From 4 to 8 August 2025, the International Academy for Nature Conservation (INA) on the Isle of Vilm hosted the seminar "Putting Nature on a Path to Recovery – Innovations in Ecosystem Restoration". The event brought together an international audience of experts and practitioners in ecosystem restoration, nature conservation, and sustainable development. Dr. Benjamin Kupilas, Senior Fellow and Coordinator for Biodiversity at Ecologic Institute, contributed with a talk titled "Restoring nature, restoring our future: From global goals to local gains."

How can cities become more resilient, biodiverse, and socially inclusive in times of rapid change? These questions shaped the 4th World Conference of the Society for Urban Ecology (SURE), titled Cities Under Global Social Transformations. Among the many insights, Carlos Calzadilla Guerra contributed a discussion session on potential and challenges of repurposing urban vacant land (UVL) into nature-based solutions (NbS) in Latin American cities.

For five days, experts from politics, science and environmental organisations discussed more protection for the oceans at the 3rd UN Ocean Conference in Nice: Climate change, overfishing and pollution are threatening marine biodiversity worldwide. Europeans were strongly represented, as were countries from the Global South, as well as important G20 countries such as Australia, India, Brazil and China. Dr Grit Martinez took part in the UN Ocean Conference on behalf of Ecologic Institute's Coastal and Marine Research Division. At the conference, a sincere commitment to the protection and sustainable use of the oceans was evident.

As cities across Europe face increasing pressure from climate risks such as heatwaves and flooding, digital platforms are becoming key enablers of effective and inclusive adaptation planning. The Adaptation AGORA webinar, hosted by Stockholm Environment Institute, brought together over 100 participants to explore three leading platforms that support nature-based solutions (NbS) in urban contexts. Natalia Burgos Cuevas, Fellow at Ecologic Institute, presented the Urban Governance Atlas – an interactive online database of over 250 policy instruments that support NbS and ecosystem restoration across Europe, Latin America, and beyond.

As part of the annual Marine Nature Conservation Colloquium, scientists from the research projects commissioned by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) present their interim results and open questions. On behalf of Ecologic Institute, Dr. Grit Martinez presented initial results from the research project The German North Sea and Baltic Sea over 100 years ago (HISTOMAR). The "Shifting Baseline Syndrome" was the focus of the presentation and the subsequent discussion.

On 17 March 2025, Doris Knoblauch (Ecologic Institute) gave a presentation on "Plastics and the Environment", highlighting the negative impacts of plastics and plastic pollution at a post-graduate course attended by 21 experts from ministries, authorities, municipalities, NGOs and industry from low-income countries and emerging economies. The focus was on why plastic pollution is a problem for both the environment and human health, the role of textiles, and why we urgently need an international, legally binding plastics treaty.

The fourth Webstival of the Climateurope2 project took place on 11 and 12 March 2025. Dr. Grit Martinz from Ecologic Institute presented the results of in-depth ethnographic research on issues of equity in the context of the Most Outer Regions. She highlighted the ongoing impact of colonial structures and attitudes on climate justice, including access to climate services for people of indigenous origin. In doing so, she emphasised the potential of a decolonial ecology in European territories and globally to adapt to the consequences of climate change, together with the political struggles against (post)colonial domination, structural racism and the pollution of the ecosystem.

Hugh McDonald and Julia Pazmino from Ecologic Institute led the session "Ensuring sustainability outcomes from carbon farming: Recommendations for the CRCF and voluntary carbon markets" at the Second European Carbon Summit 2025. Hugh joined a panel on policy areas for carbon farming, while Julia shared insights on rewarding mechanisms for farmers.

On 25 and 26 February 2025, Biodiversa+, in collaboration with UNEP-WCMC and with the support of the Research Council of Norway, convened a Foresight Workshop in Oslo to explore the intersections between nature-based solutions (NbS) and transformative change. McKenna Davis, Senior Fellow and Coordinator of Nature-based Solutions at Ecologic Institute, was invited to participate as an expert and support the identification of emerging research needs and innovation priorities that can advance NbS within the broader context of transformative change. Addressing key knowledge gaps and research priorities

On 21 January 2025, the United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN) hosted a panel discussion to discuss the next steps in the global plastics negotiations. The fifth round of negotiations in November 2024 ended without an agreement – a failure? Doris Knoblauch, scientist at Ecologic Institute, took part in the panel discussion and reported on the progress of the negotiations and how things could now proceed from her perspective.

On 14 November 2024, the district of Wittmund (Lower Saxony, North Sea coast, Germany) hosted a workshop addressing key challenges at the intersection of marine and coastal protection, sustainable tourism, and climate adaptation. For the first time, marine protection will feature as a dedicated focus in the district's climate protection and adaptation concepts, reflecting a progressive approach to tackling climate impacts in the North Sea region.

At the International Pond Conference 2024, which took place online from 12 to 13 November 2024, Hugh McDonald from the Ecologic Institute in Berlin presented the results of a comprehensive study on the financing of ponds and pond landscapes as nature-based solutions (NbS). The work analyzed public and private financing models and assessed their suitability for the implementation of pondscapes, and for financing NbS more broadly.

On 8 November 2024, the final webinar of the EU project PONDERFUL took place. Led by Professor Jeremy Biggs (Freshwater Habitats Trust) and Hugh McDonald (Ecologic Institute), it discussed how national and regional plans can be developed to protect, restore and create ponds and ponded landscapes. The aim was to inform policymakers on how these small but effective ecosystems can be used as nature-based solutions (NbS) to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

On 25 and 26 September 2024, McKenna Davis and Natalia Burgos of Ecologic Institute contributed to two landmark nature-based solutions (NbS) events in Brussels, focusing on advancing NbS through collaborative efforts.

On 3 September 2024, Dr Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on ‘Legislation between Climate Action and Security of Supply - Challenges of the Energy Transition’ as part of a visit by a delegation from the Legislative Affairs Commission (LAC) of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China to the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action. In addition to two further presentations by representatives of the Ministry, there was an exchange of views with the Chinese delegation.