The Plastic Pirates Plus project focuses on where participation in education needs to be particularly promoted: in school classes with a higher proportion of pupils from socially disadvantaged households. The aim is to give these young people access to the world of science through a low-threshold, practical programme – regardless of their financial or social circumstances. Participation in the project is free of charge and thus deliberately designed so that no child is excluded.

Ecologic Institute is working together with Biota and the Michael Succow Foundation to identify concrete and practical conflicts of interest in the restoration of peatlands. In addition, Ecologic Institute supports the identification of needs and deficits, the evaluation and development of legally compliant solutions and guidelines for dealing with these conflicting objectives as well as the development of practical guidance manuals.

Ecologic Institute and Landscape Integrated are conducting a practical test of the recommended procedures for monitoring the success of hydromorphological measures in and along flowing waters.

The aim of the project is to support German federal and state activities in the development of guidelines for dealing with water scarcity. The focus is on two aspects: the management of acute water scarcity and the strategic, forward-looking authorization of water withdrawals. By analyzing the legal framework, data and forecasts, scientifically sound indicators and prioritization approaches are developed. Special emphasis is placed on the involvement of relevant stakeholders in order to ensure acceptance and practicability.

The increasing frequency of floods and droughts highlights the urgent need for climate-resilient landscapes. This is where the European research project SpongeWorks comes in, demonstrating sustainable "sponge" measures in river basins across Greece, France, and the Netherlands/Germany. By restoring rivers, wetlands, and implementing innovative agricultural practices, landscapes are becoming better equipped to retain and release water in a controlled way. With 28 partners involved, the project aims to inspire other regions by sharing success stories and tools to promote "sponge landscapes" across Europe.

Brandenburg's cabinet adopted a peatland protection program in March 2023, building on the National Peatland Protection Strategy and the 2021 "Climate Protection through Peatland Protection" initiative. The project aims to develop recommendations for communication on peatland protection in Brandenburg, examining the current communication landscape. The Ecologic Institute is commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, and Climate Protection of the State of Brandenburg.

The German agriculture sector faces significant climate-related challenges due to extreme weather events along with shifts in temperature patterns, impacting crop yields and biodiversity and exacerbating water scarcity and water quality deterioration. The Panda Fördergesellschaft (on behalf of WWF) is commissioning Ecologic Institute to create a handbook, "Water Stewardship in German Agriculture," aiming to offer practical solutions to enhance water retention, quality, and biodiversity. The handbook will include an overview of Germany's water situation, legal framework, specific measures with contextualised examples, and ways to promote collective action.

The Pacific Island Countries face severe climate-related challenges affecting water access and sanitation, endangering public health and hindering development. The PacFresH2O project aims to enhance rural communities' water resilience in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands by improving water infrastructure, implementing nature-based solutions and water resource management, integrating climate resilient WASH into national plans, and collaborating with local stakeholders to maximize socio-economic benefits and mitigate climate change impacts.

The goal of the research project is a feasibility study on the introduction of environmental information and classification system for pharmaceuticals in Germany. The results of this feasibility study will include not only an assessment of the organizational or legal viability but also the development of a comprehensive concept for the successful integration into the daily professional practices of doctors and pharmacists in Germany.

How does climate change affect water quality and quantity, and thus human health and well-being? What adaptation measures can be taken to avoid or reduce the negative consequences? How can we use the best available information and tools to make informed decisions? These questions are at the heart of a new project, carried out by Ecologic Institute together with partners from Ramboll, Climate Analytics, EREDA Consultants and OIeau.

For the period 2023-2029, Ecologic Institute joined the Core Team of 20 senior experts supporting the European Evaluation Helpdesk for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). As part of the EU CAP Network, the Evaluation Helpdesk's mission is to ensure the effectiveness of CAP evaluations by specifically assisting managing authorities, national CAP networks, paying agencies, evaluators and the European Commission.

Ecologic Institute supports the European Topic Center in the field of water policy and management. In particular, it provides coordination and technical support for the preparation of the State of European Water and the Integrated Water Assessment.

The overall goal of GOVAQUA is to identify, assess, develop and validate innovative water governance instruments and approaches to support and accelerate a transition towards sustainable and equitable water use in Europe. Such a transition is urgently required to reconcile water uses and environmental needs and to reach the aims of the EU WFD, the European Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. GOVAQUA is a 4-year Research and Innovation Action (funded by the EU) that brings together 12 partners from across Europe.

Over one million barriers on Europe's rivers have resulted in extensive loss of river connectivity, and 70-90 % of Europe's floodplain areas are ecologically degraded due to human modifications. Despite having an ambitious EU policy framework in place, implementation of freshwater and transitional water ecosystem restoration is lagging behind. Reasons for this lie among others in the lack of knowledge, awareness and participation of local people and business actors. The overall goal of DANUBE4all (a 5-year Innovation Action funded by the EU) is the development of a comprehensive Restoration Action Plan for the Danube River basin developed in an unprecedented co-creation process with stakeholders, integrating citizens' interests to support the EU Mission "Restore our ocean and waters by 2030".