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Event

Nature-based Solutions and Multi-level Governance for Carbon-neutral and Resilient Cities and Regions – COP24 Side Event

TimeLoc

8 December 2018

Katowice

Poland

Speaker

McKenna Davis

On Saturday, 8 December 2018, Ecologic Institute will host a side event in the EU Pavilion at the COP24 in Katowice (Poland). In Cooperation with ICLEI Europe invited practitioners and experts will discuss the role nature-based solutions (NBS) and multi-level governance play in facilitating the transition of cities and regions to carbon-neutrality. The event is open to all accredited participants and delegates to the COP24.Read more

News

International Environmental Law

Ecologic Institute's Events at COP24

The annual climate change summit in 2018 takes place in the Polish city of Katowice. The task for negotiators is clear: agree a stringent rulebook for the Paris Agreement to ensure the global climate change treaty can work effectively. The summit, formally the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP24), will also see high-level events and provide a forum to discuss relevant developments in climate change policy from around the world. Ecologic Institute will attend the talks with a delegation of 12 colleagues, assisting with legal expertise on actual negotiation matters, but also presenting relevant research results to add to the global dialogue

Publication

RECARE Project – Finding and sharing solutions to protect our soils

This brochure describes the threats to soils in Europe, how the RECARE project has addressed these and provides clear examples of soil management options and policy solutions. Ecologic Institute's Ana Frelih-Larsen and Sandra Naumann contributed to the RECARE project brochure, which is available for download.Read more

Publication

Remediating Historical Soil Contamination

Effective Measures and Policy Solutions

The problem of historical contamination remains an important gap in European policymaking on soils. Political commitment is required to address the issue of historical contamination systematically by providing a common EU framework to guide and facilitate activities at the national level, where in turn establishing and implementing national strategies for managing soil contamination is important. Finally, improving knowledge, sharing, and availability of existing information, and engaging stakeholders in the process of remediating soil contamination is recommended by the authors, lead by Ana Frelih-Larsen and Sophie Ittner of Ecologic Institute. The RECARE policy brief is available for download.Read more

Publication

Subsoil Compaction – A threat to sustainable food production and soil ecosystem services

The persistent damaging impacts of subsoil compaction call for policy intervention in order to secure yields and adapt to climate change, as well as to sustain soil ecosystem services for future generations. The authors of this RECARE Policy Brief, including Ana Frelih-Larsen of Ecologic Institute, demand that policy responses need to address the underlying drivers of farmers' decision-making concerning field traffic through a systematic and coordinated approach for sustainable soil management in Europe. The RECARE policy brief is available for download.Read more

Publication

Soil Sealing and Land Take

Despite the extensive loss of productive soils and the valuable ecosystem services that soils provide, the awareness of the magnitude and negative implications of these processes remain relatively low. In this RECARE policy brief, Ecologic Institute's Sandra Naumann and Ana Frelih-Larsen together with Gundula Prokop from the Austrian Environment Agency illustrate the scale of the problem and identify ready-made solutions and steps policy makers and practitioners can take across different levels, from city planning to national and European level. The RECARE policy brief is available for download.Read more

Presentation

Taking Stock of NBS in European Cities and Related Policies

TimeLoc

9 July 2018 to 10 July 2018

Brasilia

Brazil

Sandra Naumann

In July 2018, Sandra Naumann from the Ecologic Institute joined the 2nd International Seminar on nature-based solutions in Brasilia (Brazil) to discuss the state of knowledge, experiences and challenges to implement nature-based solutions (NBS). She presented an overview of the almost 1000 NBS contained within the Urban Nature Atlas as well as results from the EU and national policy review conducted as part of the EU-funded NATURVATION project. Attendees included over 100 representatives of Brazilian and European cities, national and local authorities and decision makers, research, business and international organisations. The presentation slides are available online.Read more

Project

Co-designing Locally-tailored Ecological Solutions for Value-added, Socially Inclusive Regeneration in Cities (CLEVER Cities)

June 2018 to May 2023

With three quarters of the European Union's population living in cities and further increases expected, societies are increasingly facing socio-political shifts and marginalization. Limited availability of physical space, changing urban demographics, and increasing cultural diversity compound these challenges and create issues like high crime rates, social inequality, poverty, health threats, and unemployment. Some areas are particularly vulnerable, such as economically deprived, abandoned and neglected urban areas with a low share of green spaces. The Horizon2020 funded project “CLEVER Cities” responds to these challenges by designing and implementing locally tailored nature-based solutions (NBS) to foster sustainable and socially inclusive urban regeneration.Read more

Publication

Nature-based Solutions in European and National Policy Frameworks

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly being adopted as an effective tool to address urban challenges. But, to what extent do current policy frameworks support or hinder their implementation? This report examines if and how the concept of NBS is addressed in select EU and Member State policies and funding instruments. The report was published within the Horizon 2020 project NATURVATION and is available for download.Read more

Publication

Utilizing Urban Living Laboratories for Social Innovation

Can urban living labs support social and governance innovations and therewith contribute to sustainable urban planning? Can they serve as a tool to assist cities in adapting to new emerging challenges? This chapter of the Urban Planet book address these questions. The chapter introduces a brief history of urban living labs and the governance challenges they intend to address, and subsequently explores whether urban living labs hold potential as a new forum for urban governance innovation experiments to support positive transformative change. The open access chapter and book are available for download.Read more