Coastal + Marine | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

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Publication

Ocean as a Global Commons

International Governance and the Role of Germany

As part of the 'Sustainability 2030 Science Platform', Ecologic Institute has published a study on oceans as a global commons. An overview of the different governance mechanisms in regard to the Global Commons "Oceans" area are discussed. The study is available for download and will be presented at the beginning of December at the Annual Conference 2019 of the Science Platform.Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Plastics

Ecologic Legal

A Treaty on Plastic Waste

Discussion paper

The discussion paper presents the rationale for a new treaty on tackling plastic waste and highlights its possible added value. The objective would be to reduce marine plastic litter through a comprehensive approach that also includes land-based sources, a life cycle approach to plastic and is open to future developments. The purpose would not be to prohibit plastics as such.Read more

Event

Microplastics in the Water Cycle (MiWA) – Final conference

TimeLoc

10 September 2019

Karlsruhe

Germany

On 10 September 2019, the final conference of the project "Mikroplastik im Wasserkreislauf" (Microplastics in the Water Cycle, MaWi for short) took place in Karlsruhe. The project results were presented and discussed at the event. A poster exhibition was also organized as part of the conference. Some of the posters are available on the event website.Read more

Event

Discussion

Coastal + Marine

Global Environment

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Plastic Waste – Dimensions and solutions

TimeLoc

26 June 2019

Berlin

Germany

The widespread use of plastics, the mass consumption of disposable plastic products and the longevity of plastics lead to a waste volume that can hardly be managed anymore. Many people are particularly alarmed by the pollution of the oceans by microplastics and plastic waste. Despite all this, the volume of packaging per capita continues to rise and has doubled over the last twenty years – to 213 kilograms in 2015. The intense public debate has also called for a political response: A European plastics strategy is currently aimed at banning straws and plastic tableware. But can this solve the environmental problem? How serious are the effects of plastic waste and microplastics on the environment? What are the right steps to take to reduce the impact on the environment and the use of plastics?Read more

Project

Communication on the IPCC Special Reports "Climate Change and Land" and "The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate"

June 2019 to August 2020

The aim of the project participants is to provide the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) with scientific support in communicating the results of the IPCC Special Reports on "Climate Change and Land" (SRCCL) and "The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate" (SROCC). This is achieved by preparing the contents of the special reports by means of core messages, explanatory texts and presentations in webinars.Read more

Publication

Spatially Differentiated Regulation: Can it save the Baltic Sea from excessive N-loads?

The Baltic Sea Action Plan and the EU Water Framework Directive both require substantial additional reductions of nutrient loads (N and P) to the marine environment. Focusing on nitrogen, we present a widely applicable concept for spatially differentiated regulation, exploiting the large spatial variations in the natural removal of nitrate in groundwater and surface water. By targeting mitigation measures towards areas where nature’s own capacity for removal is low, spatially differentiated regulation can be more cost-effective than the traditional uniform regulation. We present a methodology for upscaling local modelling results on targeted measures at field scale to Baltic Sea drainage basin scale. The paper assesses the potential gain and discusses key challenges related to implementation of spatially differentiated regulation, including the need for more scientific knowledge, handling of uncertainties, practical constraints related to agricultural practice and introduction of co-governance regimes.Read more

Presentation

Lecture

Coastal + Marine

Education

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Water

Plastics

Plastics Crisis? – Advantages of plastics and the problems of plastic consumption

TimeLoc

29 May 2019

Berlin

Germany

Linda Mederake

Doris Knoblauch

On 29 May 2019, Doris Knoblauch and Linda Mederake, both scientific researchers at Ecologic Institute, were guest "professors" at the Nürti Üni, the pupils' university of the Nürtingen Primary School in Berlin Kreuzberg. They held a lecture on "Plastics Crisis – Advantages of Plastics and the Problems of Plastic Consumption". Read more

Presentation

The Blue Society and Ocean Literacy – Opportunities Of Marine Open Data

TimeLoc

24 May 2019

Brussels

Belgium

Helene Hoffmann

Helene Hoffmann, scientific researcher on marine topics at Ecologic Institute, presented the concepts of 'Blue Society and Ocean Literacy' at the Open Sea Lab Kick-off event in Brussels on 24 May 2019. The Kick-off marked the official opening of the applications to participate in the Open Sea Lab Hackathon 2019, which is taking place from 4 to 6 September 2019 in Ghent (Belgium).Read more

Project

Coastal + Marine

Plastics

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Internet Platform Marine Litter

April 2019 to December 2021

Since 2017, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has been operating the Internet platform of the Round Table on Marine Litter at www.muell-im-meer.de. The main objective of the platform is to provide organisational support for the German Roundtable on Marine Litter and its working groups, in particular by providing a password-protected member area. In addition, the public part of the platform serves public relations work and the bundling of information on marine litter. In this project the Ecologic Institute is responsible for the further development, relaunch, operation, technical maintenance and hosting of the internet platform. Ecologic Institute is creating and implementing a development guide on structural and functional changes for the internet platform.Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Sustainability

Water

Plastik in der Umwelt – Conference Proceedings of the Status Conference

The conference proceedings for the status conference of the research focus "Plastics in the Environment – Sources • Sinks • Solutions", presenting the joint research projects and cross-cutting topics, are available for download.Read more