Knowledge for sustainable development

Social-ecological transformations are necessary for sustainable development. But how can society, science, politics and economy jointly initiate successful transformation processes? Scientists of ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research recently stated that a common perception of shaping is...

Plastic is an ambivalent material: On the one hand, due to their versatile properties and their wide range of applications plastics have revolutionized many areas of daily life in the past decades. On the other hand, plastic poses a complex environmental problem due to its production, use and...

More and more exotic mosquitoes are being found in Germany − in addition, pathogens associated with these insects are becoming more common. In the future, therefore, more control agents against the potential disease vectors will be necessary. Experiments by Senckenberg scientists show that essential...

No matter if it’s painkillers, antibiotics, antihypertensives or psychotropic drugs: drug residues usually enter the environment via domestic wastewater. However, many consumers do not even know that they contribute to this environmental problem by taking and incorrectly disposing of drugs. Here,...

So-called “bioplastics” are marketed as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional, petroleum-based plastics. They can be made from renewable feedstock, might be bio-degradable or even both. The question is however if these biomaterials are safer than conventional plastics with regard...

Groundwater is the most important drinking water resource worldwide and at the same time a unique habitat for animal organisms. However, the conservation of this valuable resource is neglected both locally and globally. This particularly applies to some hotspot regions in Europe, where groundwater...

​​​​​​​Seas and oceans have fascinated mankind since time immemorial – as the largest coherent ecosystem in the world and also as a dream destination for recreational purposes. And even though this unique habitat has been used for waste disposal for centuries, the exponential increase of waste in...

In April 2019, Federal Minister Franziska Giffey appointed the Expert Commission for the Third Equality Report. In this report, the Commission deals with the question of which course of action is necessary to shape developments in the digital economy in such a way that women and men have equal...

The call for social-ecological transformation has gained in urgency during the corona crisis, but it is in fact not new. The consequences of unabated climate change and species extinction are proving to be so far reaching and consequential that the need for a change of course has long been discussed...

Digitalisation is now also making itself felt in the water sector. The term ‘WATER 4.0’ alludes to new digital options for a flexible, resource-efficient, and competitive form of water management – intelligent measuring and control systems that can meanwhile replace manual operation. The processes...