Marine science is often still understood narrowly as a specialization of the natural sciences, to the exclusion of social sciences and humanities. Yet contributions from social sciences and humanities in marine research are necessary to explain what happens in the ocean and on the coasts. In order to help broaden perspectives on marine research, Ecologic Institute hosted a Strategy Group meeting to take stock of social sciences and humanities in marine research, and explore research needs, theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches.

The development of regional food strategies and cooperative approaches between urban and rural areas to reduce land take represent a suitable approach to the development of sustainable rural-urban linkages. Concrete policy recommendations can be found in the discussion paper of the Rural-Urban-Nexus project led by Ecologic Institute, which was discussed in the final workshop on 29 November 2018.

Public campaigns and other policy instruments can significantly influence consumer behavior and contribute to a reduction of consumer food waste. The REFRESH Policy Workshop "Public campaigns and other policy options for behaviour change" discussed the findings of REFRESH work on consumer behaviour and policy recommendations with regard to reducing consumer food waste. Based on a detailed report and policy brief developed by the Ecologic Institute, the workshop provided ideas and inspirations for EU and national policy makers in designing appropriate interventions against consumer food waste. The workshop took place on 19 November 2018 in the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Berlin. The background report, policy brief, workshop minutes, agenda and presentation are available for download.

In June 2017, the EU Commission adopted the new EU One Health Action Plan to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The "One Health" approach which lies at the basis of the Action Plan is centred on an integrative management of health risks; it leaves aside a purely human or veterinary approach in favor of a more holistic one which includes the environment. In this context, the UBA (Umweltbundesamt Deutschland) has prepared a background paper which presents various options for action in the areas of use prevention, entry and disposal of antibiotics. UBA supports the overarching objective of the EU One Health Action Plan, against the background of growing problems with antibiotic resistance, of maintaining the possibility of effective infection treatment in humans and animals.

As part of the project "Environmental Guidelines of German Arctic Policy" funded by the Federal Environment Agency, Ecologic Institute hosted the expert workshop "Environmental protection of the High North – How to protect the Arctic from afar?" on 24 October 2018 in Berlin. The aim of the workshop was to facilitate exchange and discussion on how observers of the Arctic Council can engage strategically and practically in the protection of the Arctic environment. The exchange with states active in the High North, indigenous communities, businesses, research and civil society produced solutions for a sustainable development in the Arctic that allows for the reconciliation of a wide spectrum of interests in the region. The focus was on climate change and air pollution control, shipping in the Arctic and sustainable tourism in the region.

The topic of sustainable nutrition is increasingly relevant in political, scientific and media debates. In this context, there are different perspectives and motivations surrounding the topic. Within the project "Wissenschaftliche Koordination der Fördermaßnahme Nachhaltiges Wirtschaften" (NaWiKo), Ecologic Institute will organize a workshop on "Sustainable nutrition systems and sustainable nutrition culture – Action approaches for transformative processes and practices" on 26 September 2018 in Berlin.

Environmental crime has diverse appearances and impacts. The ecological consequences range from the destruction of forests to the pollution of water, soil, and air and even to species extinction. Moreover, many types of environmental crime also affect human health, and organised forms of environmental crime undermine state structures. Environmental crime is increasingly being discussed again at international and EU level. However, it is always emphasised that there is a lack of a robust database and thus also a gap in the knowledge base.

On 17 May 2018, research partners and stakeholders from the COACCH (CO-designing the Assessment of Climate CHange costs) project met in Brussels for the first interactive co-design workshop. Ecologic Institute was responsible for designing the interactive workshop concept and for producing the synthesis of the current knowledge on climate change costs and research gaps, a copy is available for download. The key findings were presented by Ecologic Institute Fellow Jenny Tröltzsch and project partner Paul Watkiss.

Initially developed for the Science Year 2016/*17 – Seas and Oceans of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the funding for the youth campaign "Plastic Pirates" has been extended as part of the BMBF's research focus "Plastic in the Environment". The campaign takes place from 1 May until 30 June 2018 and allows young people between 10 and 16 years old to become scientists and contribute to a large citizen science project. A second period for sampling is envisaged for 15 September until 15 November 2018. We invite all young people to join! For "Plastic Pirates", the PlastikNet team at Ecologic Institute is collaborating with the Kieler Forschungswerkstatt.

On 21 April 2018, the one-day workshop "Narrative Sustainable Management" took place in Berlin. The team of the "Scientific Coordination of Research Projects on a Sustainable Economy" (NaWiKo) had invited interested projects of the funding measure to the workshop. The goal was to come together to consider and test how narratives on a sustainable economy can be identified and used for the projects – and perhaps even find a common "narrative".

On 18 April 2018, at the middle of Bulgaria's presidency of the European Union, a high-level workshop discussed Bulgaria's views on the EU reform process, and the role of climate and energy policies in it. This event is part of a series of workshops on EU reform and its links to climate and energy policies. A summary of the workshop is available.

The 7th workshop of the forum "Fish Protection and Downstream Migration" was dedicated to the topic of improving the implementation of measures at the end of the second cycle of the forum. The workshop took place in Dresden in April 2018. Important to this workshop was the task of creating a summary of the intense discourse that had taken place between all of the stakeholders over the past six years. These discourses were then synthesized into twelve guidelines. The recommendations and results of the event are available for download.

On 17 April 2018, a few month's before Romania's EU presidency, a high-level workshop discussed Rumanian views on the EU reform process, and the role of climate and energy policies in it. This event is part of a series of workshops on EU reform and its links to climate and energy policies. A summary of the workshop is available.

The workshop "Regional Food Systems and Sustainable Land Use in the Rural Urban Nexus" on 11 April 2018 discussed the potential that food systems can play to improve rural urban linkages. The workshop aimed to discuss the available insights at international level about success factors of regional food policies and if these are also relevant in the German context. To do so, the workshop brought together local policy makers, federal policy makers as well as participants from research and civil society. Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute and project leader of the Rural Urban Nexus project, presented success factors known from international examples and studies that promote rural urban linkages through regional food systems.