CDE researchers are contributing to sustainability factsheets, which are published by the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT). The factsheets cover topics relevant to the upcoming UN Rio+20 conference on sustainable development. Each sheet summarises the state of knowledge on an individual theme, such as water security, and offers policy recommendations aimed at both the international level and Switzerland. 01/05/2012 How can 1 billion people suffer from chronic hunger in a world of abundant resources? David Syz, former Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs, investigates this and related questions in his film “Hunger in a World of Plenty”. A screening of the film on 9 May in Bern will be followed by a panel discussion featuring experts from CDE, the World Trade Institute, NCCR Trade Regulation, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. 01/05/2012 Large-scale land acquisitions are a lasting trend. So say a new report and innovative website created by the Land Matrix partnership which includes CDE. The report and website, launched on 26 April 2012 at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, aim to promote transparency and accountability in land-investment decisions through open data, made even more accessible via interactive maps and graphics. 27/04/2012 In advance of the UN Rio+20 conference, CDE is co-sponsoring a discussion about global agricultural policy on 23 May 2012, at ETH Zurich, together with SWISSAID, Biovision, and others. A key topic of debate will be the implications of the “green economy” concept for small-scale farming. 06/04/2012 CDE was well-represented at the Planet under Pressure conference in London, 26-29 March 2012.
On Wednesday 28 March, CDE director Peter Messerli and deputy director Thomas Breu co-convened a session on Large Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs) as key drivers of rural transformation processes. 26/03/2012 This issue of MRD focuses on water resources in the Upper Indus Basin and beyond. Three papers discuss the linkages between climate, precipitation, glaciology, and river runoff in the basin. Other articles examine the impacts of global warming on mountaineering in the Austrian Alps, social-ecological aspects of irrigation in Central Ladakh, a “springshed development” approach in the Sikkim Himalaya, and more. 20/03/2012 MRD is pleased to announce the publication of a Supplement Issue containing keynote papers, a synthesis paper, and policy papers that emerged from the 2010 “Global Change and the World’s Mountains” conference, which took place in Perth, Scotland, from 26–30 September.
29/02/2012 The ProDoc Programme invites you to this public lecture by Prof. Dr. Ottmar Ette (University of Potsdam) at 4 p.m. on Friday, 16 March 2012, at the University of Bern. Dr. Ette will discuss the potential of “a transareal science” of the Americas – emphasising mobility and dynamic linkages – as an alternative to homogenising, territorially defined perspectives on Latin America. 17/02/2012 This publication by CDE researcher Sarah-Lan Mathez-Stiefel and Ina Vandebroek presents a study of patterns in the distribution and transmission of medicinal plant knowledge in rural Andean communities in Peru and Bolivia. The authors describe how people’s community, age, migratory activity, and market integration shape the nature of their plant knowledge. 14/02/2012 Written by Bolivian Vice President Álvaro García Linera, this book examines the Morales administration’s concept of “plurinationalism” as well as the obstacles and problems encountered during the development of a new constitution. It includes an interview in which García Linera discusses his political theories and Bolivia’s current situation with CDE researcher Stephan Rist and Andreas Simmen. 14/02/2012 The “energy crisis” has been defined as one of the key issues of a “green economy” and is therefore on the agenda of the Earth Summit Rio +20. This issue of MRD is the third in 10 years that is devoted to sustainable production and use of energy in mountain areas. 17/01/2012 This publication is a capitalisation on thirty years of collaboration between the Rural Economy Institute responsible for agricultural research in Mali and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture. It covers the years 1979-2009 and collates the major achievements of the Agricultural Research Station of Cinzana, Mali and the extension project Capacity Building for Sustainable Agriculture. 29/11/2011 Part of the SNSF-financed ProDoc Programme: an inter-disciplinary effort to contribute to the training of graduate students in the social sciences and in cultural studies through workshops, field research, and network building. The first three lectures on this theme will take place 1-2 December 2011 at the University of Bern. 22/11/2011 A joint FAO/CDE publication – Highlands and Drylands. Mountains, a source of resilience in arid regions – examines one of the least-known environments in the world. Dryland mountains are of great strategic value to regional and global development – they provide 90% of the freshwater supply to surrounding dry lowlands – and yet they are often overlooked by decision- and policymakers. 18/10/2011 Three papers in the newest issue of MRD focus on water resources and water management issues in the Indus Basin—one of the largest watersheds in the world, with well over 200 million people in the lower basin depending on the water from headwaters shared by China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. 23/09/2011 Available here for download is CDE’s first annual report since becoming an interdisciplinary research centre of the University of Bern. It outlines CDE’s new strategy, including six thematic clusters intended to guide activities in the coming years. 04/09/2011 Appearing in Applied Geography, this new publication by CDE researchers describes application of a new mosaics approach for monitoring and assessing the development and impact of swidden agriculture, a cultivation technique that is often blamed for deforestation. 04/09/2011 On 23 September 2011, CDE took part in the annual Europe-wide “Researchers’ Night” (“Nacht der Forschung”) at the University of Bern. Highlights from CDE’s contribution included tents in which visitors could skype with CDE researchers in Laos and Kenya. 24/09/2011 Speakers debated this at an event organised by CDE and Swissaid on 21 September 2011. 22/09/2011 Welcome to www.cde.unibe.ch, the Centre for Development and Environment’s new website. We will continuously be adding content to the site to make it as comprehensive as possible. We welcome your feedback on info@cde.unibe.ch 20/06/2011 Written by Ernst Gabathuler, Felicitas Bachmann, and Andreas Kläy, this book presents Learning for Sustainability (LforS) as an integrative, learning-oriented approach to rural extension. The approach encompasses stakeholder dialogues, knowledge management, and organisational development. 20/06/2011 Prepared by WOCAT, this new TerrAfrica publication presents promising SLM practices for sub-Saharan Africa based on evidence, practical experience, and representative case studies. 20/06/2011 Forschung zur Nachhaltigkeit nimmt an der Universität Bern einen wichtigen Platz ein: Soeben wurde das Interdisziplinäre Zentrum für Nachhaltige Entwicklung und Umwelt (CDE) eröffnet. 20/02/2011 |
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