The EU Water Framework Directive and ist Groundwater Daughter Directive call for a cost-effective protection of all water resources. For groundwater, the assessment of cost-effective protection measures is complicated by the long time lags and the flow dynamics within aquifers. Together with the water supply company OOWV and the Lower Saxony Board of Agriculture, Ecologic has analysed the cost-effectiveness of groundwater protection measures in a drinking water protection area, and thereby developed a practical solution for dealing with the specific problems of cost-effectiveness analyses related to groundwater.

<p>&#13; The concept of disproportionate cost is one of the key economic elements of the EC Water Framework Directive. The practical implementation of this concept by the Member States offers a range of possible interpretations that are more or less in line with environmental economic theory. In a contribution to the envecon 2007 Applied Environmental Economics conference in London, Benjamin Görlach and Britta Pielen provided an introduction to the concept, its role in the Water Framework Directive, and provided an overview of the current discussion in some EU Member States.</p>&#13;

<p> Benjamin G&ouml;rlach presented some preliminary results of the WaterCost Project, which has been set up to develop and test a practicable methodology for cost-effectiveness analysis of groundwater protection measues. WaterCost brings together partners from five European regions, including municipalities, water supply companies and environment agencies. Ecologic Institute supports the German partners in the WaterCost project in the application of a cost-effectiveness analysis in a Frisian groundwater protection area. In his presentation, Benjamin G&ouml;rlach surveyed the costs and the effectiveness of 10 possible measures to reduce nitrate pollution from agricultural sources in the groundwater catchment area, and discussed potential combinations of these measures.</p>

The EU-U.S. Summit on 30 April 2007 passed a statement on energy security, efficiency, and climate change that is strong on rhetoric but weak on substance. Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Director of the Europe program at the Nature Conservancy and Senior Policy Advisor to Ecologic Institute, provides some critical commentary on the substance of the summit.

A Tisza River Basin Analysis Report was developed by the Tisza Expert Group of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube. The Report is an important step for the preparation of a river basin management plan under the EU Water Framework Directive. Ecologic was commissioned to assist the Tisza Expert Group with the development of three chapters on the identification of artificial and heavily modified water bodies, on the assessment of risk of failure to reach the WFD environmental objectives for surface water bodies and on the characterisation of groundwater bodies.

On 4-5 June 2007, a workshop on the Water Framework Directive and Hydropower was held in Berlin. Focus of the workshop was on hydropower use and the relationship to hydromorphological changes. The workshop aimed at the exchange of information and views on good practice in hydropower use, strategic priorities on the catchment level as well as instruments to promote hydropower and to improve water status.

The ball you see here is one of the first of its kind. It has two seals: A Fair Trade seal and the FSC seal of the Forest Stewardship Council. FSC works for the protection of forests and the peoples living and working in them. The bladder inside this ball is made from latex (rubber) produced in accordance with the strict social and environmental criteria of the FSC.

The Low Carbon Accelerator (LCA) is a closed-ended investment company listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. LCA invests in a diverse portfolio of unquoted private companies providing low carbon products and services, which deliver immediate reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic advises the fund.

Combinations of electrical, information and communication technologies allow for Smart Grids to provide dynamic efficiency for power generation, transmission and distribution. Ecologic took the lead in preparing a Learning Centre on the current state and potential of Smart Grids at the 15th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 15). The course highlighted the benefits of smart grids for an increased use of variable renewable power sources, while enhancing energy security, stabilising electricity grids and reducing the need for reserve capacity, leading to economic benefits and reduced carbon dioxide emission.

The transport sector has significant environmental impacts and subsidies are a significant piece of the policy framework that influences public and private decisions about transport. This report, which was published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and co-authored by Ecologic, provides a comprehensive picture of transport subsidies, classifying them by subsidy type and transport mode.