The modern Anthropocene would not exist without electricity. It is the ticking clockwork that guarantees and dictates the rhythm of modernity in all of its beneficial and challenging extents. Electricity generation is a complex process with various inter-dependencies. It is thus important to survey, maintain and continuously adapt all contributors to guarantee a stable electricity generation. This is all the more valid as humanity became aware of the negative repercussions of its constant striving for growth and wealth that provoked various threats, ranging from the climate change over poverty to health issues. In this light, the Sustainable Development Goals were created that should help to assess and guide humanity to a more sustainable way of thriving. The Sustainable Development Goals address several targets, one of them being sustainable (electric) energy supply. The electricity generation’s dependencies are manifold and certainly dependent on the type of generation, but one constant prerequisite is (almost) inevitable for nearly every type of electric generation facility: water. There exists a vast energy-water context with various threads of dependency. It is safe to say that electricity generation without continuous water supply is not secure. And though water is also a special target within the Sustainable Development Goals, the analysis and evaluation of those inter-dependencies between energy and water are scant. Few are the tools that exist to survey, assess and remedy energy-water context challenges. What is more, electricity as pillar of our Anthropocene is already a globally implemented infrastructure that demands constant management action. Yet, the research of the sustainable and secure energy-water context management on i its various levels - ranging from macro-scale analysis and strategy development over meso measures of transference to the mindset behind the micro actions that maintain the electricity generation - is not too advanced, though the topic is of utmost importance. This dissertation investigates on various levels to develop and survey methodologies that reveal and remedy the energy-water context challenge. It does so with five studies. Three of them investigate the special issue of reservoir sedimentation as a prime example of threatened energy-water infrastructure, whose management needs to be surveyed. Out of the five articles, one is already published, one is in press and three are under review. The research will be presented in five chapters. Chapter 1 prepares the ground of the thesis as an introduction. The nature of energy-water dependency is demonstrated and the lack of energy-water sustainability research outlined. On various levels, central research questions for sustainable and secure energy-water management are developed for the thesis. As reservoir sedimentation as a special case and artificial neural networks as a research methodology are of key importance, their principles and backgrounds are illustrated. Chapter 2 surveys the possibilities to evaluate, analyze and assess the multifaceted nature of water-dependent electricity generation. It lights on an essential gap of holistic energy-water security assessment and fills this gap with a broad methodological approach for holistic energy-water security assessment. In Chapter 3 the transference of developed energy strategies to the level of application for an energy-water-(food)-context is investigated. A gap between public professionals and other stakeholder groups as major inhibitors is identified. Within the chapter, an approach to overcome this gap is developed and investigated in a case study in Ouarzazate, Morocco. Subsequently, the degree of security and sustainability thinking of the mindset behind applied energy-water management action is subject to investigation in Chapter 4. This is executed using the example of reservoir sedimentation in Japanese reservoirs. The optimism bias, an influential and non-sustainability mindset in infrastructure management, is used as a proxy to do so. Artificial neural networks serve as a prime tool to derive evidence. Management action is bound to have (expected or unexpected) effects. In the case of reservoir sedimentation in Japan, a mass data methodology based on artificial neural networks is developed in Chapter 5 to extract traces for such effect. It is based on a thorough data set of 1225 Japanese reservoirs with (among others) individual 18 year sedimentation and precipitation time series as well as continuous management action notations. The key element is a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) core of the neural networks that allows a memory function. The extensive research reveals evidence of concrete management action on a meso scale. The conditions of the energy-water context are globally quite different. Chapter 6 is another case to survey the effect of management action, investigating again via artificial neural networks on reservoir sedimentation. This time, the study is settled in the state of Ceará in Brazil and the focus object is a certain, ii presumably sustainable, management directive of the state governance. The results are discussed in Chapter 7, where a conclusion and outlook of the dissertation is given. The dissertation reveals the Gordian web of multi-leveled governance and management of the complex energy-water context. It is emphasized that the presented findings are not the only way to respond to the established research questions, since the results are by no means of panacea character. Rather, the outcomes of the dissertation are very worthwhile tools that bear the flexibility of being applied to the highly variable challenges of the energy-water context. The dissertation is thus a valuable contribution to establish a secure and sustainable utilization of (water) resources and (electricity) infrastructure within the modern Anthropocene.

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Our daily lives depend on the provision of services by different ecosystems in which an important contribution is made by groundwater. To balance competing demands placed on groundwater for socioeconomic and ecological benefits constitute major challenges for water managers. At the policy-science interface the ecosystem service concept represents an appropriate approach to communicate management challenges in which researchers and politicians must take into account human and biophysical characteristics as intertwined systems. This study investigated the complexity of groundwater governance, and linkages between management and corresponding effects on ecosystem services. Empirical insights were derived from case studies in South Africa, Spain and Germany. The analytical focus includes (a) the degree of vertical (multi-level) and horizontal (cross-sectoral) integration which frame crucial characteristics of an adaptive governance regime and (b) the role of formal and informal institutions governing groundwater. In doing so, an conceptual and analytical approach was applied, especially developed to support a systematic and consistent investigation of policy and management processes. Evidence highlights that higher degrees of integration: (i) opens up the political arena for environmental perspectives, (ii) increases the quality of management plans, (iii) accelerates the implementation of measurements, (iv) mitigates conflicts between different groundwater users, and (v) increases the awareness of various ecosystem services. Further the results indicate that having well-crafted institutions in place does not automatically indicate successful groundwater management in the sense of bringing about positive results for socioeconomic or ecological sustainability. This work made a significant contribution to interdisciplinary research in the field of groundwater governance and ecosystem service management that builds the foundations for improving the policy-science interface.

Untersucht werden die sozioökonomischen und kulturellen Voraussetzungen für die Biogastechnik in der Landwirtschaft. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt den Auswirkungen auf den Ressourcen- und Klimaschutz. Biogasanlagen sind als integrative Technik konzipiert. Sie lassen sich in die regionalen und lokalen Kreisläufe einfügen mit positiven Effekten für die Natur und Umwelt. Doch inzwischen gehen diese ökologischen Eigenschaften der Biogastechnik durch ihre Ausrichtung auf maximalen Output verloren. Ausgangspunkt der Betrachtung ist die Theorie einer ökologischen Modernisierung der Gesellschaft, die spezifisch auf die Landwirtschaft übertragen wird. Die Verbindung von Modernität und Ökologie wird als eine zentrale Frage der Zukunft der Agrarwirtschaft und der ländlichen Räume gestellt. Die Erweiterung des Rationalisierungsbegriffs auf ethische und normative Fragen des Umwelt- und Naturschutzes stellt eine Herausforderung für die modernen Landwirte dar. Die widersprüchlichen Anforderungen, die den Landwirten gestellt worden waren - ökonomische Effizienz einerseits, ökologische Erfordernisse andererseits - hatten zur Krise des Bewusstseinzustands des Agrarmenschen beigetragen. Eine Typologie des ökologisch-modernen Landwirts dient der späteren Analyse von Gruppen der Energiewirte, die in der Empirie identifiziert wurden. Im Sinne einer ökologischen Reform der Landwirtschaft hebt sich die Gruppe der Umsteiger besonders hervor. Dazu gehören solche Biogasanlagenbetreiber, die die ökologischen Innovationen wegen langfristiger ökonomischer Vorteile einführen und sich damit auch in ihrer neuen gesellschaftlichen Rolle als Ressourcenmanager gestärkt wissen. Es stellt sich die Frage, wie diese Landwirte in ihrem Beitrag zur Entwicklung dezentraler Energieerzeugung gefördert werden sollten.

In this thesis, a conceptual framework and related methodological approaches for complex system design are developed and tested. The approaches are based on insights from the fields of Systems Engineering (SE) and System-of-Systems Engineering (SoSE), as well as Natural Resources Management (NRM). The focus of this thesis is on: 1) the development of the System-of-Systems Design Framework “FRESCO”, 2) the development of a methodological framework for participatory systems design, 3) the application of the framework in two case studies, and 4) the development of an evaluation scheme to qualitatively measure the effectiveness of the methodological framework. The overall objectives of this doctoral dissertation are to highlight synergies between SE and NRM and to develop a methodological framework for designing decision making processes in a human-nature-technology context. The complexity of coupled and complex adaptive systems (CAS) such as the Water-Energy-Food Nexus (WEF-Nexus) and sustainability strategies, influences the design of decision-making processes and strategy building. Integrated process design which is promoted by the developed frameworks can assist in such tasks on an urban, regional, and national level.

Ziel der Arbeit ist die Methodenentwicklung zur Berechnung des Solarenergiepotenzials auf Dachflächen für sämtliche Gebäude eines großen Gebiets (Stadt, Landkreis) auf Grundlage von Laserscandaten. Die Methode zur Solarpotenzialberechnung wurde mit dem Hintergrund des notwendigen Handlungsbedarfs an Maßnahmen für den Klimaschutz entwickelt. Die Ausgabe des Solarpotenzials auf Dachflächen für alle Gebäude einer Verwaltungseinheit liefert flächendeckende und neutrale Informationen für den Bürger und die Verwaltung. Insbesondere die solare Nutzung auf den keiner Flächenkonkurrenz unterliegenden Dachflächen birgt enormes Potenzial und liefert einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Energiewende. Das Ergebnis dieser Arbeit präsentiert eine Methode, über die eine automatisierte Berechnung des Solarpotenzials auf Dachflächen auf Basis von Laserscandaten mit hoher Genauigkeitsausgabe für große Region realisierbar ist. Die Methode besteht aus sechs Prozessschritten. Es handelt sich um die Datenaufbereitung, die Selektion der homogenen Dachteilflächenbereiche, die Einstrahlungsanalyse, die Verschattungsableitung und die Berechnung des Solarpotenzials. Zudem wird eine Rohdatenkontrolle zur Qualitätsbewertung der Laserscandaten umgesetzt. Zentraler Verfahrensschritt ist die Ableitung der homogenen Dachteilflächen, die unter Berücksichtigung möglichst vieler auch kleiner Dachstrukturen gebildet werden. Das entwickelte Mehrfach-Thresholding Verfahren ermöglicht über die Auswertung der Dachneigung und Dachausrichtung die Separierung von planaren Dachteilflächen. Über den r.sun Algorithmus von GRASS GIS wird die Einstrahlungsanalyse umgesetzt, die den Sonnenstand über den Tag und das Jahr für den Betrachtungsort simuliert und die direkte, diffuse und Globalstrahlung auf die Dachfläche für unterschiedliche Zeitperioden ausgeben lässt. Die Jahressumme der Globalstrahlung wird für jede Dachteilfläche unter Ausschluss stark verschatteter Bereiche errechnet und dient als Grundlage für die Potenzialberechnung. Im Ergebnis enthält jedes Dachteilflächenpolygon Angaben zur geeigneten Modulfläche, zur Höhe der Globalstrahlung, zum potenziellen Stromertrag, zur potenziellen kW-Leistung und zur CO2-Einsparsumme. Datengrundlage sind Laserscandaten, die die Oberflächensituation mit sämtlichen Strukturen abbilden, sowie Gebäudeumringe aus den Liegenschaftsdaten zur Lokalisierung des Gebäudes beziehungsweise des Daches. Laserscandaten eignen sich, abhängig von der Qualität, sehr gut, um im Modell den Betrachtungs- und Einflussraum, der für die Ausgabe des Solarpotenzials auf Dachflächen wichtig ist, flächendeckend und realitätsnah abzubilden. Hier sind insbesondere das Dach insgesamt und die Dachstrukturen sowie die Vegetation, insbesondere Bäume und die Umgebungstopographie die wichtigen Elemente, die flächendeckend und in möglichst hoher Auflösung im Modell vorliegen und berücksichtigt werden sollen, da sie möglicherweise die ertragreiche und wirtschaftliche Nutzung einer Solaranalage verhindern. Über eine rasterbasierte Modellierung ermöglichen diese Daten die Berechnung der Standortparameter wie Dachneigung, Dachausrichtung, Verschattung, Einstrahlungsenergie und Dachflächengröße. An die Laserscandaten werden bestimmte qualitative Anforderungen gestellt, um eine Genauigkeit der Potenzialwerte zu garantieren. Das relativ junge Verfahren wurde in den vergangenen Jahren stark weiter entwickelt, die Lage- und Höhengenauigkeit und Punktdichte wurden deutlich erhöht. Zahlreiche Laserscandatensätze unterschiedlicher Qualität wurden ausgewertet. Die Arbeit beschreibt Mindestanforderungen an die Qualität der Daten, die für eine hohe Qualitätsausgabe des Solarpotenzials benötigt werden. Die Genauigkeit der Solarpotenzialergebnisse wurden über Gebäudepläne realer Objekte, Vor-Ort Messungen und Erträge von bestehenden PV-Anlagen evaluiert. Erzielbare Abweichungen von 2% in der Neigung und 1% in der Ausrichtung sind über die entwickelte Methode auf Grundlage von Laserscandaten mit ausreichender Qualität erreichbar. Größere Abweichungen mit 6% Prozent wurden bei der Dachflächengröße errechnet. Die Bewertung über Referenzanlagen und dessen spezifischem Stromertrag lieferte eine Abweichung von 1,2%. Die Evaluierungsergebnisse bestätigen den Methodenansatz und liefern gute Resultate in der Genauigkeit der Solarpotenzialwerte.

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No description available.

A fundamental change in societal values and economic structures is required to address increasing pressures on ecosystems and natural resources. Transition research has developed in the last decades to analyze the co-dynamics of technological, institutional, social and economic elements in the provision of key functions such as energy, water and food supply. This doctoral dissertation provides conceptual and methodological contributions to the pro-active governance of sustainability transitions. Three research gaps are identified that are addressed in this dissertation. First, a comprehensive conceptualization of learning in sustainability transitions is currently missing that comprises learning at multiple societal levels (ranging from individuals to policy-actors). Learning concepts are often not explicitly discussed in transition research even though learning is considered as fundamental for innovation processes, niche formation and development as well as breakthrough and diffusion of innovations. Second, methods for the analysis and design of transition governance processes are lacking that specify case-specific intervention points and roles of actors in the implementation of innovations. Third, participatory modeling approaches are only applied to a limited extent in transition research despite a high potential for supporting communication and learning. The conceptualization of multi-level learning developed in this doctoral research conceptualizes learning at different societal levels as specific learning contexts ranging from individual and group contexts to organizational and policy contexts. The conceptual framework further differentiates between learning processes, intensity, objects, outcomes, subjects and factors, allowing for a more detailed analysis of learning within and across learning contexts. Thus, learning contexts can be linked by processes that involve actors from different learning contexts (e.g., community groups and policy-makers), as well as exchanges of physical aspects, institutions and knowledge (in the form of ‘learning factors’). This research has also provided a classification of model uses in transition research that supports a purposeful discussion of the opportunities of modeling and promising future research directions. The methodology developed in this doctoral research aims at the analysis and design of transition governance processes by specifying the various opportunities to contribute to sustainability transitions through purposeful action at different societal levels, as well as related roles of stakeholders in implementing such processes of change. The methodology combines different streams of previous research: 1) a participatory modeling approach to identify problem perceptions, case-specific sustainability innovations as well as related implementation barriers, drivers and responsibilities; 2) a systematic review to identify supportive and impeding learning factors from the general literature that can complement case-specific factors; and 3) a method for the analysis and design of case-specific transition governance processes. Three case studies in Canada (topic: sustainable food systems), Cyprus (water-energy-food nexus) and Germany (sustainable heating supply) have been selected to test and iteratively develop the methodology described above. The results for each case study reveal that there are learning objects (i.e., learning requirements) in all learning contexts, which underscores the importance of multi-level learning in sustainability transitions, ranging from the individual to the group, organizational and policy levels. Actors have various opportunities to actively facilitate societal transformations towards sustainable development either directly through actions at their particular societal levels (i.e., context-internal learning) or indirectly through actions that influence learning at other societal levels. In fact, most of the learning factors require cooperation across learning contexts during the implementation process. The comparing of learning factors across case studies underline the importance of several factor categories, such as ‘physical a ‘disturbance or crisis’, ‘information and knowledge’. Of the 206 factors identified by stakeholders, 40 factors are case-specific and not contained in the general, review-based factor list. This underscores the value of participatory research, as general, top-down analyses might have overlooked these case-specific factors. The methodology presented in this dissertation allows for the identification and analysis of case-specific intervention points for sustainability transitions at multiple societal levels. The methodology furthermore permits the analysis of interplay between individual, group, organizational and policy actions, which is a first step towards their coordination. The focus on sustainability innovations links the broad topic of sustainability transitions to a set of opportunities for practical interventions and overcoming their implementation barriers. The methodology presented allows for the analysis and design of these interlinkages between learning contexts. While the methodology cannot provide any ‘silver bullets’ for inducing sustainability transitions, it is flexible enough to identify an appropriate abstraction level for analyzing and designing transition governance processes. The methodology developed in this doctoral research also provides several contributions for the development of participatory modeling methods in transition research. Thus, the participatory method supports an integrated analysis of barriers and drivers of sustainability innovations, and allows application in practice and education. The concepts and methods developed in this research project allow for reflection on transition governance processes from a systemic viewpoint. Experiences in the case studies underline the applicability of the concepts and methods developed for the analysis of case-specific transition governance processes. Despite substantial differences in the geographic location, culture and topics addressed, all case studies include promising sustainability innovations and the engagement of multiple actors in their implementation. The diversity and multitude of initiatives in the case study regions provides an optimistic outlook on future opportunities for large-scale sustainability transitions.