Background

The use of biomass as an energy-source for heat, power and fuel has been encouraged by different national governmental targets. This development is discussed under ecological, economical and social sustainability issues. For the implementation of a sustainable strategy on biomass-use it is important to consider the current status and the prospects as well as the possibilities and limitations of the regulation of biomass energy use.

International Conference

Key issues of the conference were the current and future status of global biomass-use, identification of relevant potentials and possible spatial as well as the ecological impacts of the exploitation and the consequences for spatial development. Following questions were under consideration:

• How does the current situation of biomass-use for energy purposes in different countries look like? Which biomass potentials are expected?
• How do regional and global biomass markets develop?
• Which spatial impacts are connected to the biomass-use?
• What are new requirements of spatial planning to control the biomass production in a sustainable way? What kind of instruments of land use regulation / spatial planning can be used?

A sustainable biomass-use needs an international exchange of experiences and concepts. Therefore the conference focussed on the possible approaches and instruments of spatial planning for the future influence of biomass-use of foreign countries.

Project Partner

The international conference "Biomass in Future Landscapes" was organized within the project "Global and regional spatial distribution of biomass potentials". This project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Buildings and Urban Affairs (BMVBS) and assisted by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).

The German government - represented by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) - founded and assigned the German Biomass Research Centre (DBFZ) to research technological, economical, and ecological questions of the energetic usage of biomass.

Within the project the German Biomass Research Centre (DBFZ) has the project co-ordination with the support of following partners:

Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)
Institute of Socio-Economics
www.zalf.de

German Aerospace Center (DLR)
www.dlr.de

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