The Indo-German Expert Group is an interdisciplinary working group of renowned experts from leading research institutions / political think tanks in India and Germany. It was set up in 2013 to enhance collaborative learning, contribute to informed decision-making in both countries and feed into the international debate on a green and inclusive economy. 

since November 2013

Sustainability strategies are control instruments used in the political process of integrating the economic, ecological and social dimensions of sustainability. Since the beginning of the Agenda 21 process in 1992, such strategies have been designed and implemented on local, regional, national and supranational political levels. However, the global strategy landscape is characterized by great heterogeneity regarding the content dimension (e.g. problem understanding and goal formulation), the governance dimension (e.g. mechanisms for horizontal and vertical integration of sustainability), and in terms of success and effectiveness.

Term: 01.07.2013 - 31.12.2013

English version coming soon!

Die zentrale Begründung für den Aufbau eines Horizon Scanning Systems liegt in der erkennbaren Beschleunigung ökologischer Prozesse einerseits und sozioökonomischer Veränderungen andererseits. Für die Politik stellt sich damit die Frage, ob reaktiven Kurzatmigkeiten durch frühzeitigere Problembewältigung begegnet werden. Denn speziell die Umweltpolitik in Deutschland ist dem Vorsorgeprinzip und dem Gedanken der generationenübergreifenden Nachhaltigkeit verpflichtet.

The project aims at supporting and stimulating the emerging political and social debate on resource policies from a political science, legal and economic perspective. For this purpose the discussion on targets and indicators will be analyzed and options identified for selecting, operationalizing and prioritizing targets on resource policy.

The project aims at expanding the period of time covered by Germany’s Sustainability Strategy to the year 2030 and at sketching out the development until 2050. To do this, major issue areas and challenges need to be identified, and strategies and sub-targets for their implementation have to be developed.

The research project investigates how governments in these countries integrate existing climate policies both horizontally and vertically.

Currently, an environmentally recyclable concept of a socio-ecological, sustainable growth and social model is missing, which would be a reference point for future economic and social prosperity and corresponding transformation processes. With this background, the main point of this study is the technical analysis and discussion of the following aspects:
1) theoretical and practical approaches of ecological and sustainable-oriented social and economic models – based on a national or macro-economic view.
2) conceptual and empirical reform efforts for the measurement of social welfare and economic prosperity.

In the domain of the BMU, the FFU and IFOK supports in two exemplary environmental policy areas relevant for the Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) the development or refinement of strategies by giving professional expertise and the moderation of the process.

The aim of the Peer Challenger Report is to review the actual implementation of Germany’s sustainability goals and to improve the governance approaches of public and private actors regarding sustainable development.

Celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety gave reason to renew the answers to questions of German environmental politics on federal level.

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management ("Life Ministry") appointed an interdisciplinary group of independent experts to evaluate implementation activities under the Austrian Sustainability Strategy.

This project aimed to report and revise the existing sustainability indicator for bio diversity, considering the next report of progress by the federal government on the occasion of the National Strategy of Sustainability 2006.

The conference brought about a stocktaking of both the institutional basis of policy integration on the different levels of policy making as well as an improvement of the knowledge basis for a furthering of integration.

The GTZ-pilot project "Environmental Policy and the Promotion of Strategy Processes for Sustainable Development" (Rioplus) aimed at delivering policy advice regarding the development and implementation of sustainable development strategies.

The 2004 symposium was intended to foster the mutual exchange of information on European and Japanese efforts in recording significant environmental pollution sectors as well as the state of the environment.

The proposed research project aimed at developing a contribution for an implementable consideration of the requirements of sustainable development in new policy initiatives of the different branches of administration.

The aim of this research and development project has been the development of a species-specific indicator for the Federal Government sustainability strategy.

English version coming soon!

Zentrales Ziel des Vorhabens war die Identifizierung von Ansätzen zur Verbesserung des Transfers der Ergebnisse sozialwissenschaftlicher Umweltforschung und die Ableitung entsprechender Empfehlungen.

English version coming soon!

In dem Forschungsvorhaben wurden beispielhaft für Deutschland anhand des Umweltausschnittes "Agrarlandschaft und Agrarökosysteme" Indikatoren des Umweltzustands entwickelt.