Oil palm extension remains an important environmental topic given the large negative impacts it can have on tropical biodiversity. John Garcia-Ulloa had developed models and scenarios to understand biodiversity change in oil-palm landscapes under REDD+ initiatives during his science-policy fellowship from PSC and Mercator Foundation Switzerland. In 2014 a close collaboration between ETH Zurich and IUCN was established to convene stakeholders from the oil palm sector and develop a strategy for IUCN to address the impacts of oil palm expansion on biodiversity. The main activity within the fellow’s internship at the policy Partner was to convene a group of experts to develop guidelines for the protection of biodiversity on oil-palm landscapes for IUCN.
Pavageau et al in close cooperation between ETH Zurich and the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), India searched the links between pollination service, coffee production and land use in coffee plantations in India.
Land-use allocation has multiple and complex economic and environmental implications. Thus designing optimal land-use is a key challenge for decision-makers and policies aiming at promoting sustainable development for a given region. The results of this study contributed to inform land-use and agricultural policies on the consequences of different collective decision-making scenarios on coffee productivity, economic gain and biodiversity conservation, by using landscape-scale ecosystem services models. This is important for better planning of land-use policy.
Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot and its forests harbor a vast diversity of precious woods. For decades, ever increasing demand for timber on the international market and its high commercial value have led to massive illegal exploitation of rosewood, palisander and ebony species in Madagascar. Controlling the international trade of illegally logged timber is challenging. One reason is that logs and sawn wood are difficult to assign to species or geographic origin (provenance).
“We need a societal discourse in which the political and ethical dimensions of the research in question are explored. What sort of agricultural system do we want? How are the new technologies to be used?” emphazised Prof. Matthias Mahlmann, lawyer and member of the Swiss Ethics Commission for Non-Human Biotechnology, at a recent panel discussion on genome editing at the www.tnam2019.ethz.ch.
The participants of the TNAM 2019 conference take a tri-national view on the main issues and potential consequences of the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on organisms obtained by mutagenesis. The PSC has summarized the discussions at: https://www.plantsciences.uzh.ch/en/outreach/roundtable.html
Noch acht Tage können Fragen und Anliegen an unsere Forschenden formuliert werden! Das neue partizipative Forschungsformat gibt Forschenden des PSC und Partnern aus der Öffentlichkeit und Praxis die Möglichkeit, für Fragestellungen und Herausforderungen einer nachhaltigen, ökologischen und ressourcenschonenden Landwirtschaft eines alternativen und regional-orientierten Ernährungssystems Forschungswissen zu generieren und dieses gemeinschaftlich für die Praxis zu übersetzen.
Genome editing is not the only answer to current challenges of agriculture and society, but it represents an important tool for harnessing plant science knowledge toward a future-ready agriculture, for allowing Europe to play a leading role in innovative plant science, and to contribute to the bioeconomy by boosting the performance of underutilised plant species and biological resources. In the drive to achieve sustainable development goals, no useful tool should be neglected. EPSO supports a science-based change to the present European legislation and proposes to establish a legislation adapted to future technological developments by increasing emphasis on product-based risk assessment. Meanwhile, further tangible commitment is needed to support, inform and communicate about innovative plant science and its societal role.
Nachhaltigkeitsinitiativen, Landwirte und pflanzenwissenschaftliche Forschung engagieren sich gemeinsam für ökologische Landwirtschaft und alternative Ernährungssysteme.
Bewerbungsschluss für die Formulierung der Anliegen am 20. April 2019 und Teilnahme an der gemeinsamen Ideenwerkstatt am 10. Mai 2019, 13:00 – 17:00.
Worumgeht’s?
Wir laden Sie
ein, Ihre Fragen und
Anliegen an die
Forschenden des Zurich-Basel
Plant Science Center (Universitäten Zürich und
Basel, ETH Zürich) in den Themenbereichen ökologische Landwirtschaft und alternative Ernährungssysteme zu formulieren.
Wir möchten mit Ihnen zusammen eine evidenzbasierte, naturwissenschaftliche Lösung oder Ergebnisse zu Ihrer Fragestellung erarbeiten. Zusammen definieren wir die wissenschaftliche Fragestellung und den Forschungsprozess und stossen gemeinsam Transformationsprozesse an – damit wir etwas bewirken für Nachhaltigkeit und Ihre Initiative.
A case study report can be downloaded: Are alternative food networks a way to support the implementation of SDG 12? . Written by Misato Today (ETH) and Nadine Engbersen (ETH), PhD Program in Plant Sciences, ETH Zurich.
Are alternative food networks (AFNs) a way to support the implementation of SDG 12? In their case study Misato Toda and Nadine Engebersen compared Swiss and Japanese AFNs. These enable consumers to purchase locally-grown and organic food directly from farmers. They offer possibilities for consumers to learn about seasonal products. The closer relationship between farmers and consumers can create a relationship built on trust, which is contradictory to the relationship many consumers have with large food retailers. However, they need political support.
The seminar “Sustainable Plant Systems” (VVZ: 551-0209-00L)
is organized by the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center for MSc and PhD
students of ETH Zurich, University of Zurich and University of Basel
every autumn term.
A case study report can be downloaded: Food security and sustainability in the city of Zurich. Written by Xeniya Kofler (UZH) and Eleni Tevridou (UNIGE), PhD Program in Plant Sciences, ETH Zurich.
In the past few decades, the issue of sustainable and responsible living has been on top of the list of topics discussed at world leaders’ meetings such as the United Nations Summit. Since the development of sustainable development goals (SDGs), many European countries have embraced and implemented many steps on the way of achieving these goals. In this case study we decided to investigate the extent to which the city of Zurich, Switzerland succeeds in the policy development and implementation of SDG’s 2 and 12 both dealing with food sustainability.
PSC-Mercator fellow Sergei Schaub and his supervisor Prof. Robert Finger wrote about the question “Ist Diversität im Grasland ökonomisch wertvoll?” in the Agrarpolitik Blog. A topic which Sergei addresses in is PhD project DIVERSEGRASS, which is funded by the Mercator Foundation Switzerland. Read more …
