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Centre for Development and Environment (Switzerland)

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Centre for Development and Environment
Established2009
DirectorThomas Breu and Sabin Bieri
Location
Bern, Switzerland
Websitehttps://www.cde.unibe.ch

The Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) is an interdisciplinary research centre specializing in sustainability science and land systems at the University of Bern, Switzerland. It conducts research in many countries worldwide, with a particular focus on the Eastern Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, Europe, and Switzerland. In terms of teaching, CDE offers courses in the field of sustainable development at the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral level.

History

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CDE was established in 2009 as a strategic research centre of the University of Bern,[1] under the direction of Peter Messerli and Thomas Breu. Its origins date back to the Group for Development and Environment, founded in 1988 at the Institute of Geography of the University of Bern. This research group was headed by two professors, Hans Hurni and Urs Wiesmann, and initially based on two international research programmes, the Soil Conservation Research Programme in Ethiopia[2] (1981–1998) and the Laikipia Research Programme in Kenya[3] (1984–1997). Other major international research programmes followed. These included Terre Tany[4] (1989–2000) in Madagascar, the Eastern and Southern Africa Partnership Programme[5] (1999–2015), and programmes in Central Asia,[6] the Mekong region,[7][8][9] and the Andes. From 2001 to 2013, CDE was the lead institution of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South,[10][11] a Swiss-based international research programme on global change and sustainable development.

In 2016, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed then CDE Director Peter Messerli to co-chair the independent group of scientists drafting the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2019 on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Peter Messerli oversaw completion of the milestone report together with co-chair Endah Murniningtyas, former Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Environment in Indonesia.[12][13]

Research

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CDE conducts research on sustainable development in the context of global change and related impacts on natural resources (soils, water, biodiversity), land systems, and the living conditions of different population groups. It employs researchers from the natural sciences, social sciences, human sciences, humanities, law, and economics. The four main areas of research of CDE’s interdisciplinary teams are:

  • Land resources: use of natural resources (water, soil, vegetation); importance of land (access, distribution, rights) and changes and adjustments in management (cultivation techniques, conservation, commodification) for sustainable development.
  • Socio-economic transitions: global change; measuring poverty and inequality; social and technological innovations in the fields of labour, production, and consumption.
  • Sustainability governance: interaction of global and local regulatory systems; GIS-based methods to identify different claims to water, land, or food; policy support.
  • Education for sustainable development: building competencies for transformations to sustainable development; supporting the University of Bern in implementing sustainability in teaching, research, and operations.

Teaching

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CDE offers a full master's in Sustainabiltiy Transformations[14] and minors in sustainable development at the bachelor’s[15] and master’s[16] level, with currently over 400 students enrolled in these programmes.

The International Graduate School (IGS) North-South was created in 2009[17] as part of the above-mentioned NCCR North-South programme. The IGS North-South is a doctoral programme based on an inter-university agreement between the Universities of Basel, Bern, Lausanne, and Zurich, as well as selected cooperation agreements with universities in countries of the global South and East. CDE coordinates the IGS North-South, which currently has around 100 doctoral students.

Organization

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Administratively, CDE is part of the Faculty of Science of the University of Bern. The university’s Executive Board issues a performance mandate to CDE.

Networks

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CDE maintains a broad national and international network with academic institutions such as ProClim,[18] the Swiss Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries KFPE,[19] td-net[20] the Swiss Academic Society for Environmental Research and Ecology (SAGUF),[21] and scnat; global scientific programmes;[22][23][24] civil society organizations; and the public sector. It hosts

References

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  1. ^ "Centers of Excellence". Portal. 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  2. ^ Grunder, Martin (1988). "Soil Conservation Research in Ethiopia". Mountain Research and Development. 8 (2/3): 145–151. doi:10.2307/3673441. ISSN 0276-4741. JSTOR 3673441.
  3. ^ "FORSbase (in German)". forsbase.unil.ch. Archived from the original on 2019-07-31. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  4. ^ "FORSbase (in German)". forsbase.unil.ch. Archived from the original on 2019-07-31. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  5. ^ Ott, Cordula (2017-02-27). "Enabling Transformative Research: Lessons from the Eastern and Southern Africa Partnership Programme (1999-2015)". Challenges in Sustainability. 5 (1): 15–23–23. doi:10.12924/cis2017.05010015. ISSN 2297-6477.
  6. ^ "CAMP Alatoo is a leading regional Central Asian". en.camp.kg. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  7. ^ Heinimann, Andreas; Breu, Thomas; Kohler, Thomas (1 May 2005). "Watershed Classification in the Lower Mekong Basin". Mountain Research and Development. 25 (2): 181–182. doi:10.1659/0276-4741(2005)025[0181:WCITLM]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0276-4741.
  8. ^ "The Agro-Biodiversity Initiative in the Lao PDR – TABI". Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  9. ^ "Lao DECIDE Info - ເລີ່ມ". www.decide.la. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  10. ^ "NCCR "North-South – Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change" (2001-2013) - SNF". www.snf.ch. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  11. ^ "NCCR North-South". www.north-south.ch. Archived from the original on 2018-01-31. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  12. ^ "Experts, Eminent Scientists to Draft Report on Sustainable Development Ahead of Global Review Set for 2019 | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  13. ^ "GSDR 2019 .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform". sustainabledevelopment.un.org. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  14. ^ "Master in Sustainability Transformations: Shaping the change for desirable futures". Centre for Development and Environment (CDE). 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  15. ^ "Bachelor Nachhaltige Entwicklung (Minor) (in German)". Philosophisch-naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät. 2019-09-24. Archived from the original on 2016-05-02. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  16. ^ "Master's in Sustainable Development (minor)". Faculty of Science. 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  17. ^ "IGS North-South Mission". www.igs-north-south.ch. Archived from the original on 2016-09-02. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  18. ^ "ProClim". naturalsciences.ch. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  19. ^ "Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries". naturalsciences.ch. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  20. ^ "Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences | td-net news". www.transdisciplinarity.ch. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  21. ^ "Swiss Academic Society for Environmental Research and Ecology". naturalsciences.ch. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  22. ^ "Land Matrix - LAND MATRIX". landmatrix.org. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  23. ^ "Wocat". Wocat. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  24. ^ "Global Land Programme |". glp.earth. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
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