Ecosystems and biodiversity

15 December 2025

Henri Rueff

“We need stronger international cooperation, not less”

The 7th edition of UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook report, GEO-7, is the most comprehensive scientific assessment of the global environment to date. Following its launch, we asked CDE scientist Henri Rueff, who served as a coordinating lead author of the report, what is new in GEO-7 and whether it points to ways out of the current crises.

12 August 2025

Thomas Hammer

Nature parks in France: Laboratories for new ways of living?

France’s regional nature parks are “innovation laboratories” for sustainable development, according to Thomas Hammer, CDE. In this interview, he shows how these parks have evolved from nature protectors to influential agents of change – and how do they differ from Swiss parks.

10 January 2025

Albrecht Ehrensperger

Research leads to national strategy on invasive plants

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 project conducted by an international team of scientists. They have now published a book on their findings. We spoke to CDE’s Albrecht Ehrensperger, one of the main authors.

22 August 2024

Biodiversity: “We shouldn’t just accept continuous decline”

How can farmers be motivated to promote greater biodiversity? Mara Häusler investigated whether Swiss farmers are likely to create bigger, higher-quality, or more varied areas to support biodiversity when they are better informed about how biodiversity is evolving on their own farmland.

7 August 2024

Roger Bär

“Not all moors are the same”

In September 2024, Switzerland will vote on an initiative that aims to better protect biodiversity. In the run-up to the vote, supporters and opponents are using different figures to argue their case. But how do you actually measure the state of biodiversity? We put this question to Roger Bär, a scientist at CDE and the Swiss Biodiversity Forum.

18 June 2024

Mining site, Moramanga

Ecological compensation: more side effects than expected

On closer inspection, it turns out that the largest mine in Madagascar is having a far greater impact on the forest than previously reported – despite the company’s efforts to provide ecological compensation. This emerges from an analysis of deforestation and forest degradation by a CDE research team.

23 May 2024

Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

“Small forests in West Africa are unique in their composition”

Changes in land use are putting tropical forests under pressure. At the same time, the potential of small forest patches to support biodiversity and climate protection is often underestimated. The importance of such forests is highlighted by an ERC research project led by Chinwe Ifejika Speranza.

26 March 2024

Sarah-Lan Mathez-Stiefel

“Indigenous knowledge can help design new paths to better futures”

Indigenous peoples manage and care for over one quarter of Earth’s land surface. Yet their perspectives remain insufficiently accounted for in debates on conservation of biodiversity and cultural landscapes. Affording this knowledge equal space is the goal of an international Congress in May.

1 December 2022

“Indigenous knowledge can’t be kept in a museum”

Much is at stake at next week’s UN Biodiversity Conference COP15. CDE scientist Sarah-Lan Mathez-Stiefel, who has conducted research on biocultural diversity in the Andes, says: “If we want to conserve biodiversity, we need to understand its connections with local knowledge, values, and worldviews – and to tackle all of these dimensions together.”

27 October 2022

“Mountains are taking the heat”

The 27th edition of the UN Climate Change Conference will take place from November 7-18, 2022. Carolina Adler, Executive Director of the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), CDE scientist, and one of the lead authors of the latest IPCC report points out the importance of the conference for mountain regions and says: “I hope that the momentum isn’t lost!”

18 March 2022

“Biodiversity, perhaps even more so than climate, touches all of our lives”

The state of the climate and that of biodiversity are closely linked. “They are also linked to crucial issues such as justice, values, and the well-being of all,” says Unai Pascual, IPBES member and Associated Scientist at CDE.

9 March 2022

“The highly local nature of biodiversity is an asset”

More than a third of Switzerland’s species are endangered. The Confederation, cantons, and municipalities have stepped in with various instruments to halt species loss – so far, with limited success. CDE scientist Astrid Zabel explains why biodiversity goals often fail to materialize, and which instruments can promote species conservation.

1 March 2022

“Achieving species conservation goals requires indigenous knowledge”

Rich countries must ask themselves what they have contributed to biodiversity loss. So says Boniface Kiteme, head of CETRAD, partner organization of CDE. Ahead of the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference, he asks: “What role should poor societies play in achieving global biodiversity goals?

24 February 2022

“The real question is: What do we have to protect biodiversity from?”

In 2022 a new global framework for biodiversity will be decided. One demand ranks very high on the agenda for negotiation: the “30 by 30” initiative. Is this approach properly targeted? An interview with Julie Zähringer, Professor for Land Systems & Sustainability Transformations.

11 December 2020

“Crops from mountain regions are crucial to our food systems”

Theresa Tribaldos, CDE researcher and member of the UNESCO Chair team, discusses the significance of International Mountain Day and why lessons from the Netherlands could be valuable for mountain regions.

19 November 2019

“We have to approach biodiversity conservation holistically”

To save our planet's biodiversity and ecosystems, a key initiative seeks to place half the earth under protection. Researchers from CDE and the University of Cambridge have taken a first-ever empirical look at who might be affected.

6 May 2019

“We must combine conservation of nature with benefits to society”

On 6 May 2019, IPBES presented its report on the state of biodiversity and ecosystem services worldwide. An interview with Andreas Heinimann from CDE about biodiversity and ecosystem loss.

25 April 2019

The fight against invasive alien species in Eastern Africa has only just begun

CDE researchers are working with scientists from local and international institutions to investigate the spread of Prosopis juliflora and other invasive alien species in Eastern Africa, their impacts on local livelihoods, and how they might be managed.

11 December 2018

“Mountain communities must be able to pursue their well-being”

#MountainsMatter is the theme for this year’s International Mountain Day. CDE researcher Susanne Wymann von Dach explains – and highlights opportunities for mountain regions.