On 1 October 2026, Ecologic Institute welcomed the International Climate Protection Fellows of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to its Berlin office. The visit brought together a highly international and interdisciplinary group for an afternoon exploring how nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based governance can help turn complex environmental challenges into practical, collaborative action.

“The strongest value of the visit was the two-way exchange: presenting our work but also testing it against the knowledge and experience of fellows working in very different social, ecological and institutional contexts.”

A meeting point for different perspectives

Christoph Heinrich, Executive Director of Ecologic Institute, opened the visit with an introduction to the Institute and its work at the interface of environmental research, policy and practice.

The fellows brought perspectives from different regions, disciplines and stages of professional development, ranging from biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation to urban development, engineering and nature-based solutions. Several also had existing links to Ecologic Institute through related research fields, host institutions or colleagues across different teams.
This diversity shaped the afternoon into more than a series of presentations. It created a space to compare approaches, test ideas against very different governance and geographic realities, and learn from one another.

Nature-based solutions: from promising concept to workable governance

McKenna Davis, Coordinator Nature-based Solutions and Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, led the first thematic session on nature-based solutions (NbS), focusing on scenarios and governance for urban climate adaptation. Drawing on the Urban Governance Atlas (UGA), which brings together more than 250 policy instruments supporting nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration, the session explored how NbS can move from individual projects into mainstream urban practice. Discussion centred on four governance levers – coordination, participation, learning and institutionalisation – and on how complementary policy instruments can be combined into effective policy mixes. The fellows then worked with urban scenarios to identify suitable instruments and develop governance strategies for different local challenges. Their own experiences highlighted how strongly implementation depends not only on technical solutions, but also on institutional capacity, participation, resources and the relationships that enable action.

Managing the sea as a social-ecological system

The second thematic session, led by Gregory Fuchs, Co-Coordinator Coastal and Marine and Fellow at Ecologic Institute, shifted the perspective from cities to the marine realm. The session introduced ecosystem-based management (EBM) and social-ecological systems (SES) thinking as approaches for understanding the connections between marine ecosystems, human activities and governance. Rather than considering pressures such as fishing, tourism, shipping, coastal development or climate change separately, EBM asks how they interact within a wider system and how management can respond to cumulative pressures, connectivity, uncertainty and change. A hands-on group exercise translated these ideas into practice. Working with different marine settings, the fellows mapped social-ecological relationships and explored how a collaborative, place-based living lab could help actors jointly understand a system, test interventions and learn over time. They considered which actors and forms of knowledge should be involved, which ecological and societal outcomes mattered, and where management could most effectively intervene.

Looking ahead

The group work produced particularly lively discussions. Different professional and regional perspectives led to different assumptions, priorities and solutions – providing a valuable sense check for the concepts presented during the afternoon and showing where approaches need to be adapted to local contexts. For Ecologic Institute, this is one of the strengths of the annual visit: it allows current research and policy approaches to be discussed with professionals, bringing first-hand experience from a wide range of countries and institutions. At the same time, existing links between fellows, their host organisations and Ecologic Institute – as well as new connections formed during the visit – provide concrete opportunities for future exchange and collaboration. Climate adaptation, biodiversity loss and sustainable ocean management cannot be addressed within individual sectors or disciplines. The 2026 visit offered a small but vibrant space for exactly the kind of cross-context learning and collaboration these challenges require.