Sustainability and environmental problems usually have a wide range of causes, and they are often global. Solutions must therefore be found at international level. International cooperation in environmental protection has gradually become a more important issue over the last two decades. UBA's most important target groups are EU and UN institutions, the OECD and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The German National Sustainability Strategy is particularly relevant for German sustainability policies. UBA exercises foresight to develop strategies to influence developments in the long term and with due regard for processes and resources.
The German Environment Agency, with support from the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, supported and advised a three-year Advisory Assistance Project entitled "Environmentally sound concepts of maritime spatial use for the Baltic Sea Area of the Russian Federation".
The German Environment Agency organized a joint event with the German Federal Environment Ministry and the Agency for International and Interregional Relations of the Government of the Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation on 27 October 2016 in Kaliningrad. More than 130 participants attended the event.
The EU Commission is providing funding worth more than 74 million euros to the “European Human Biomonitoring Initiative – HBM4EU” project to harmonize and align the database on human biomonitoring in the EU Member States and to enhance our understanding of the health impact of exposure to pollution. The aim is to consolidate existing data and to implement joint research projects.
Waste screening systems for marine litter, breathing building facades or bionic partition walls in airplanes: The German Federal Ecodesign Award is once again looking for daring pioneers of design and inventors of sustainable products for the award in 2017. The deadline for submission of entries to the competition is 10 April.
Mongolia is one of the richest countries worldwide in terms of raw materials. Mining is a major industry but mining activities, increasing steadily since the 1990s, are causing environmental problems. An advisory assistance project organized by UBA is answering a call from the Mongolian Ministry for Environment & Tourism to exchange experience and to deepen German-Mongolian cooperation.
Presenting the global roadmap for sustainable urban development over the next twenty years: the New Urban Agenda. It is the key outcome of the UN Habitat III Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development which ended on 20 October 2016 in the Ecuadorean capital Quito.
Germany and 25 other Parties to the Antarctic Treaty signed the Protocol of Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty on 4 October 1991, thereby laying down the toughest and most comprehensive environmental protection regulations ever agreed for any region on Earth. 37 states have signed the Protocol to date.
Two English-language technical guides are now available to countries where modernisation of facilities for waste water treatment and sewage sludge management is imminent, e.g. to comply with EU requirements.
Kindergartens where children spend most of their time in nature shall soon become an officially accepted form of kindergarten in the Czech Republic. To help defining the requirements the UBA brought together German and Czech forest kindergartens and their advocates in the framework of a project of the Advisory Assistance Programme.
In 2013 the disturbed soil of peatlands and forests caused emissions with climate impact of about 45 million tonnes CO2 in Germany alone. The drainage of peatland exposes plant material to the air which was previously preserved in airtight conditions and then releases carbon and nitrous oxide. An UBA study develops incentives how to reduce peatland emissions worldwide.
The UBA recommends a swift move to renovate Germany's building stock comprehensively. A new UBA study shows how it can be done.
The Federal Government and the Länder want to strengthen their joint measures to combat marine litter and are coordinating their future action at a round table.
