April 22nd, 2010
Topics and speakers:
Genetic erosion and degradation of ecosystem services of wetland rice fields: a case study from Western Ghats, India (availaible as a video: part 1, part 2, part 3)
Dr. Anil Kumar, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai
BioDIVA – Transformation knowledge for gender-equitable and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity
Dr. habil. Martina Padmanabhan, Leibniz Universität Hannover
Integration in sustainaibility research
Dr. Matthias Bergmann, Institute for Social-Ecological Research, Frankfurt Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Institute for Advances Study, Berlin
Gender and agrobiodiversity
Prof. em Janet Momsen, Univeristy of California, Davis
The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity
Dr. Heidi Wittmer, Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Leipzig
People and pixels – old gaps or new bridges? Linking empirical studies to a land use model
PD Dr. Sylvia Hermann/Dr. Karin Berkhoff, Leibniz Universität Hannover
Panel discussion: Transdisciplinarity – A paradigm shift in academia?
Chair: Dr. Anja Christinck, seed4change consulting
April 24th - May 15th, 2010
From April 24th to May 15th, the BioDIVA Germany team was in India on an explorative field trip. The objective of the journey was to get an overall idea of the research area on the one hand and to establish a firm working relationship with our Indian partners from the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation on the other. In addition, we travelled to various tribal villages to introduce ourselves to some female and male farmers who are engaged in traditional rice cultivation.
August 30th - November 17th, 2010
The ethnobotanical training by Dr. Gary Martin and Erin Smith, Global Diversity Foundation, offered a fruitful opportunity for the BioDIVA team to gain insights into methods and techniques used in ethnobotany research. We not only learned about the interactive, experimental and transformative aspects of learning processes but also about conducting cultural domain analysis, freelisting, clustering and pile sorting. Ethical issues of ‘doing’ ethnobotanical research were also discussed in-depth.
Intercultural encounters have been the focus of the intercultural training. This experience was a valuable opportunity to reflect critically upon cultural values and the ways in which these can be interpreted differently according to cultural contexts.
The SÖF-Network Meeting took place in Berlin at the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften in September 2010. This event was our first encounter with the other 11 research groups which are embedded in the social-ecological framework (SÖF/ FONA) funded by the Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
In September, the team travelled to Witzenhausen and visited the German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (DITSL) in order to attend a seminar by PD Dr. Brigitte Kaufmann. Her current focus is on transdisciplinary research and dialogue between knowledge systems. This research area fits well with the BioDIVA project, especially with regard to the development of transformation knowledge towards a gender-equitable and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity .
Preview: Handbook Cultivate Diversity!
The Rice Seed System in Wayanad.
Briefing Note 8, 2014
Feedback Loops - Multi-level stakeholder workshops in transdisciplinary research.
Briefing Note 7, 2014
Food for thought: Facing land use change in Wayanad.
Briefing Note 6, 2014 (Malayalam version)
"Cultivating Diversity": Results from the national level dialogue workshop. Briefing Note 5, 2014
Cultivate Diversity! A Handbook on Transdisciplinary Approaches to Agrobiodiversity Research. September 2013
Multi-stakeholder dialogue on land use: Transdisciplinary approaches to address landscape transformation in Kerala.
Briefing Note 4, 2013
Marketing Gandhakasala: Local varieties for livelihood options.
Briefing Note 3, 2013
Resilience in transformation: „A study into the capacity for resilience in indigenous communities in Wayanad“.
Briefing Note 2, 2013
Visions for Wayanad: „The land of paddy fields“.
Briefing Note 1, 2013
