News archive

Indigenous people demonstrating for their rights in Bogotá

Biosphere defenders leveraging legal and governance tools (DEFEND-BIO)

27.06.2025
A new research project. More information

Cocoa farmer opens a cocoa pod

Cocoa pricing for a living income: mechanisms, regulatory levers, and limitations

24.06.2025
CDE’s new Working paper aims to enhance understanding of pricing schemes designed to support a living income for cocoa-farming communities. The paper lays the groundwork for creative efforts to harness synergies between private and public governance structures. More information

CDE's Annual Report 2024

CDE’s Annual Report 2024

19.06.2025
The news headlines are worrying. In our latest annual report, we strive instead to focus on positive developments. The report features many insights and promising results from our programme activities – contributions that are helping to solve complex challenges and provide grounds for optimism. More information

Anna-Katharina Hornidge and Sabin Bieri

“We mustn’t shy away from doing science that’s political”

01.05.2025
2024 swept autocrats into power and strengthened nationalist parties. What does this mean for the goals of sustainable development, and for sustainability science itself? And how do we get back out of this situation? We spoke to CDE Board Member Anna-Katharina Hornidge and Sabin Bieri. More information

World map in colours

On the path to transformation

15.04.2025
In autumn 2024, the new CDE Master’s programme in Sustainability Transformations officially kicked off. Now, we take a moment to look back on an intense period – as well as to briefly look ahead. Read the story about our Master’s programme, Episode 1. More information

Hugo Caviola

Do we really need to “step on the gas” for the transport transition?

09.04.2025
There’s hardly a form of mobility that causes higher economic costs than private motorized transport. Achieving change in this sector will also require a change in how we talk about transport. “Whether the transport transition succeeds will depend, among other things, on whether we can view roads as multifunctional spaces,” says Hugo Caviola in our interview. More information in German

Pigeon breeder in Cappadocia with pigeons

Colombiculture in Cappadocia: Awakening a fairy tale

03.04.2025
Visit our new online exhibition by Edit Elif Tibet. More information

Cities have a key role in promoting sustainable food

04.03.2025
How can cities promote more sustainable food systems? A conference on 4 March showcased the results of a CDE and BFH-HAFL research project, including a “White Paper on Urban Food Policy” by CDE researchers. Several cities have also launched the “Sustainable Food and Nutrition” charter. More information in German

Stephanie Moser by Marion Nitsch Lunax

“Sustainability initiatives are important forces for change”

18.02.2025
We often feel helpless and overwhelmed in the face of current world crises. Now a new book by CDE scientists shows how civil society sustainability initiatives can provide a counterbalance. They’re a “step towards a more resource-efficient life,” says Stephanie Moser, one of the book’s authors. More information

Master's in Sustainability Transformations

Master's in Sustainability Transformations

28.01.2025
Join a programme designed for future changemakers who are ready to tackle pressing global challenges like climate change, resource depletion, and social inequalities. The programme starts in the autumn semester of 2025. More information

Cows

Survey: Swiss dairy market system draws criticism from producers

15.01.2025
More and more Swiss farmers are giving up milk production. The main reason is that many farms are no longer able to produce profitably at current milk prices. A new, comprehensive study by CDE reveals how producers perceive the challenges and mechanisms of the Swiss dairy market – and what their main points of criticism are. More information in German or French

Albrecht Ehrensperger

Research leads to national strategy on invasive plants

13.01.2025
In East Africa, millions of hectares of land are under threat from Prosopis juliflora, an invasive alien tree species. Finding ways of stopping this invasion was the focus of a research and implementation project conducted by an international team of scientists, including researchers from CDE. More information