The International Ecology Institute [ECI], located some 55 km south of Hamburg, Germany, in the small village of Oldendorf/Luhe, was founded in 1984. It is funded by Inter-Research. The ECI is a non-profit organization of research ecologists dedicated to fostering ecological knowledge and awareness.

The ECI strives to



* further the exchange of information between marine, terrestrial and limnetic ecologists and to promote advancement in environmental research;

* compensate for the lack of balance between analyzing and synthesizing research efforts and thus help to provide more feedback and critical overview for ecological sciences;

* draw the attention of scientists, administrators, politicians and the general public to important issues resulting from ecological research;

* assist in finding a long-term compromise between the increasingly destructive potential of modern industrial societies and the need for defining and applying measures to protect nature, commensurate with achieving and sustaining the highest possible living standard for human societies.