Thilo Panzerbieter, Founder and Executive Director of the German Toilet Organization (GTO), presented at Ecologic Institute, Berlin on worldwide sanitation, information campaigns in Germany and developing countries, and innovative toilet systems adapted to individual circumstances. As a non-profit NGO, GTO aims to protect health, human dignity, and the environment by providing clean and sustainable sanitation facilities accompanied by information campaigns. Karin Beese, Project Manager RADOST at Ecologic Institute, moderated the event. Read more ...

How can results from biodiversity research be applied in practical contexts and which obstacles have to be overcome? This question was discussed among researchers from different scientific fields from 22 to 23 March 2012 at Potsdam University. Timo Kaphengst from Ecologic Institute gave a presentation on the role of biodiversity research in the implementation of green infrastructure projects in the EU. The presentation is available for download. Read more ...

The Estonian Environmental Board organized a seminar on "Protected Areas as Part of Green Infrastructure" in connection with the annual EuroParc Nordic-Baltic Section Member Meeting. McKenna Davis spoke about the design, implementation and cost elements associated with green infrastructure projects. Attendees included representatives of the European Commission and Baltic and Nordic national parks, environmental ministries, nature conservation agencies and environmental NGOs. Read more ...

EU Member States are facing the most severe financial and economic crisis in recent decades. With soaring energy prices, out-dated energy infrastructure, and ever increasing global greenhouse gas emissions, Europe also faces other significant problems. These challenges are intertwined in many ways. Against this background, Ecologic Institute - in cooperation with the European Climate Foundation - organized a conference in Warsaw to discuss how Poland and Germany can address these challenges in a manner that is mutually reinforcing. Read more ...

Elizabeth Tedsen, Researcher, attended the Visionary Arctic 2012 conference in Kirkenes (Norway), where she presented on the environmental and social risks and benefits attributed to Arctic offshore hydrocarbon development. The conference sought to explore intersecting themes of sustainability and territorial challenges and explore future scenarios in the High North. Speakers from a range of disciplines offered varied perspectives, contributing to a multifaceted and creative dialogue. Read more ...

At the First EPI-Water Conference in Berlin, Manuel Lago and Jennifer Möller-Gulland held a presentation on the effluent tax in Germany. The presentation is available for download.

The EPI-WATER Project sets to assess the effectiveness and the efficiency of Economic Policy Instruments in achieving water policy goals, and to identify the preconditions under which they complement or perform better than alternative (e.g. regulatory or voluntary) policy instruments. Read more ...

At the First EPI-Water Conference in Berlin, Manuel Lago, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on green hydropower in Switzerland. The presentation is available for download.

The EPI-WATER Project sets to assess the effectiveness and the efficiency of Economic Policy Instruments in achieving water policy goals, and to identify the preconditions under which they complement or perform better than alternative (e.g. regulatory or voluntary) policy instruments. Read more ...

Developing countries are the main providers of genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Conversely, most intellectual property rights (IPRs) on seeds and medicines are concentrated in developed countries. The study concludes that this has some disadvantages for developing countries. Thus, patents on seed or pharmaceutical products sometimes make the access to such products for the poor more difficult and expensive; there are hardly any positive effects of IPRs on fighting poverty by contrast. Read more ...

Dr. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute was invited to the Cairo Climate Talks to present and discuss the results of the UN climate conference in Durban together with Mohamed Nasser of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, both speakers were given the opportunity to present their perspectives to around two dozen experts, many from the Egyptian administration, in an open discussion session. Read more ...