ZEF-director Joachim von Braun has been awarded this year's Theodor Brinkmann Prize by the eponymous Foundation for his achievements in the fields of global economic growth and trade, food, nutrition and poverty as well as technological innovations.

A new anthropological research project at ZEF called "Waterfront Metropolis Abidjan" is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and deals with urbanization in Cote d'Ivoire's metropolis. Project leader is ZEF senior researcher Irit Eguavoen.

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Rome released a declaration on Climate Change and Health that draws attention to the consequences of climate change on people's and planetary health.

by Eli Wortmann-Kolundžija, ZEF News No. 36. Poverty can be understood as the "inability of people to meet economic, social and other standards of well-being" (OECD, 2001, p. 37) and comes along with limitations of personal freedom and opportunities to participate in society." Having abilities to cope with these limitations and to stop perpetuating patterns is one definition of being empowered (Spicker, 2007). Poverty itself needs to be addressed on several levels: the communal, governmental, societal, organizational and the individual level.

Interview with Alejandro Mora-Motta, ZEF Junior Researcher, about his research on the environmental issues arising from the growth-oriented development model in Colombia.

by Marcos Glauser, ZEF News No. 36. The Gran Chaco, the second largest biome of South America, underwent deep and fast environmental changes a few decades ago. In the Paraguayan Chaco, covering sixty percent of the country, changes are mainly related to the country’s development model: The government has promoted rapid economic growth through large-scale soybean cultivation and livestock farming over the past years.

by Jan Janosch Förster, ZEF News No. 36. The project STRIVE (Sustainable TRade and InnoVation transfer in the bioEconomy: from national strategies to global sustainable development goals) aims to improve the knowledge base for developing sustainable bioeconomy policies and investments. A main research focus is on national and international regulatory frameworks.

by Fazlullah Akhtar and Bernhard Tischbein, ZEF News No. 36. Agriculture plays a crucial role in Afghanistan’s economy, although only 12% of the country’s land area is arable. For more than three decades, the country has suffered from war and political conflict. Beside causing tremendous human tragedy, its aftermath has inflicted huge damage upon urban and rural infrastructure such as the hydraulic system. This has led to huge water losses and it continues to hinder effective water management of irrigation schemes and watersheds.

by Daniel Callo-Concha, ZEF News No. 36. West Africa Savannah farmers are among the ones most affected by climate change on the continent. More frequent droughts and heavier rains add up to already fragile ecosystems, weak economies and unstable political systems. Farmers react to changing climate conditions in different ways.

ZEF is organizing a series of events on the occasion of the COP23 in Bonn (November 6 -17, 2017). Find more information on our Website www.zef.de/cop23

ZEF- Director Joachim von Braun gave a presentation at the FOOD2030 Conference on "Harnessing research and innovation for FOOD2030: A science policy dialogue", held by the European Commission in Brussels on October 16, 2017.

Bonn University hosts Europe's largest interdisciplinary scientific conference on tropical and subtropical agriculture. Around 30 ZEF researchers and members of its International Advisory Board participate in and perform at this international event.

The battle against malnutrition in Africa can be won, according to a new report launched by the Malabo Montpellier Panel at the Africa Green Revolution Forum in Cote d’Ivoire in September 2017. ZEF-director Joachim von Braun is co-chair of the Panel.

The recently held Crawford Fund 2017 annual conference on Transforming Lives and Livelihoods: The Digital Revolution in Agriculture’, focused on the impact of the data revolution for smallholder farmers and the challenges of modern technologies for agricultural development and food security.

NutriHAF project in collaboration with Mettu University organized an Academic Day on 12th of July 2017. More than one hundred academics from different Ethiopian universities followed the invitation.

A Master of Science (MSc) program on "Managing the Science-Policy Interface on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for sustainable development in West Africa" is being established in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, addressing participants from all 15 West African ECOWAS countries.

Doctoral students who want to join ZEF's doctoral program (BIGS-DR) and apply for scholarships via DAAD have to submit their application with ZEF by August 31, 2017.

Entwicklungsforscher Prof. Dr. Joachim von Braun ist Präsident der Päpstlichen Akademie. Rektorat begeht Ernennung mit einem Empfang

BiomassNet aims at supporting African countries in achieving food security and developing sustainable bioeconomies through the exchange of knowledge and expertise between experts from science, policy and practice. BiomassNet invites experts from all disciplines and from all sectors who address food and non-food biomass issues in Africa.