Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung

Water is at the center of the struggle for life. Modern civilization's dep endence on capitalist formations has led to the destruction of ecosystems and water-bodies as sacred entities. Rivers and ...

environmental justice water governance water resources development water resources hydrology and oceanography

ZEF senior researcher Asrat Gella takes you on a visual journey to the people of Konso, living in the mountainous highlands of southwestern Ethiopia. The cultural landscape of Konso has been a UNES...

cultural heritage zande language ethiopic language karamoja cultural exchanges

We interviewed Marthe Wandou, the founder of Action Locale pour un Développement Participatif et Autogéré (ALDEPA) and Right Livelihood Awardee, for a discussion on the front lines of social justi...

women in development algeria question people centred development meal development assistance

Topic: Against the current: how water access affects women and men differently—and how to change it Date: 24.03.26 - 05:00 PM - 06:30 PM Abstract: In line with the UN’s 2026 World Water Day cam...

water governance violence against women women and girls water management access to water

ZEF Public Lecture: Speaker: Dr. Summar Iqbal Babar Title: The Kartarpur Corridor: A Translocal and Subnational Diplomacy Initiative for Peace Between India and Pakistan Abstract: This researc...

international relations south asia india pakistan question education for peace zones of peace

Title: Reframing Soil Knowledge: From Extraction to Coexistence for a Sustainable Future. Abstract: Soils have always shaped our (agri)cultural practices and landscaped human life, yet we rarely ...

soil science environmental chemistry soil sciences soil research soil conservation

Abstract: This lecture explores the trajectory of state formation and governance in post-Assad Syria, framing it as an emerging neo-patrimonial theocracy characterized by exclusionary politics and ...

transitional justice syrian refugees lebanon situation arab studies institution building

This video features Subash Surendran Padmaja, whose PhD research was selected for the Spotlight on Young Researchers Competition at the XVIII Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Ec...

agricultural economics development research agricultural research agricultural sciences agricultural ecology

Silvio Funtowicz on Science, Uncertainty, and Governance in Turbulent Times On the Speaker The talk featured Prof. Silvio Funtowicz, a philosopher and historian of science best known for co-develo...

philosophy of science scientific exchanges scientific societies policy sciences social science policy

Dr. Abebe Lemessa Saka is an Assistant Professor of Social Anthropology at Haramaya University, College of Social Sciences and Humanities. He received his Ph.D. from Addis Ababa University in Socia...

sustainable development land use data collection social sciences social change

Dr. Yimer Mohammed is an Associate Professor at Dilla University, specializing in climate change and bioenenergy, with an academic background in law and development studies. He ist part of the ZEF ...

sustainable development land use data collection social change climate change

Dr. Abiyot Legesse Kura is a senior lecturer and researcher at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Dilla University, Ethiopia. He is part of the ZEF project "Local Dynamics and...

sustainable development land use data collection social change landscape ecology

Dr. Muthio Nzau is a Senior Researcher at ZEF Political and Cultural Change (CPC) Working Group. She is based in Kenya. Her research is investigating the social-ecological evolution of sacred lands...

Dr. Eric M. Kioko is the Principal Investigator in Kenya with the project "Local Dynamics and Integration of UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Outstanding Universal Value: Evidence from Cultural Lands...

This video is part of the Expert Talk Series by the Complex Systems Group (CSG) at the Center for Development Research (ZEF). In this Talk, we are honored to host Prof. Ruth DeFries, Professor of ...

Speaker: Prof. John P. Neelsen, Department of Sociology, Tübingen University Abstract: In particular the highly populated countries of the global South benefited from the policies of neoliberal gl...

Title: Governing Transnational Commons: How International Treaties and Multi-Stakeholder Organizations Shape Cooperation and Conflict Speakers: Prof. Dr. David Antons & Dr. Christina Dienhart Abs

Speaker: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Dominic Lemken, Tenure-Track Professor at the Institute of Food and Resource Economics, Bonn University. Abstract: This presentation examines the translation of findings fr...

Speaker: Dennis Aviles-Irahola (ZEF Senior Researcher) Topic: Participatory Communal Indicators of Well-Being and Wetland Rights: the Case of the Aguaizal Community in the Bolivian Amazon Abstract...

Topic: Is there a growth imperative inherent in our financial system? Speaker: Felix Fuders, Right Livelihood College Guest Researcher Abstract: Whether or not there is a growth imperative inhe...