PD Dr Youkhana is hosted by the Maria Sibylla Merian Center for Advanced Latin American Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences (CALAS)

edited by Veerabhadran Ramanathan and Joachim von Braun

ZEF researchers blog about research trip to Japan

ZEF-colleagues and ZEF-UTokyo-partner IPADS attend meetings and discuss with high-level NRW-delegation.

Four regional transdisciplinary research projects and the accompanying project INTERFACES met for their first Status Seminar in Bonn on April 26-28, 2023.

Volkswagen Foundation funds four-year project on “Local Dynamics and Integration of UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Outstanding Universal Value: Evidence from Cultural Landscapes in Ethiopia and Kenya”.

Three ZEF researchers were among the 30 international experts discussing issues of food security and humanitarian crises.

BMBF supports research for resource-efficient cultivation at the Klein-Altendorf campus of the University of Bonn.

This research aims to understand the complex human-environmental interactions in the designated UNESCO Three Alazani Rivers Biosphere Reserve in Georgia, Caucasus. The project is part of the Right Livelihood College (RLC) Campus Bonn at ZEF and is working in Georgia together with the Succow Foundation of Michael Succow, who received the Right Livelihood Award in 1997. The project is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Interview with David Amudavi, a Kenyan extension educationist and socio-economist. Amudavi also is the executive director of Biovision Africa Trust. He has been cooperating with ZEF and its Right Livelihood Campus Bonn (RLC) since 2015. He has an academic and professional background in agricultural education and extension and works on promoting sustainable agriculture and food systems in Africa.

Pakistan depends on irrigation-based agriculture. This doctoral research looked into options for making irrigation systems more efficient in the face of 'old' challenges such as water scarcity and 'newer' ones such as the impact of climate change.

In a recent peer-reviewed journal publication, a multidisciplinary group of ZEF researchers critically explored the role of academia in co-producing knowledge on the complexities of environmental conflicts.

Ensuring food security in rapidly expanding cities is a major challenge for local governments. Urbanization has created fragmented areas and slums, altered the structure of urban food markets, increased rural-urban competition for natural resources, and affected agricultural supply chains.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put health systems around the world under massive stress. At the onset of the pandemic, many governments put various containment measures in place, restricting the free movements of people both within and between countries added by closing non-essential businesses and schools. These policies have also had an impact on global food systems by limiting international food supply, disrupting local supply chains, leading to economic slowdowns and reduced accessibility of food.

Speakers and participants of the One Health Day symposium held at ZEF on November 3, 2022 critically reflected on the directions and perspectives for One Health.

ZEF started a new four-year project in October 2022: “INTERFACES – Supporting Pathways to Sustainable Land Management in Africa”, which is both a research project in West Africa and a support project for four BMBF-funded regional projects on sustainable land management in sub-Saharan Africa. It is ZEF’s first project where gender is mainstreamed across all activities.

Globally, we produce around 350 million tons of meat each year - consuming 43 kg per person per year, on average. This is far too much and not sustainable according to a recent study by ZEF researchers.

Montreal, Canada’s second-most populous city, welcomed parties and stakeholders from all over the world on December 7-19, 2022 for a series of international and UN-related meetings on Biodiversity.

including topics such as Innovation investments to improve and resilience of agricultural food system, Employment and income opportunities in rural areas. especially for youth and women and much more!