Land Systems and Sustainability Transformations

Land and its use play a central role in transformations toward sustainable development. Land use is a central element of any socio-ecological system, and it is influenced by global claims and decision-making processes. The Research & Innovation team on Land Systems and Sustainability Transformations headed by Prof. Dr. Julie Zähringer applies transdisciplinary approaches, integrating methods from social science and humanities all the way to natural science and quantitative spatial analysis. This enables them to investigate changes in land use, assess ecosystem services, and evaluate human well-being in and around land zoning for agricultural purposes, mining investments and conservation efforts. Their focus is to support the urgently needed shift toward sustainability by ensuring multifunctional landscapes that also promote social justice.

Main achievements in 2023  

1. Governance assessments in the Peruvian Amazon

To better understand what type of conservation works and then accordingly streamline the Wyss Academy’s interventions, the team, together with colleagues from the Hub South America, assessed the impact of different governance types in the Peruvian Amazon, especially on forest loss and its associated carbon emissions. The assessed governance regimes included protected areas, Indigenous lands, and non-timber product concessions. The research focused on the timeframe 2000 until 2021. Logging and mining concessions were also examined for comparison. Using counterfactual methods, the team simulated scenarios without these governance regimes to understand their true impact on forest loss and carbon emissions. While protected areas were found to be the most effective at avoiding forest loss, the study has also provided robust evidence of the long-term positive impacts of potential alternative conservation measures, such as Indigenous lands and non-timber product concessions on both forest loss and carbon emissions. This finding is key to achieving various targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

2. Data collection in northeastern Madagascar

During field work in northeastern Madagascar, the team applied a qualitative interview guide rooted in environmental anthropology to investigate local perceptions of soil values and cross-generational changes. This has resulted in rich insights into Betsimisaraka culture, and many details on local environmental dynamics have emerged. The interviews revealed the complexity of the social fabric and its connections with soil. Narratives unfolded that depict soil as a pivotal element in the intricate web of social life which profoundly shapes interpersonal connections and significantly influences the interviewees’ sense of identity and belonging.

3. Exploratory field trip to northern Laos

The team developed a collaboration and signed a Letter of Agreement with the Faculty of Environmental Science of the National University of Laos. This lays the foundation for the successful implementation of a new project for just conservation titled “BridgingVALUES”, which is funded by Biodiversa+. During their trip to Laos, the team also engaged with officials from government authorities responsible for agriculture and forestry at provincial and district levels, as well as with nongovernmental agencies and communities from seven villages surrounding the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park. This exploratory field visit provided invaluable insights into the local context and the changing dynamics of livelihoods and land systems.

4. Long-term PhD research conducted in Madagascar

What pathways could lead to a more just and equitable approach to forest conservation in northeastern Madagascar? This broad question guided almost a full year of research by one of the team’s PhD students. The time invested in the study region allowed for close collaboration with the Wyss Academy for Nature’s local team and led to an in-depth understanding of the local context. 80 semi-structured interviews were conducted, unveiling insights into the dynamics of knowledge, power, and decision-making within the case study projects. For example, it was found that while the investigated projects aimed to include local knowledge, the power to decide if and how this knowledge is applied still stayed with people steering the projects from outside the region of intervention. Shifting some of the decision-making to the local level might not only empower local staff, but also help decrease the distance between the people affected by the projects’ actions and those making the decisions.

5. Teaching at the University of Bern

In collaboration with the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), the team taught a master’s-level seminar in Geography at the University of Bern titled “Global Policies on Land”. Students conducted in-depth case studies on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), the Great Green Wall, the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products, and the Global Biodiversity Framework. During the IGS North-South Summer School, the team also helped PhD students from Switzerland and various African countries strengthen their capacities regarding “Common-Pool Resources in a Globalized World”.