Ecologic Institute

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

Ecosystem services characterise the diverse benefits which the human society obtains from nature. Funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), an interdisciplinary research group analyses the impacts from the use of market-based instruments in climate and nature conservation policies on the provision of ecosystem services. Central European cultural landscapes serve as investigation areas. Read more ...

This project introduces national policy makers in the Black Sea countries the basics of selecting cost-effective measures to reduce nutrient pollution. The measures considered within this project are both technical measures that can be locally applied as well as instruments, such as N-taxes, applied on a national/basin wide level.  Additionally, this project presents case studies dealing with nutrient pollution in each of the following sectors: agriculture, industry and municipal. The reports are available for download. Read more ...

Between 1990 and 2000 alone, more than 800,000 hectares were built on in Europe. This phenomenon is due to changing lifestyles more than increased population. The amount of space consumed per person has more than doubled over the past 50 years. Today, more than a quarter of the EU's territory has been directly affected by urban sprawl, according to a study by the European Environment Agency, which also suggests potential policies to combat the trend. R. Andreas Kraemer, Director Ecologic, was consulted as an external expert throughout the develoment of the report. Read more ...