The article-based PhD thesis builds on five published articles. It explores how international human rights law regulates the prevention of honour-related violence (also called honour-based violence). The thesis analyses the obligation of the State to not only punish this form of violence but also to undertake other preventive measures. The legal discussion of honour-related violence has so far largely focused on criminalisation. This research brings to the fore the questions of whether States also should try to abolish the underlying causes of honour-related violence, above all strict gender roles and negative gender stereotypes that regard men as superior to women.

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Cyanobacteria are interesting ancient diverse organisms with a great future in biotechnology. In this project, we will investigate molecular and cultivable cyanobacterial biodiversity from diverse habitats in Brazil. We will isolate strains to form a biobank and utilize cyanobacterial strains to screen and identify new bioactive compounds, their biosynthetic genes and enzymes.

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Tania Shishido-Joutsen, Jouni Jokela

Fungi associated to trees are hyperdiverse, and not much is known about fungal biodiversity in the tropics. Equally, very little is known about their ecological impact on disease development and co-evolution with their host tree species, particularly in Paraguay. Of special interest are those that associate with native species of families like Myrtacea, famously known for the genus Eucalyptus, used world-wide in forest plantations. In recent years, fungal diseases of Eucalyptus plantations have become increasingly common. This endangers forest production, particularly in areas where little is known about the local microbes.

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Ximena Silva

The world needs hands on solutions to wicked problems such as climate change, resource scarcity and poverty, and we need to nd the pathways that enable such solutions to emerge. To maintain competitiveness in the future, Finland needs to improve it’s capacity to innovate and collaborate in new ways, to provide holistic and sustainable solutions to global challenges, both in emerging markets as well as disruptive new approaches to service provision in Europe. New global studies frugal and reverse innovations in complex global systems.

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Minna Halme, Teija Lehtonen, Jarkko Levänen, Helena Sandman, Emma Nkonoki, Tatu Lyytinen, Anne Hyvärinen, Sini Numminen, Sini Suomalainen, Marleen Wierenga, Marko Keskinen, Peter Lund, Olli Varis

The foresight part of NEO-CARBON ENERGY explores possible futures of a new renewables-based energy production and storage system, which is being developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and University of Turku – Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC). This joint research project is one of the strategic research openings of Tekes – The Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation. The foresight work is conducted in the Finland Futures Research Centre. A possibly distributed energy production system of neo-/low-carbon technologies and emerging issues such as prosumerism can drive economic, political, cultural and social changes. Radically new innovations, services and practices could emerge as a result of the third industrial revolution.

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Sirkka Heinonen, Juho Ruotsalainen, Joni Karjalainen, Marjukka Parkkinen

A thorough approach to nanotechnology and advance materials development must take into consideration the international dimension, in terms of R&D, access to information and regulation. International cooperation,including collaboration in research but not limited to this, is an integral part of the Commission’s policy in all areas of the Action Plan. However, despite the fact that international collaboration has been made so far; there is still a challenge of filling knowledge gaps with less industrially advanced nations in order to enhance quality of life and industrial competitiveness in those areas where Nanotechnology has the potential. European industrial players and research organizations seek new collaborative agreements in order to share risks and explore new market opportunities. On the other hand, Latin America has started new nanotechnology development programs in the last ten years. However, according to national agencies, the investment in nanotechnology R+D and the results achieved remains now relatively unpretentious.

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From VTT: Maria Lima Toivanen, Kaisu Loikkanen, Mona Arnold, Luiz Carlos Perez, Maria Mäntylä, Heidi Auvinen

There is a trend in packaging industry toward more sustainable packaging materials not interfering with the end-of-life or recovery schemes and helping to avoid plastic waste accumulation. Simultaneously, there is interest in bio-based materials, which could open up possibilities for various biopolymers. Single-layer biopolymer films rarely have a competitive edge against synthetic films, thus combining several individual layers or films into multilayer packaging materials becomes necessary. In this way, good properties of several materials can be combined and, for example, the overall barrier properties may be improved.

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Building capacity in value chain management, food product development, food and nutrition security and entrepreneurship. through training trainers and experts and exchange information on best practices in amaranth and quinoa utilization, product development and value-chain creation.

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Dr. Daniel Sila, Dr. Ritva Repo-Carrasco, Fanny Ludeana, Dr. Katja Lindroos, Roseanna Avento

This research proposal develops a multidisciplinary approach to study tropical forest biodiversity in two Brazilian ecosystems: Amazon and Atlantic forests. The overall objective is to develop new methods of field research and statistical modelling that will allow improved mapping and monitoring of tropical diversity. The main novelty of this project is in the use of new sampling technologies combined with the development of novel theoretical and statistical frameworks for obtaining robust inference at the levels of individuals, populations and communities.

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Dr. Otso Ovaskainen, Dr. Milton Cezar Ribeiro, Dr. Mauro Galetti, Dr. Marco Aurélio Pizo, Dr. Jukka Síren, M.Sc Ulisses Camargo

Estimating how well existing conservation units represent different habitats and their species is necessary for the long-term preservation of biological diversity and for sustainable use of forest resources. The task is especially challenging in Amazonia, which is both extensive and largely unexplored. Therefore, exact enough maps of the distribution of biodiversity are not available. We aim to solve the problem by combining the efforts of two teams that have approached biodiversity-related questions from different points of view. Attention will be given both to the current distribution of biodiversity in Amazonia and to the geological history that has shaped it. This will invove a combination of novel remote sensing methods, exceptionally extensive and internally consistent field data, and a thorough understanding of the geology of the Amazon basin and the ecology of selected indicator plants.

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Hanna Tuomisto, Kalle Ruokolainen, Samuli Lehtonen, Jasper Van doninck, Gabriela Zuquim, Gabriel Moulatlet, Glenda Cárdenas