agriculture and burning fossil fuels is impacting ecosystem services on global and local scales. The increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contributes to rising global temperatures and ocean acidification, whereas …

The natural resources in Ethiopia are under intense pressure as a result of population growth and inappropriate farm practices. Introducing alternatives could be a step forward in reducing the impact of farming on natural resources. In Ethiopia, the pressure on water bodies and land is high which results …

In this thesis the workings of a time-resolved setup are treated as well as the underlying physics. The setup is based on optical gating, which gives control over very short moments in time to let light pass through a gate. As this process is stable, light can be studied in very short and low intensities. …