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?

How can people and lions sustainably coexist?

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?

Master

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

Every year, the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) organises the Science Day. The goal is to highlight the newest research at LION, to socialise, and to welcome first year master students and new PhD's and Postdocs to our institute.

The annual Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) summer school offers outstanding bachelor students the opportunity to discover the research frontiers of modern physics. The programme includes seminars by renowned physicists on variety of topics, visits to research laboratories, and a range of social a…

Large carnivore population is globally declining as a result of the fragmentation of habitat, large prey depletion and retaliatory killing by pastoralists.

Despite their ecological, cultural, and economic importance, lion (Panthera leo) populations in Kenya are declining rapidly due to retaliatory killings following livestock depredation, depletion of wild prey, habitat loss driven by human activities, climate change, and disease.

Promotores: G.R. de Snoo, B. Sinsin, Co-Promotor: H.H. de Iongh

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.

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Prof.dr. G.A. Persoon

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.

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo

Researchers from Leiden see hungry villagers in the north of Cameroon steal meat from the prey of lions. The researchers from Leiden University's Institute for Environmental Sciences (CML) reported on this kleptoparasitism in the online publication of the African Journal of Ecology in July.

Reseachers of the Institute of Environmental Sciences Leiden (CML) have contributed to a debate in the Journal Nature over whether lions in Africa can only be saved with dollars and fences.

Farmers on the outskirts of Nairobi National Park protect their livestock using flashing lights on top of the animal enclosures. This system keeps lions away at night. Leiden research has shown that the method is both simple and effective. Publication in PLOS ONE.

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…

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.

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

We are happy to announce the 4th annual LION Image Award!

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

We are happy to announce the 3rd annual LION Image Award!

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…

This liber amicorum is a tribute to Prof. dr. ir. Hans H. de Iongh, associate professsor at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) of Leiden University and guest professor at the University of Antwerp, on the occasion of his retirement on 27 October 2016.

Biologist Laura Bertola argues that the traditional separation of lions into African and Asian subspecies is incorrect. She has discovered that Africa is actually home to two subspecies. Her PhD defense was on 18 March 2015.

The number of lions in Kenya is decreasing alarmingly, due partly to the encroaching cities and the development of the countryside. Together with local scientists and inhabitants, Leiden biologists are studying how this decline can be halted. ‘Lions are cleverer than we thought.’

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…

Sander Blok has won the third edition of the annual LION Image Award. He created a colorful image of gold nanoparticles with a low-energy electron microscope.

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.

A recent publication in Oryx, The International Journal of Conservation by Tumenta et al., 2013 (Leiden University) on human-lion conflict over livestock depredation in Waza National Park, Cameroon has demonstrated that the human-lion conflict remains an important factor in the depletion of lion pop…

The Netherlands eScience Center has announced to fund a new Path-Finding Project led by Dr. Dorothea Samtleben from the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION). This project aims to make the processing of detection signals more efficient for the KM3NeT neutrino telescope, which is currently under construction…

Human measures to protect lions have an impact on the genetic health of populations. Leiden and Kenyan scientists discovered this by analysing the DNA of 171 Kenyan lions. ‘By fencing reserves, for example, the chance of inbreeding increases.’ With the knowledge and tools from the research, management…

In honour of 10 years of cooperation between Kenya Wildlife Service and Leiden University, a Leiden delegation visited Nairobi National Park. To cement the cooperation, a lion in the park was collared and named Karel, which in Dutch literally means ‘free man.’ It will be monitored through satellite…

Lions in West and Central Africa form a unique group, only distantly related to lions in East and Southern Africa. Biologists at Leiden University confirm this in an article published in Scientific Reports.

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)…

Together with colleagues and students, Professor of conservation biology Geert de Snoo studies the decline of the lion population in a national park close to Kenia's capital city, Nairobi. He discusses how they try to protect the lions on radio Sleutelstad FM.