The new brochure, Research Partnerships for Sustainable Development, provides an overview of the programme’s third phase, 2009-2013. Readers are encouraged to use the information to contact and possibly join the network.
Jungfrau-Aletsch: A Lesson in Sustainable Regional Development
Using the example of the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Swiss Alps, a German-language teacher’s kit has been created that illustrates the challenge of harmonising nature conservation interests and human development interests. Conceived as a Partnership Action and geared towards Swiss high school students, the corresponding lessons enable young people to grasp the universal value of this Alpine region, the various perspectives of the surrounding communities and the demands of protecting a delicate mountain ecosystem. Access the free kit (in German)
Interview with Hans Hurni on BBC World To mark World Food Day on 16 October 2009, BBC World is airing a number of television reports on the topic. The reports include interviews with Prof. Hans Hurni, director of the NCCR North-South and the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), and Markus Giger, senior research scientist at the CDE.
The reports aired on 16-19 and 24-26 October on BBC World can be viewed here. The full interview with Hans Hurni is available on YouTube. In the following clip, Prof. Hurni responds to the question: “Could we feed the world today, given the political will?”
For video clips of NCCR North-South regional coordinators, click here.
Out now: Five additions to the NCCR North-South Dialogue series Available free for download, Dialogues present reflections on research topics of concern to programme members throughout the world. Issues 23 to 27 have just been released, covering diverse topics ranging from the effect of coffee prices on rural farmers to ways of making research relevant to policy-makers. Visit archive and download
Land resource potential and climate change Written by Bettina Wolfgramm, a recent article in Soils Newsletter (pp. 11-12) describes the collaboration taking place in Tajikistan between the FAO/IAEA’s Joint Division, the Tajik Soil Institute, and the NCCR North-South: A research project looking for sustainable land management systems that optimise agricultural benefits, resilience to climate change, and carbon sequestration. Download newsletter (PDF / 4.7 MB) Floods in Pakistan: The Challenges Ahead Urs Geiser, of the Development Study Group in Zurich, and Abid Qaiyum Suleri, of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad, have prepared a joint brief analysing some of the major challenges facing Pakistan in the aftermath of the recent floods. Download brief (PDF / 389 KB) The researchers would also like to call attention to the following sites where donations for the relief and rehabilitation of flood survivors in Pakistan can be directed: sdpi.org and edhifoundation.com Opening Ceremony for CDE: a new interdisciplinary university centre The University of Bern has established a new interdisciplinary centre to strengthen its position in sustainable development and global change research. The Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) – founded in 1988 as a part of the Institute of Geography – is now a university centre in its own right. On 19 August 2010 high-ranking officials inaugurated the Centre, which has a new and extended mandate. Download flyer for opening ceremony (PDF / 708 KB) Download press release (PDF / 120 KB) New book: Disputing the Floodplains - Institutional Change and the Politics of Resource Management in African Wetlands Edited by former NCCR North-South senior researcher Tobias Haller, this new publication features several articles based on NCCR research and a Foreword by Elinor Ostrom. Articles explore how common-pool resources in 5 different countries have been managed in pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial times. The book also offers a comparative analysis based on the New Institutionalist approach (Jean Ensminger, Elinor Ostrom). Download flyer and order form (PDF / 802 KB) Download Foreword by Elinor Ostrom (PDF / 70 KB)
Cooperating for Success - Benefits of Research Partnerships with Developing Countries
This latest publication of the KFPE presents 12 successful projects (6 from the NCCR North-South). The 12 practical examples show the advantages of cross-border research – also for Switzerland. Moreover, they underscore the continually evolving challenges of such efforts.
The first regional edition of evidence for policy is out now. Written by Luis Salamanca of Bolivia, South America, it kicks off a series of regional policy briefs from all partnership regions of the NCCR North-South. This edition examines risk management and resiliency in the city of La Paz. Download Resilience to natural disasters: saving lives and properties (Spanish / PDF 1.52 MB)
For a paper copy, please contact:
Previous global and regional policy briefs may be downloaded here.
The NCCR North-South is hosted by the University of Bern
and funded jointly by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
