In this project we ask: how does pollution manifest as part of different practices, both socially and materially.

How does invasive hybridization affect threatened native species?

Management of Impacts on Biodiversity: What are the effects of light pollution from cities and bridges and noise pollution from passing vessels and nearby road traffic on migratory fish passage and spawning in rivers?

A political-legal study of rights invocation by pollution victims in China and Indonesia

How do chemical contaminants traverse and affect terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems?

Environmental challenges such as plastic pollution and biodiversity loss require extensive monitoring. Citizen science, in which members of the public participate in scientific research, has therefore become an important approach in environmental science.

On 17 October 2019, Laure d'Hondt defended her thesis 'Addressing Industrial Pollution in Indonesia. The Nexus between Regulation and Redress seeking'. The doctoral research was supervised by prof. A.W. Bedner and dr. J.A.C. Vel.

Galaxies form and evolve through close interaction with their surroundings. As a result, the heavy elements ('metals') that are synthesized in stars, are found both inside and outside galaxies.

FFashion, particularly fast fashion, is a major contributor to plastic pollution in the form of microplastic fibres. The 80-year-old Martindale test for interior textiles could be part of the solution.

Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue. Although regulation is being adopted, plastic pollution is still increasing. Effective and strict enforcement is key and NGOs and civilians can be instrumental in this.

Man-made sounds in and around the oceans stress marine life and have an impact on marine species and ecosystems by changing the underwater acoustic climate. Hans Slabbekoorn from the Institute of Biology Leiden pleads for technical solutions to mitigate problems of noise pollution. Science review paper…

This thesis combines field and laboratory studies to address some of the most pressing questions in the field of microplastic research.

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo & Dr. R. Heijungs

What is “teaching excellence” in Higher Education? Which different teaching excellence training, promotion and reward schemes exist across Europe? How can a common European teaching scheme look like? The e-NOTE project led by Leiden University seeks to answer these question in cooperation with five…

It may well be possible to remove nitrate from polluted groundwater and at the same time produce ammonia in a sustainable way, according to PhD candidate Phebe van Langevelde and Professor Marc Koper of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry in Joule on 26 January. Together with a German colleague, they…

From 26 to 29 September 2017 the International Conference on Microplastic Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea was held.

On 27 November 2019, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen) organized a symposium on the plastic pollution crisis.

Scientists and non-scientists co-creating breakthrough citizen science projects for measuring, understanding, and mitigating air pollution. That’s what happened during the first international workshop of the newly established Citizen Science Lab from 22 until 26 January at the Lorentz Center at Leiden…

Catalyst research aims to make gasoline less polluting. It turns out that during experiments it is actually necessary to protect catalysts from air itself. Publication in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C on August 26.

Two years after the first conference, the Napels based Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Polymers, together with a consortium of organisations and research institutes, organised the second conference from 15 to 18 September in Capri, Italy.

In our globalised economy, goods and services are frequently produced abroad. Is it the producer or the consumer that should be held responsible for greenhouse gas emissions associated with production? Together with colleagues from Berlin, Hauke Ward of the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)…

From 27 to 31 January, a workshop on the regulation of plastic pollution based on scientific evidence will be held at the Lorentz Center in Leiden.

Anthropogenic noise has been shown to affect marine animals in various ways, this may have fitness consequences at individual and population level. This thesis aims to increase insight into the quantification of sound-induced behavioural responses that are relevant to fitness, and into factors that…

The NestWacht project is a Citizen Science collaboration between Science Centre Delft, Naturalis, and the Citizen Science Lab of Leiden University to engage individuals, families and primary schools in Leiden and Delft in scientific research on the impact of climate change on nature in their city, and…

This thesis was embedded in the APELAFICO project and focussed on investigating effects of sound from North Sea offshore wind farms on pelagic fish and harbour porpoise.

What is the effect of light at night on plant phenology and physiology, and how does this affect plant interactions with other species?

In the Port of Rotterdam, tiny industrial pellets leak into the environment, causing a form of pollution that’s hard to trace but highly persistent. Three students of the LDE Sustainability Honours Programme took on the challenge to identify sources of this pollution.

At one time, the railway from Kimberley to Kambove in Southern Africa symbolised prosperity and progress. Today, the exhausted mining towns along its route are marked by decay and pollution. Professor Jan-Bart Gewald has been awarded an NWO L grant to investigate the long-term global consequences.

Fishes rely heavily on sound to find their way during migration or dispersal. Many species are affected by noise pollution. Hans Slabbekoorn from the Institute of Biology Leiden received a HORIZON2020 grant of 500,000 euros to study the impact of sound conditions on movement decisions of fishes.

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotor: O. van Gaans

Promotor: W.T. de Groot

International trade has played a major role in defining the modern global economy. Trade, however, entangles the environmental pressures of economic sectors, giving the illusion of environmental improvements, while the opposite may be occurring.

Promotor: Carel J. ten Cate, Co-Promotor: Hans W. Slabbekoorn

Leiden astronomers and ecologists are developing an instrument that lets people measure the quality of surface water with a smartphone.This international citizen science project, MONOCLE, is a collaboration between scientists and local people in Tanzania, Brazil and four European countries.

Current clients

The project’s overall goal is to improve Indonesia’s environmental legal framework and its implementation by strengthening the regulatory capacity of the government, and by enhancing the capacity of CSOs and scholars to hold the government accountable for its regulatory performance.

Mapping out the problem of plastic pollution requires a lot of data over a large area. That's why scientists are increasingly turning to volunteers for help, also known as citizen science. But what are the challenges for a researcher when he or she involves the public in research in this way? Four Leiden…

The earth has more than 7 billion inhabitants, all of whom leave behind traces of pollution. However, not all forms of pollution have the same harmful effect. Leiden scientists help determine where we should put our priorities.

The Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic (LAPP) is a pro bono initiative concerning legal questions on plastics and is founded to address and research the legal issues related to plastic pollution.

A study in the Behavioral Biology group of Carel ten Cate at the IBL showed that experience-dependent and -independent preferences influence song learning in zebra finches.

Auke-Florian Hiemstra is the Leidsch Dagblad Person of the Year 2022.

This week, the cooperation between the Zwerfinator and Leiden University was in the news because of loose labels on deposit bottles. NOS news reported that the Zwerfinator submitted an enforcement request to the Inspectorate. The Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic (LAPP) is supporting litter waste expert…

Door onduidelijke stikstofregels komen milieuzaken steeds vaker voor de rechter. De zaak van een Reeuwijkse varkenshouder leidt al tientallen jaren lang tot een getouwtrek tussen een milieuorganisatie, de provincie en de rechter. Rogier Kegge, universitair docent Staats- en bestuursrecht, bespreekt…