The increasing frequency of floods and droughts highlights the urgent need for climate-resilient landscapes. This is where the European research project SpongeWorks comes in, demonstrating sustainable "sponge" measures in river basins across Greece, France, and the Netherlands/Germany. By restoring rivers, wetlands, and implementing innovative agricultural practices, landscapes are becoming better equipped to retain and release water in a controlled way. With 28 partners involved, the project aims to inspire other regions by sharing success stories and tools to promote "sponge landscapes" across Europe.

Ecologic Institute supports the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) in preparing the ratification of the so-called BBNJ Agreement and the related German implementing laws. The BBNJ Agreement of June 2023 is a UN treaty and the first multilateral legal framework for the protection of biodiversity on the high seas. Ecologic Institute identifies the obligations for Germany and which of them require new legislation, and drafts legal proposals for implementing provisions.

Oeko-Institut and Ecologic Institute are jointly supporting the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz – BfN) in the necessary further development of environmental legislation at federal level in line with the objectives of the new NBS 2030 and the EU-BDS. The aim of this project is to identify existing deficits in national biodiversity protection and to develop proposals for improvement.

This project supports the European Commission (EC) in enhancing the integration of environmental, biodiversity, and climate goals in the EU budget post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). It provides insights and concrete recommendations for effective, efficient, coherent, and measurable external funding strategies, ensuring that these priorities are mainstreamed throughout budgetary processes to maximize their policy impact. The project's results will feed into the EC's proposal for the post-2027 MFF, expected by mid-2025.

Brandenburg's cabinet adopted a peatland protection program in March 2023, building on the National Peatland Protection Strategy and the 2021 "Climate Protection through Peatland Protection" initiative. The project aims to develop recommendations for communication on peatland protection in Brandenburg, examining the current communication landscape. The Ecologic Institute is commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, and Climate Protection of the State of Brandenburg.

This project for The Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) aims to convey in an effective and accessible way that our actions today have an impact on the future, especially on nature and the livelihoods of future generations. Through carefully designed visualizations that are based on scientific research, we want to show how the climate crisis is affecting nature and the German landscape, and how climate protection and adaptation can prevent damage, mitigate the effects of the biodiversity crisis and ultimately improve our lives.

The German agriculture sector faces significant climate-related challenges due to extreme weather events along with shifts in temperature patterns, impacting crop yields and biodiversity and exacerbating water scarcity and water quality deterioration. The Panda Fördergesellschaft (on behalf of WWF) is commissioning Ecologic Institute to create a handbook, "Water Stewardship in German Agriculture," aiming to offer practical solutions to enhance water retention, quality, and biodiversity. The handbook will include an overview of Germany's water situation, legal framework, specific measures with contextualised examples, and ways to promote collective action.

Ecologic Institute is member of the European Topic Centre on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (ETC-BE) which works with the European Environment Agency (EEA) under a Framework Partnership Agreement for the period from 2023-2026. The ETC BE is a Consortium of 24 European organisations with expertise in the topic area of terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Biodiversity and ecosystems is one of five strategic work areas in the EEA-Eionet Strategy 2021-2030.

The project's ambition is to contribute to the systemic transformation needed for a nature-positive economy through collaborative multi-stakeholder research and innovation to provide clarity and guidance for policy, industry and society.

The project aims to provide the European Commission with information on how to best use the EU budget in the post-2027 MFF to achieve the ambitious environmental and climate objectives in an effective and efficient way. The results of this project will feed into the political processes that will shape the post-2027 MFF.

The aim of this project is to conceptualise and design an exhibition that encourages citizens to work towards a future in which the climate and biodiversity crises are tackled and overcome together.

The project is targeted at postgraduate students, professionals and managers from developing countries and provides them with a wide range of skills in environmental management. It combines lecture series and interactive workshops to deepen the understanding of sustainable approaches such as ecosystem-based management (EBM), nature-based solutions (NbS) and restoration measures and to promote practical skills. The events on Vilm Island (May 30 to October 23, 2024) as well as previous formats, such as the 88th UNEP/UNESCO/BMUV course focusing on water resource management (October 2023 in Dresden), played a central role in knowledge transfer. The aim is to equip future decision-makers with the necessary tools to effectively tackle complex environmental and societal challenges.

Ecologic Institute supports the European Topic Center in the field of water policy and management. In particular, it provides coordination and technical support for the preparation of the State of European Water and the Integrated Water Assessment.

Healthy wetlands are acknowledged for being among the most effective sinks for carbon and for providing other valuable ecosystem services. In contrast, human-impacted wetlands represent a major source of greenhouse gases (GHG). Important research questions on the GHG abatement potential of wetland restoration and on management and restoration actions to maintain and promote the mitigation and adaptation capacity of European wetlands are still to be answered due to major data and knowledge gaps. The RESTORE4Cs project (a 3-year Research and Innovation Action funded by the EU) aims to fill this gap by assessing the role of restoration action in wetlands climate change mitigation capacity and for the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services using an integrative socio-ecological systems approach.

This project supports the EU Commission by undertaking a series of assignments that are to be requested by the Commission during the next phases of the legislative process of the proposed NRL. In this context, the project handles requests from the European Commission, for example to discuss further details of measures to be considered in the negotiations on this legislation.