International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE)

New Project INTERFACES launched – Supporting Pathways to Sustainable Land Management in Africa

INTERFACES Kick-Off Meeting

Thursday 1 June 2023

INTERFACES is an accompanying project, which supports the science transfer of four regional research projects on sustainable land use in West and East Africa. Part of the project is to incorporate research results into university teaching at African institutions and to conduct implementation research on sustainable land use in sub-Saharan Africa.

Land management and the securing, use, control and governance of land-related natural resources is one of the key drivers for sustainable development in Africa. Sustainable land management should contribute to food security, adaptation of agriculture and forestry to climate change, nature and environmental protection, and be organized in a way that contributes to social justice. Since October 2022, the German Research Ministry (BMBF) is supporting one accompanying project and four regional research and development (R&D) projects that will contribute to this aim.

On the 26th of April the projects were launched with a first Status Seminar for the BMBF funded projects on Sustainable Land Management in Sub-Saharan Africa: Improving livelihoods through local research. The Kick-Off Meeting took place as a hybrid event at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and online.

Mr. Kharika speaking at Kick-Off Meeting of the project INTERFACES
Mr. Kharika (UNCCD) speaking at the INTERFACES event. ©IDOS

From the german Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Dr. Karsten Hess, Head of Division, Global Change and Climate Research attended. Prof. Dr. Anna Katharina Hornidge, Director of IDOS, spoke the opening words. Followed by the keynote speech by Mr. Johns Muleso Kharika, Chief Science, Technology and Innovation, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). He emphasized that research should follow policies to become effective.

Further presentations introduced the newly funded regional projects and gave insights in the services and research objectives of the accompanying project, INTERFACES.

The Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS) is project partner, next to Center for Development Research (ZEF) of University of Bonn, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change & Adapted Land Use (WASCAL).

From H-BRS Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Terlau, project manager at the INTERFACES research project, Silvia Berenice Fischer, Research assistant, and Dr. Eefje Aarnoudse, Research assistant, were attending.
Dr. Eefje Aarnoudse says about the project start:

„In total we are five projects who are supposed to work together on the science, policy, practice interface. The status seminar provided the much-needed platform to discover synergies and entry-points for collaboration.”

Dr. Eefje Aarnoudse - Research assistant at the INTERFACES research project

Eefje Aarnoudse Personenporträt Mitarbeiterin IZNE

Images of the event: ©IDOS

Contacts

Personenporträt Prof. Dr. Wiltrud Terlau

Wiltrud Terlau

Professor of Economics, Resilient and Sustainable Development, Director of the International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE), Department of Economics

Research fields

Location

Rheinbach

Room

B 111

Address

von-Liebig-Straße 20

53359, Rheinbach

Location

Sankt Augustin

Room

Raum G 039

Address

Grantham-Allee 20,

53757, Sankt Augustin

Berenice Fischer Personenporträt Mitarbeiterin IZNE

Silvia Berenice Fischer

Research associate 'Responsible Economy and Natural Resources', Ph.D. student

Location

Sankt Augustin

Room

G 033

Address

Grantham-Allee 20

53757, Sankt Augustin

Telephone

+49 2241 865 9813
Eefje Aarnoudse Personenporträt Mitarbeiterin IZNE

Eefje Aarnoudse

Research associate 'Responsible Economy and Natural Resources'

Research fields

Location

Sankt Augustin

Room

G 033

Address

Grantham-Alle 20

53757, Sankt Augustin

Contact Point

Contact International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE)