The aim of this project is to support the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment, and Water Management (BMLFUW) in the preparation of a programme of measures in context of the EU - Water Framework Directive (WFD). The work includes determining the methodology for the identification of exemptions under Article 4.4 – 4.7.

<p> &quot;Emerging Stronger from the Recession to Tackle the Challenges of Social Cohesion and Sustainable Development&quot; was the theme of an expert workshop convened by the European Commission (DG Employment) in Brussels on 9 September 2009.&nbsp; Ecologic Institute contributed a background paper, and R. Andreas Kraemer was invited as keynote speaker on &quot;Taking Advantage of the Crisis: Synergies between Environmental Policy and Social Inclusion&quot;.</p>

The debate about geo-engineering is unstoppable. Strong interests push for research and experimental application. Geo-engineering is a play for time, at best, but always also a dangerous deviation from emission reduction and climate change adaptation. Properly conducted, the debate can help clarify the design of international institutions, argue R. Andreas Kraemer and Ralph Czarnecki of the Ecologic Institute in an article in Internationale Politik, Germany's leading foreign policy magazine.

Global change holds many risks for European mountain regions. Melting glaciers, changes in permafrost and vegetation, as well as political, economic and cultural globalisation present dangers for mountain populations. Numerous research projects have produced valuable findings to ensure sustainable development in European mountain regions. Mountain.TRIP starts where these projects stop: translating research findings into useful information for practitioners.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) has introduced a legal framework for sustainable management of water resources across Europe. According to this directive, Member States (MS) had to prepare drafts of the river basin management plans (RBMPs) and respective programmes of measures (PoMs) by the end of 2009. Successful implementation of the WFD strongly depends on agricultural land use; therefore, this report summarised the results of an in-depth assessment of how the draft plans and programmes address agricultural pressures on EU water resources.

Christiane Gerstetter, Fellow Ecologic Legal, spoke on the legal feasibility of adopting a climate change act in Germany, modeled on the UK Climate Change Act. The presentation was a contribution to a seminar entitled "How legally-binding targets can promote more effective national climate change policy" held in the British Embassy. The presentation was based on an earlier legal expertise by Ecologic Legal on the topic, which the WWF had sponsored. It is available for download.

<p>&#13; Christiane Gerstetter, Fellow at the Ecologic Institute, contributed a paper to and gave a presentation at the Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions on Global Environmental Change. She discussed how the Dispute Settlement Bodies of the World Trade Organization (WTO) deal with international environmental law, thus contributing to the conference’s section on actors in international environmental governance. The paper and the presentation are available for download.</p>&#13;

Winkel, Georg; Timo Kaphengst; Sophie Herbert et al. 2009: EU policy options for the protection of European forests against harmful impacts. Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Institute of Forest and Environmental Policy/Ecologic Institute, Berlin.

Görlach, Benjamin; Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf; Michael Kohlhaas 2009: Nachhaltig aus der Krise. Analyse möglicher Beiträge einer ökologischen Finanzreform.