Press Releases

Photo: B. Kochan/IOER-Media

View of a river, the banks are covered with trees

The effects of climate change are increasingly affecting rivers and lakes and threatening the ecological balance in these waters. Adaptation measures are needed. However, in order to implement them in a targeted manner, more knowledge is needed about the complex interactions in aquatic ecosystems. Adaptations are also recommended for the European Water Framework Directive, which aims to achieve a "good ecological status" in bodies of water. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development and the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater…

Photo: H. Oertel/IOER Media

Several cornflowers, a bee sitting on a blossom

Leibniz Research Network presents concrete recommendations for action

By 2030, 30 per cent of the planet's land and sea areas should be protected. All subsidies leading to the degradation of nature should be reallocated. These are two of the recommendations from the Leibniz Research Network Biodiversity, of which the IOER is a member. The researchers are publishing their "10 Must Dos from Biodiversity Science" on the occasion of the United Nations’ COP15 World Conference on Nature, which begins Wednesday in Montreal, Canada.

Photo: Jürgen Hohmuth, ZEITORT Fotografie

Aerial view, urban fringe sprawl

Despite many efforts to curb urban sprawl, it continues to progress dramatically. From 1990 to 2014, urban sprawl increased by 95 percent worldwide. During this period, the built-up area grew by an average of around 1.2 square kilometres (more than 160 football fields) every hour. This is the result of a joint study by scientists from the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) in Dresden (Germany) and Concordia University in Montréal (Canada). They have published their findings in the journal "PLOS Sustainability and Transformation".

Banner zu "Auf die Plätze fertig los" mit Häusern

With the project idea "Architectural heritage and climate-friendly construction in Dresden" (Baukultur und klimafreundliche Architektur in Dresden), the IOER, together with partners, is one of the winners in the "Ideensprint", the final of the citizen science competition "Auf die Plätze! Citizen science in your city". The three winning teams were honoured at the award ceremony on 20 October at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. With 50,000 euros in funding each, they can now implement the projects together with citizens until autumn 2023

Photo: A. Schielicke/IOER-Media

Person in front of exhibition walls

Germany's landscapes are diverse and constantly changing. Growing cities, wind turbines and solar fields, high-voltage lines, new traffic routes, agricultural industry and increasing technology are changing the landscape faster and faster. The exhibition "The Shape of Space - Landscapes of Germany as Images of Society" makes this change visible with diverse aerial photographs. The Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) will present the exhibition from 1 to 26 August…

Photo: H. Hensel/IOER-Media

4 people discuss a map on a presentation wall

How can Lusatia develop by the year 2050 - without coal mining and instead ecologically sustainable and livable for the local people? This was the question addressed last year by the planning lab "Raumbilder Lausitz 2050" (Spatial Imaginaries Lusatia 2050). Four interdisciplinary teams designed their visions for the region in structural change as multi-layered spatial images. Until 31 August, the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) is showing the results in an exhibition at the Görlitz Administrative District Office (Landratsamt). They can also be read in a…

Photo: Marcel Schröder

Market hustle

The challenges and opportunities of sustainability transformation and migration in small towns and peripheralized regions will be the subject of this year's "DENKSALON Ecological and Revitalising Urban Renewal" in Görlitz on 9 and 10 September. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Transformative Urban Regeneration (IZS) invites experts from science and practice for intensively exchanging ideas. The venue is the Tivoli Görlitz.

Photo: Shibasish Saha

View from above of river, people, flowers, barges

Under the theme "Biodiversity - Stewardship for Vital Resources", the fourth Dresden Nexus Conference (DNC2022) from 23 to 25 May was dedicated to one of the most pressing questions worldwide – how can biodiversity be preserved and protected? The approximately 350 participants from more than 60 countries also discussed the question of what role biodiversity plays or should play in the concept of the Resource Nexus, i.e. integrated perspectives on the use of vital resources. The international online conference was co-organised by the United Nations University (UNU-FLORES), the Technische…

Photo: R. Vigh/IOER-Media

Sunflower in front of skyscraper

Under the title "Space & Transformation: Liveable Futures", the IOER Annual Conference 2022 on 22 and 23 September will focus on fundamental change in neighborhoods, cities, and regions. The conjoined Summer School on 21 September will offer early-stage researchers space to discuss their work.

Photo: C. Zöllter/IOER-Media

Participants sitting at the table

This year’s PhD Day took place at the IOER on 27 and 28 April. For the first time, the PhD candidates of the IOER organized it themselves and at the same time opened it up for new, also experimental formats.

The Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development is jointly funded by the federal government and the federal states.

FS Sachsen

This measure is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.