The Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR) is the project management agency of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). It was established in 1993 on the initiative of the German government with the aim of coordinating research, development and demonstration projects in the field of renewable raw materials. At the beginning of the new year, the FNR is providing information on scientifically sound solutions that should help to make our future more sustainable.

Not a dry run: rewetting moors

Drainage of moors is a measurable contributor to the growing climate problems: the peat layer is continuously shrinking because part of the biomass is evaporating in the form of CO2 emissions. With an impressive peat profile from the Freisinger Moor, the FNR illustrates the loss of peat layers that have formed over millennia. Overall, the drained moors in Germany account for about seven percent of greenhouse gas emissions. The FNR provides information on the approaches that exist for reducing these emissions by rewetting the moors, but continuing to use the areas with so-called paludiculture – a form of agriculture on wet soils.

High-tech for the forest: drones in use

The National Forest Inventory regularly provides detailed data on the state of German forests. Precise knowledge of the current state is a prerequisite for the conversion to climate-stable and sustainable forests of tomorrow. While the last survey was still mainly carried out by foresters, modern technologies such as drones will be available for data collection in the future. The FNR provides information about current research projects that are promoting the use of drones in forests and explains how this technology could change forestry.

Climate-friendly construction: with wood & co.

Wood is more than just a building material – it stores carbon and is therefore a real climate protector. By making greater use of wood and other renewable building materials, the public sector could become a pioneer in climate protection. The “HO_SY” project supports this by developing a universally applicable standard timber construction system. But private builders also have a wide range of options for using bio-based building materials in new and old buildings.

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