News
Syllabi of current/future modules
GEO361: Vertiefung Humangeographie A: Sustainable Mountain Development GEO361_HS24_Syllabus
GEO425: Political Ecology: From critique to transformation GEO425_FS25_Syllabus_draft
News list
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Literary podcast: which role could novels play in sustainability transformations and transitions?
If you share my passion for books and the dialogue they engage with our lives and our society – and you speak French (or want to improve it!) – this is a podcast channel for you! I want to explore how books mirror our lives, cultures, and societal crises — and how they inspire alternative ways of thinking, paving the way for innovative change.
by Zélie Stauffer -
Understanding human-nature relationships through the lens of birdwatching
Think of a natural entity that you love… A tree, a lake, an animal, your pet, a sunset or even a whole forest. And now ask yourself: “What is it that connects me to this natural entity? Its beauty? The memory I have of it?” Two PhD projects are investigating what makes up our relationship with nature.
by Zélie Stauffer
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Switzerland meets Georgia: Student insights on sustainable mountain futures
Mountain regions face challenges like depopulation, climate change, tourism pressures, and biodiversity loss. In the hybrid course «Sustainable Mountain Development», students from Tbilisi State University and the Department of Geography explored these issues, comparing the Caucasus and the Alps. Their insights are now featured in blog posts tackling key socio-political questions and solutions.
by Annina Michel
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The End of Sheikh Hasina’s Era: Is women leadership in Bangladesh at risk?
Besides experiencing the longest-serving female prime ministers, Bangladesh is doing better in the gender equality index. However, only appointing women in different positions does not necessarily bring a gender transformative change. Women frequently operate within patriarchal and neoliberal logic, inadvertently reinforcing patriarchal and capitalist practices rather than challenging them.
by Jinat Hossain
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Community-led Open Scholarship: Two examples from GIUZ
Engaging with various stakeholders to find creative solutions through collaborative pathways, that’s the basis of our research and teaching in the Space, Nature and Society group (SNS). We are convinced that working towards transformative change requires collaboration across academic disciplines (interdisciplinarity) and with stakeholders from outside academia (transdisciplinarity).
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Collaborative Teaching between Tbilisi and Zurich in Geogian TV
Gvantsa Salukvadze was invited by the Women's Narrative Tv program at Business Media Georgia (BMG), which is dedicated to featuring women leaders and their accomplishments. During this opportunity, she was able to shine a spotlight on the joint study course "Sustainable Mountain Development," initiated jointly by Tbilisi State University (TSU) and the University of Zurich (UZH).
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Wo ist für dich die Natur 'intakt'?
Welche Art von alltäglichen Beziehungen zur Natur haben lokale Akteur*innen in regionalen Schweizer Naturpärken? Welche Werte verbinden sie damit? Ein Modul des Projekts ValPar.CH – Werte der Ökologischen Infrastruktur in Schweizer Pärken erforscht diese Fragen mittels partizipativen Kartierens in Workshops vor Ort. Damit lassen sich die vielfältigen gesellschaftlichen Werte von Natur und Landschaft erfassen und für Landnutzungsentscheide sichtbarer machen.
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Kinder zum Entdecken, Nachdenken und Staunen über Landschaften motivieren
Das Bilderbuch «Ich entdecke Landschaften» sensibilisiert für das Allgemeingut «Landschaft». Erarbeitet wurde es von einer Projektgruppe bestehend aus Fachpersonen der Pädagogischen Hochschulen Zürich und Waadt, der Universitäten Zürich und Lausanne und von éducation21.
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Die Schweiz schützt die Artenvielfalt nicht genug
Warum die Gründung von Schutzgebieten häufig schwierig ist, erklärt Annina Michel im Gespräch mit der NZZ. Sie hat vor einigen Jahren das Projekt zu Errichtung des «Parc Adula» mit Beobachtungen, Interviews und Umfragen begleitet.
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Leistungen von Landschaften fassbar machen
Unterschiedliche Landschaftswahrnehmungen erschweren oft den konstruktiven Dialog über die künftige Entwicklung unseres Lebensraums. Das Konzept der Landschaftsleistungen bietet hier Unterstützung.
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Landscape services and basic landscape knowledge
A new website explains the understanding of „landscape services“ and lists recommendations and good practice examples – an outcome of a research project by the Space, Nature & Society unit with the University of Lausanne.
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Landschaftsleistungen erlebbar machen
Ein Dokumentationsfilm zeigt am Beispiel eines Landschaftsschutzgebiets an der Kantonsgrenze Thurgau - St. Gallen auf, wie ein Forschungsprojekt des GIUZ einen partizipativen Prozess in Gang gesetzt hat.
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How can local populations be won over to protected areas?
A new SCNAT fact sheet - co-authored by Annina Michel from the Department of Geography - summarises the existing scientific findings on the acceptance of parks and protected areas, provides recommendations for practice and identifies research needs.
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Warum Parc Adula gescheitert ist
Die Planung eines Naturschutzgebietes verlangt subtile Kommunikation. Welche im Fall des Projektes Parc Adula nicht gelang, wie eine ethnografische Analyse zeigt.
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Universität studiert die Katzenseen
Forschende der Universitäten Zürich und Lausanne haben untersucht, welche Bedeutung Landschaften für das Wohlbefinden haben. Unter den fünf Studienobjekten sind auch die Katzenseen, Naherholungsgebiet am Stadtrand von Zürich.
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How landscapes contribute to our well-being
The impact of landscapes on human well-being is manifold: We appreciate the beauty, we feel we belong there, we can relax and promote our health. In five landscapes of national importance in Switzerland, researchers from the universities of Zurich and Lausanne assessed how landscape services are perceived.