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Journal of International and Digital Communication: Sustainability Perspectives
Full text linkThis issue presents the contributions of the participants of the international DAAD Blended Mobility Project “Giving nature its own rights - ethical and legal perspectives and the influence on the realization of selected SDGs” which took place in wintersemester 2025 at Trier University of Applied Science, Environmental Campus Birkenfeld (UCB) under the guidance of Prof. Valeva and Prof. Nitschmann and in collaboration with the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and the University of Coimbra supported by Prof. Zegarra (PUCP) and Prof. Aragão (University of Coimbra).
The DAAD funded project used the concept of global education to strengthen students' democratic competences and social participation and integrates intercultural dimensions into teaching. Its content is in the context of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and is linked to the curricular content of the studies “Non-Profit Management”, “Environmental Economics and Environmental Law” and “Sustainable Business and Technology” at the UCB. As part of the project, students and professors from Peru and Portugal visited the UCB for a workshop week in the winter semester 2024/25.
Understanding and methods for interpreting the global agenda of the UN regarding the SDGs were developed within the framework of this ESD project. Students worked together in teams virtually and in person under the guidance of experts to critically evaluate existing anthropocentric systems and their imbalances and to develop strategies for overcoming the challenges of an ecocentered approach for the law and the system in general (institutions, companies, civil society).
Ahead of the mobility phase and the technical content on the SDGs and diverse Rights of Nature (RoN) perspectives, language and culture were key themes in the two virtual kick-off events. This approach made it possible to raise transcultural and ecological awareness and thus paves the way for interdisciplinary knowledge building in teams. The intense mobility week started off with creating international mixed teams which were the work groups for the whole week. Input was given by experts within moderated panel discussions referring to different perspectives such as ethics and society and law and culture.
The project focused on the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park as a natural entity and local example, serving as a starting point for case studies from selected countries to provide a broad basis for interpreting SDGs 13, 14, 15, and 16. Students were introduced to the biodiversity of the park by an expert ranger and used it as an experience-oriented and stimulating place to experience the intelligence of nature.
To perform a well-prepared simulated parliament debate, four internationally composed teams were defined, whereby a particular real case study in the area of RoN was assigned to two teams. The preparation of the debate included the assignment of the debate’s roles to the team’s members and clarification of the functions of the given roles. The material preparation included research for and discussion about the relevant information, and the training of the argumentation scenarios. They prepared themselves or two possible scenarios: confirmation of the launching of RoN or rejection of it. The two case studies were defined as follows:
1. Grant legal rights to the Maranon River, demanding its protection as a rights-bearing entity, now!
2. Grant the status of a subject of rights to the little fox “Run Run”, now!
The debate concept allowed the students to transfer their theoretic knowledge in practical skills and thus contributes to the learning outcome of defending democratic values by contributing actively in democratic processes. With the idea to perpetuate the outcome of the project this issue publishes the student works related to the final debate and is completed by professors’ perspectives.
Content:
CHAPTER 1 – Theoretical Impulses and Panel Discussions within the DAAD Rights of Nature Project 2024 (Report)
Alexandra Aragão:
Foundations for a theory of radical legal eco-innovation: the paradigm of Rights of Nature
Milena Valeva:
Panel Discussion on Democracy, Rights of Nature and Social Norm Dynamics
Kathrin Nitschmann:
Researching the problem: Would an Rights of Nature Concept be THE solution?
Nina Giordano:
The Te Awa Tupua Act: How Nature’s Legal Standing Strengthens Indigenous and Human Rights
CHAPTER 2 – Part I – Case Study: Granting legal rights to the Maranon River as a rights-bearing entity
Lynette Annau:
Granting Rights to Naturals Objects: The Future of Environmental Protection or Cultural Mismatch?
Jesus Bernal:
Anthropocentrism – an Obstacle to the Protection of Nature
Malika Arstan:
Economic Advantages of Granting the Rights of Nature
Claudia Rocio Crespo Chavez:
Is Europe Ready to Embrace the Recognition of Nature’s Rights?
CHAPTER 2 – Part II – Case Study: Granting legal rights to the Maranon River as a rights-bearing entity
Ana Murhiel Diaz Aguilar:
Going to the Court doesn’t ensure that the environment will be protected
Lilly Roth:
Legal Instruments to Protect the Environment outside of Rights of Nature
Tobias Becker:
Public Support and Challenges in Recognizing the Rights of Nature: A European Perspective
Maria J. Paixão:
Legal Fetishism in Times of Polycrisis
CHAPTER 3 – Part I – Case Study: Granting a Status of a Subject of Rights to the Peruvian Little Fox “Run Run”
Jamie Moser:
The Case of Run Run and the Emergence of a Nature – Centered Legal Framework
José Heleno P. Vanzeler:
Ecological Awareness and the Power of Law in Realizing the Rights of Nature
Roya Qazen:
From the Rights of Man to the Social Contract for Geoethics toward the Rights of Nature
Amanda Erin Regalado Romero:
Foundations for the recognition of the Rights of Nature in the European Union
CHAPTER 3 – Part II – Case Study: Granting a Status of a Subject of Rights to the Peruvian Little Fox “Run Run”
Ronald Sebastián Yaipén Polo:
The Rights of Nature: The Answer to a Poorly Framed Debate
Maria Eduarda Terra e Zeitune:
Economic Challenges and the Rights of Nature: A Conflict Between Sustainable Growth and Environmental Conservation
Yannick Wagner:
Culture matters – Why the Rights of Nature don't fit the European Unio
Researching the problem: Would an Rights of Nature Concept be THE solution?
Full text linkWith a focus on the historical-political impact on the protection of the ecosystem, Prof. Dr. Nitschmann referring to Hsiao (2012) began with the Whanganui River case and used this example to show how law can be successfully used as an instrument for status quo conservation over centuries in favour of economic interests in an anthropocentric system, questioning during her reflections if a Rights of Nature concept is THE solution to actual environmental challenges
Anthropocentrism – an Obstacle to the Protection of Nature
Full text linkDuring the last decades, several actions have been carried out to try to reduce and even stop the repercussions of climate change, such as the creation of politics, laws, treaties and diverse mechanisms of action to ensure the care and protection of nature, however, such measures have not been enough to reduce the diverse types of impacts that the planetary ecosystem suffers.
Throughout this section, the integration of the ecocentric vision in the Law will be developed, with the main objective of recognizing the inherent rights of nature in Europe. This will be achieved through the use of existing legal and juridical figures, with special emphasis on Latin American latitudes, with the purpose of incorporating this modern advance of law in the European normative framework
Morphology of graphite agglomerates obtained by spherical agglomeration via propagation-based X-ray microtomography
Full text linkThe aim of this work was to develop a novel method for studying the 3D morphology of agglomerates obtained by spherical agglomeration. It has been found, that the combination of shock-freezing the samples in a mixture of ethanol and dry ice followed by an X-ray microtomography measurement leads to useful results. Hereby, the image quality for low absorbing material like the used graphite was enhanced by propagation-based X-ray microtomography, which results in phase contrast images. We also discuss our 3D image post-processing routine, which is used to determine the morphology parameters sphericity, fractal dimension and packing density. Furthermore, a two-dimensional kernel density estimation is used to calculate the joint probability density of agglomerate size and the morphology parameter. In future, this method will be used to determine the morphological behaviour of agglomerates during the different phases of spherical agglomeration
The line bisection bias as a deficit of proportional reasoning − evidence from number line estimation in neglect
Full text linkThis study aimed to investigate whether neurological patients presenting with a bias in line bisection show specific problems in bisecting a line into two equal parts or their line bisection bias rather reflects a special case of a deficit in proportional reasoning more generally. In the latter case, the bias should also be observed for segmentations into thirds or quarters. To address this question, six neglect patients with a line bisection bias were administered additional tasks involving horizontal lines (e.g., segmentation into thirds and quarters, number line estimation, etc.). Their performance was compared to five neglect patients without a line bisection bias, 10 patients with right hemispheric lesions without neglect, and 32 healthy controls. Most interestingly, results indicated that neglect patients with a line bisection bias also overestimated segments on the left of the line (e.g., one third, one quarter) when dissecting lines into parts smaller than halves. In contrast, such segmentation biases were more nuanced when the required line segmentation was framed as a number line estimation task with either fractions or whole numbers. Taken together, this suggests a generalization of line bisection bias towards a segmentation or proportional processing bias, which is congruent with attentional weighting accounts of line bisection/neglect. As such, patients with a line bisection bias do not seem to have specific problems bisecting a line, but seem to suffer from a more general deficit processing proportions
Glyphosat[e] use in line with Colombia’s peace policy
Full text linkThe paper, written by Maxi-Mercedes Jahn, is in particular about the use of glyphosate as the unique pesticide product provided for aerial aspersion. She discusses the forced eradication of more than 800 thousand hectares of coca in Colombia in 10 years, between 2012 and 2022, while discussing the reasons behind an increase in cultivation during this period. Circumstances may be dynamic, but the lack of state presence and for an effective land distribution have been some of the determinants to this problem. In 2019, drug trafficking revenues reached 31 billion of Colombian pesos, or 2.9 percent of the GDP. The business has remained healthy and thriving. Yet, the glyphosate supporters remain firm. Literature review reveals a lack of significant scientific debate on the efficacy of glyphosate as the best method for eradicating coca plantations. The use of glyphosate raises not only environmental concerns but also geopolitical issues, affecting conflict resolution and peacebuilding attempts. Coca cultivation is a viable business, it offers benefits such as more frequent harvests and reliable markets, enabling farmers to improve their income and living conditions in a relatively short term. Unlike other crops, coca does not require formal and legal export market. For example, while 14 kilos of Chontaduro (palm tree fruit) earn about 30 thousand Colombian pesos, a kilo of coca paste can cost 2 million pesos. This disparity highlights why substitution schemes are ineffective when drug revenues far exceed legal alternatives. The author’s insights into these often-overlooked factors contribute significantly to the discussion. She also addresses the Colombia-FARC peace agreement, which included comprehensive crop substitution policies, but progress has been minimal. It can even be said that increase in coca cultivation directly correlates with unmet agreement commitments. As well as other issues that are highlighted in the paper. The author notes that cartels have developed new methods to produce more cocaine with fewer plants, complicating government efforts. It also discusses the impact of technological advancements and the political complexities behind eradication policies. Back to the glyphosate issue, which it thorough in the paper, it mentioned that glyphosate negatively impacts that are usually not reported in mainstream media, like destroying soil organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and mycorrhizae, which are crucial for soil health and fertility. Farmers have reported adverse effects from glyphosate, including skin irritations that lead to permanent scars and vision problems. Reports also indicate that some farmers were mistakenly targeted during glyphosate applications, leading to the loss of their crops and livelihoods. This discussion underscores how the use of glyphosate, while intended for public health purposes, infringes on human rights and affects the lives of those in the impacted areas. Finally, the author makes a really interesting survey through the German Basic Law referring a few lessons for the Colombian case. The constitution orders the state to protect natural resources and life through prevention of harm, defense against threats, and risk assessment. The author highlights the balloon effect, linking deforestation, cattle ranching, coca production, violence, and displacement. More interestingly, she describes how glyphosate use exacerbates soil exhaustion and raises agricultural costs due to increased fertilizer and pesticide use. Additionally, she provides compelling information stating that spraying one hectare of coca can cost more than 50 thousand Colombian pesos, suggesting deeper issues, such as the influence of glyphosate producers in the overall transaction. The author concludes that broader goals of social justice, environmental stewardship, and sustainable rural development are needed. However, the discussion leaves unresolved questions about the environmental impact of glyphosate use. It emphasizes that the relationship between communities and their environment is complex, involving diverse, interdependent processes that go beyond the immediate effects of eradication efforts
Rights for Nature in selected states
Full text linkIn recent years, a paradigm shift in environmental ethics has given rise to a groundbreaking concept granting legal rights to nature itself. As the global community grapples with escalating environmental challenges, select nations have taken unprecedented steps to acknowledge nature as a subject with inherent rights, transcending the conventional view of the environment as mere property. This term paper dives into the evolving landscape of environmental jurisprudence by exploring the inclusion of nature's rights in the constitutional frameworks of Ecuador, Bolivia, New Zealand, Colombia and India. Through a comparative analysis of these distinct cases, we unravel the diverse approaches these countries have adopted to recognize and protect the rights of nature, examining the legal, cultural, and ecological implications of this transformative concept. From the constitutional enshrinement of Pachamama's rights in Ecuador to the legal personification of the Whanganui River in New Zealand, this paper sheds light on the global movement for the rights of nature and its potential impact on environmental conservation and societal harmony
Effective conflict resolution through ADRs: opportunities, challenges and applications in different contexts
Full text linkThe achievement of sustainable development hinges on safeguarding the environment, preserving natural resources, and fostering economic growth that is intricately linked with responsible resource utilization. In simpler terms, sustainable development is contingent upon maintaining environmental sustainability. Conversely, Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes the need for global peace, justice, and robust institutions, aiming to uphold the rule of law and facilitate access to justice on a worldwide scale. Addressing environmental conflicts is an integral facet of environmental sustainability and a crucial component of ensuring access to justice. The escalating environmental challenges stemming from the relentless growth of the global population and the insufficient global adoption of renewable energy resources have significantly impacted the environment, leading to a corresponding surge in environmental conflicts. Given the considerable diversity in the judicial systems of nations worldwide and the often inefficacious nature of these systems, there arises a pressing need to reconsider and reconstruct effective alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, especially concerning their role in environmental conflicts. However, it is essential to acknowledge that Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) come with their own set of barriers and drawbacks. This paper delves into a comprehensive examination and analysis of the role played by ADR methods in addressing environmental disputes. It assesses the effectiveness of these methods and conducts research to identify the factors that contribute to their success or failure
FinTechs' role in SDGs achievement - a systematic review of scientific research
Full text linkThe paper aims to review FinTechs' landscape in the context of their impact on countries' sustainable development reflected by SDG goals. The systematic literature review (SLR) applied the PRISMA methodology. It proved the worldwide systematically increasing scientific interest in surveying FinTechs and their contribution to SDGs' achievement. This trend has not yet been observed in Europe. Only a few papers directly refer to the relationship between FinTechs' and SDGs' achievement in European countries. Most of the research is qualitative. The topics range from conceptual framework to specific accomplishments of FinTech projects undertaken mainly by governments. They mostly refer to poverty alleviation through financial inclusion. The results of the systematic review of scientific research have shed light on the existing academic literature embracing both FinTech and SDGs issues, explored emerging trends in current research, and identified the main areas for further investigation
Optimizing energy modeling in PBF-LB/M metal additive manufacturing: a detailed analysis of resource and energy demand based on standard tensile test specimen
Full text linkAdditive manufacturing is an essential tool in innovative production processes. The extended degrees of freedom offer much potential in usage, construction, and product design. Rising raw material and energy costs, constantly increasing environmental requirements, and the increasing demand for resource-saving products represent a paradigm shift in classic production processes.
In addition to the purely energetic evaluation, developing energy models is a method to determine energy consumption and reduce it in the long term. The specific energy consumption model, also known as the SEC model, allows a quick estimation of energy consumption by multiplying the SEC with a unit like the mass of the workpiece, the manufacturing time, or the exposed area. Here, high dependence on the used machine, the considered peripheral devices, and the geometry are noticeable.
Previous studies, such as those by Kellens et al. and Baumers et al., have laid the basis for understanding the energy demands of PBF-LB/M processes. Various energy models have subsequently been proposed, including those by Paul and Anand, Yi et al., Lv et al., and Hui et al. These models are often limited by their specificity to sub-processes or subsystems. This results in limitations in their applicability to other manufacturing machines or inaccuracies in energy consumption predictions. The simulation accuracy ACC is mostly in the range of 90% with the limitation of small sample sizes. Moreover, nearly, all these models rely heavily on process time information, making the accuracy of their simulations largely dependent on the quality of the underlying time model.
In the following study, two manufacturing machines of the PBF-LB/M process are analyzed and compared with other studies. The aim is to analyze the power and resource consumption to use these data to build an improved energy model with a high accuracy, which can be used as an additional parameter in the adapted design methodology. Furthermore, potential savings are derived from the load curves