Publications

Publication:Fact Sheet
 
This fact sheet summarizes the information contained in the publication Burgos Cuevas et al. (2025): Moving from interconnected crises to systemic solutions. Resource efficiency, nature-based solutions, and systemic transformation as responses to the complexity of the triple planetary crisis. Interim report, Climate Change 83/2025. German Environment Agency: Dessau-Roßlau. https://doi.org/10.60810/openumwelt-8108.

Moving from Interconnected Crises to Systemic Solutions

Resource efficiency, nature-based solutions, and systemic transformation as responses to the complexity of the triple planetary crisis

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Publication:Report
 
Climate change is exacerbating drought, low water levels, and heavy rainfall in German river basins, posing new challenges for agriculture, forestry, water management, ecosystems, and municipal planning. Against this backdrop, the project KliMaWerk investigated how the landscape water balance can be made climate-resilient through integrated, practical strategies and measures. The KliMaWerk final report summarises the key findings and strategic conclusions.

Nachhaltige Bewirtschaftung des Landschaftswasserhaushaltes zur Erhöhung der Klimaresilienz (KliMaWerk)

Management und Werkzeuge

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
With the 2027 deadline of the Water Framework Directive approaching and the new Nature Restoration Regulation mandating large-scale ecosystem recovery, the CAP’s role in safeguarding rivers, wetlands, and catchments has become critical. This Policy Working Paper argues that long-term agricultural resilience is inseparable from healthy freshwater ecosystems and illustrates how water restoration can be embedded in future agricultural policies to enhance water resilience.

Restoring Healthy Rivers and Wetlands

How can agricultural policies support the uptake of water resilient farming practices?

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Publication:Article
 
Aquatic insects that emerge from streams are a crucial energy subsidy for riparian predators such as spiders. When streams are disturbed by human activities, these impacts can cross ecosystem boundaries, disrupting aquatic–terrestrial food web connectivity. This study, co-authored by Dr. Benjamin Kupilas from Ecologic Institute together with international partners, explores how such connections function and how they are shaped by human disturbance.

Fatty Acid Biomarkers Reveal Landscape Influences on Linkages between Aquatic and Terrestrial Food Webs

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
In this Policy Brief of the EU-funded NICHES project, Benjamin Kupilas (Ecologic Institute) and David Alejandro Camacho Caballero (UAB) examine how cities like Barcelona, Berlin, and Rotterdam can shape the transition to sustainable urban water systems through Nature-based Solutions (NBS). The core question is which governance models, participatory processes, and methodological approaches are needed to embed NBS effectively into urban storm- and wastewater management strategies.

Transitioning to Sustainable Urban Water Systems

Insights from Barcelona, Berlin, and Rotterdam

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Publication:Policy Brief
 
In this policy brief, Ida Meyenberg and Evgeniya Elkina analyze which governance approaches enable the successful implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) for managing combined sewer overflows (CSO) in cities. The central question is what institutional, procedural, and financial enabling conditions municipalities and water authorities need, to integrate NBS effectively into urban stormwater management strategies. The Ecologic Institute was project lead in the NICHES project and chiefly responsible for the governance and best-practice analysis in five European and North American cities, deriving from it practice-oriented recommendations.

What Makes Nbs Work? Governance Approaches to Tackle Combined Sewer Overflows in Urban Water Systems

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Publication:Book
 
Cover of the 2025 edition of Eurostat’s “Overview of progress towards the SDGs in an EU context.” The design mirrors the full report cover, featuring a white tree with multicolored leaves, this time on a grey-blue background. The Eurostat and SDG logos appear below the tree.
The 2025 overview brochure accompanies Eurostat's ninth regular report monitoring progress towards the SDGs in an EU context. Ecologic Institute's authors covered the chapters on SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The brochure is available for download.

Sustainable Development in the European Union – 2025 Overview

Overview of Progress Towards the SDGs in an EU Context

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Publication:Book
 
Cover of the report titled 'Sustainable development in the European Union: Monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context, 2025 edition' by Eurostat. The design features shades of blue with a colorful tree graphic in the lower half.
Eurostat's "Sustainable Development in the European Union: Monitoring Report on Progress towards the SDGs in an EU Context" (2025 edition) offers the ninth comprehensive assessment of the EU's journey toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Researchers from Ecologic Institute authored the chapters on Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Climate Action (SDG 13), Life Below Water (SDG 14), Life on Land (SDG 15) and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17), providing rigorous, policy-relevant evidence.

Sustainable Development in the European Union – 2025

Monitoring Report on Progress Towards the SDGs in an EU Context

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Publication:Report
 
Cover page of the report titled "Contributions of water saving to a climate resilient Europe" (ETC-BE Report 2025/1). The central image shows a dry, cracked riverbed with a smartphone in the foreground displaying a digitally altered vision of a green, water-rich landscape in the same location. A modern city skyline appears in the background. Authors and affiliations are listed below the image. The report is published by the European Environment Agency and the European Topic Centre on Biodiversity and Ecosys
This ETC-BE Report examines how targeted water-saving interventions can bolster the resilience of both ecosystems and key economic sectors in the face of climate change. The central question is: Which technical, economic and governance levers can unlock the water-savings potential in agriculture, electricity production, manufacturing and public water supply, and how can these be operationalized? Gerardo Anzaldúa and Levin Scholl (Ecologic Institute) explored how the industrial sector in Europe is dealing with this question, and provided critical insights on potentials and enablers.

Contributions of Water Saving to a Climate Resilient Europe

ETC-BE Report 2025/1

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Publication:Brochure
 
Coverpage of publication "Arbeitshilfe zur Planung und Genehmigung von Moorschutzvorhaben in Niedersachsen"
Rewetting peatlands – but how? This new guide provides an overview of the key steps involved in planning, financing and authorising peatland protection projects in Lower Saxony, as well as the associated measures. Commissioned by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the brochure features contributions from Felix Dengler and Ulf Stein on behalf of the Ecologic Institute.

Arbeitshilfe zur Planung und Genehmigung von Moorschutzvorhaben in Niedersachsen

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Publication:Video
 
Pharmaceutical substances from creams and gels can enter wastewater when washed off after application. However, this can be reduced by first wiping your hands with a paper towel, disposing of it in the household waste, and only then washing your hands.

Umweltfreundliche Anwendung von Arzneisalben

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Publication:Conference Paper
 
Cover of the conference documentation "Zukunftsaufgabe naturnaher Landschaftswasserhaushalt"
The symposium "The future task of a near-natural landscape water balance" of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) was organized by Ecologic Institute and took place on 18 April 2024, in Bonn. This publication summarises the most important contents of the conference as well as the research and implementation needs identified.

Zukunftsaufgabe naturnaher Landschaftswasserhaushalt

Ergebnisdokumentation zur BfN-Fachtagung am 18. April 2024

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Publication:Website
 
Screenshot of the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) website section on "Human pharmaceuticals and the environment." The page features navigation options for topics such as "For patients," "For doctors and pharmacists," "Scientific background," and "Downloads." Below, an infographic shows a crossed-out symbol over a sink and toilet, surrounded by pills, bottles, and environmental icons like fish. The text highlights the agency's mandate to educate about the environmental risks of pharmaceuticals.
The Federal Environment Agency's online platform "Pharmaceuticals and the Environment" provides information on the environmental impact of human pharmaceuticals and gives recommendations for environmentally conscious use and disposal. The aim is to minimize the entry of pharmaceutical residues into the environment and thus protect organisms, water, and soil.

Humanarzneimittel und Umwelt

Information platform

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Publication:Document
 
Slides of a presentation set titled "Environmental Aspects of Human Pharmaceuticals in Medical Practice." Subtitle: "Basic slide set with free materials for medical education."
Pharmaceuticals in the environment are a growing problem. The UBA Internet portal "Human Medicinal Products and the Environment" offers freely available, scientifically proven teaching materials for medical and pharmaceutical lecturers. With the basic set of slides and the accompanying texts, the topic can be taught comprehensively and practically despite tight curricula.

Umweltaspekte von Humanarzneimitteln in der medizinischen und pharmazeutischen Praxis

Basisfoliensatz und Begleittexte mit freien Materialien

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