The online magazine of the University of Bern

Uni Bern Magazin: Thema Sustainability

Climate, Biodiversity, Land use

Sustainability

The UN's Sustainable Development Goals specify which societal challenges are to be solved by 2030. With research on climate change, adaptation to extreme events such as floods, biodiversity and sustainable land use, the University of Bern supports the search for concrete solutions in both the global North and the South.

Current

A question for Astrid Zabel

Are we running out of chocolate?

Environmental economist Astrid Zabel explains the impact of the European Deforestation Regulation on the cultivation and consumption of goods.

Fair trade

What will the EU deforestation regulation change?

In future, the EU will ban imports of certain raw materials and products from deforested areas. This will affect small businesses in the Global South and Swiss companies. Elisabeth Bürgi Bonanomi and Astrid Zabel from the Center for Development and Environment provide an assessment.

CDE Spotlight

Wyss Academy for Nature

Solutions for people and nature in Kenya

The Wyss Academy for Nature works on four continents with local communities, politics, business and science to improve the precarious relationship between humans and nature. Three examples from Kenya show how such “living labs” work.

Research collaboration

Protecting land and water in Ethiopia

Drought and heavy rainfall are threatening livelihoods in the Ethiopian highlands. Since 1981, researchers from Bern and Ethiopia have been working with the local population to develop solutions. The approach is now being extended to other regions as part of a “Cluster for Research Excellence”.

In focus

Africa – a continent on the road to self-determination?

Between the colonial past and the economic engine of the future: Africa is somewhere in between. An assessment by Chinwe Ifejika Speranza from the Institute of Geography and Thomas Breu from the Centre for Development and Environment.

People

Thomas Stocker is given emeritus status

“Climate research in Bern is a brand”

Thomas Stocker is one of the figureheads of the University of Bern and a climate researcher of international renown. Among other things, he had a leading position on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Now, he is being given emeritus status. In this interview, he takes a look back at his career, tells us about an offer he once received from Cambridge and talks about orchids and racing bikes.

Promoting innovation

Higher crop yields thanks to data science

Climate change and a growing world population are putting increasing pressure on grain production. With his work, Fabian Guignard aims to help make wheat cultivation more efficient by recommending personalised varieties.

Climate

Tufted grass, bush crickets and climate change

Based in Bern, Suz Everingham coordinates a global research network called the Bug-Network. This is the unusual story of a young biologist who has moved from the ocean in Australia to the River Aare.

Biochemie

Adapting to the rise in temperature of our planet

Biochemist Rodrigo Siqueira Reis studies how RNA structures function in the adaptation of plants to higher temperatures. The aim is to gain a better basic understanding of how plants adapt to the circumstances of climate change.

The marine scientist and climate change

Charlotte Laufkötter is researching what is known as the biological pump, a mechanism that transports large amounts of carbon from the ocean surface into the deep sea driven by tiny plankton organisms. Her research project BioCycle aims to contribute to a better understanding of the world’s oceans and climate change.

Political science

Moving slowly towards an environmental law

What is politics doing to make the environment a better place? Political scientist Karin Ingold is examining which processes and mechanisms lead to a new law. She freely admits that it is often non-political influences that bring about changes in behavior or stricter legislation.
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