Plastic waste, nitrogen deposition, toxins in the environment... Every day we read about them in the media or encounter them first-hand. The presence of microplastics in our food, polluted drinking water, lung diseases caused by harmful substances in the air, a decrease in the abundance of plants and animals and a more monotonous landscape – these are just some of the problems in our daily lives caused by the impact of human activity on our natural environment.
The Wageningen Institute for Environmental and Climate Studies (WIMEK), one of the six Graduate Schools of Wageningen University & Research, studies changes in our natural environment, their consequences for life on Earth, and how we can adapt to mitigate harmful effects.
In doing so, WIMEK researchers focus on three major societal challenges: climate action, managing our future biosphere, and developing circular systems. They do this through innovative and multidisciplinary research, looking beyond the borders of the Netherlands. The research is broad and diverse: from determining the exact risks of microplastics to contributing to policy-making at the highest political levels.
With their research addressing these three Grand Challenges, Wageningen researchers help develop solutions to the social and scientific issues facing us today due to the changing natural living environment.
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