Institute of Geography

Research

Land Systems and Sustainable Land Management Group

Research Projects of the Group for Land Systems and Sustainable Land Management

Ongoing Projects

Photo Credits: Mokhammad Edliadi, CIFOR-ICRAF

SUSTAINFORESTS - Tropical forest patches under pressure: Dynamics, functions and sustainable management in agricultural landscapes of the West African forest and savannah zones 

Funding: ERC Consolidator Grant 2020
Team: Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Dr. Felicia Akinyemi, Dr. Vladimir Ruslan Wingate, Chima Iheaturu, Samuel Hepner, Georges Alex Agonvonon, Paule Pamela Tabi Eckebil, Frank Mintah

LucFRes - Land-use change and the resilience of food production systems

Finanzierung: H2020-EU. 1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Sklodowska -Curie Actions (Main Programme)
Mitarbeitende: Dr. Felicia Akinyemi, Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

Spectral Lab - Soil spectroscopy for assessing sustainable land management

Funding: Unit Land Systems and Sustainable Land Management, University of Bern
Personnel: Simon Oberholzer,  Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

Completed Projects

Virtual Food Sustainability Academy (VFSA) - Training, practising, and disseminating participatory food system assessments in Latin America and Africa

Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation
Team: Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

Agricultural land change and implications for food security in smallholder agriculture regions

Finanzierung: University of Bern, Switzerland. In the context of the Seal of Excellence Fund (SELF)
Mitarbeitende: Dr. Felicia Akinyemi, Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

Specialty coffee farms’ biodiversity in Bolivia

Finanzierung: Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation (SBFI), Schweiz
Mitarbeitende: Dr. Johanna Jacobi,  Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

Exploring pathways for transformation to sustainability using the safe and just operating space concept at regional level (SUccESS):

Funding: Marie Sklodowska-Curie individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2017: 796994), European Commission. 
Personnel: Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Dr. Md Sarwar Hossain 

Social-ecological systems modelling and Sustainable Land Management (SSLM):

Funding: Unit Land Systems and Sustainable Land Management, University of Bern
Personnel: Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Dr. Md Sarwar Hossain 

Resilient agriculture-based livelihoods and resilient agricultural landscapes? Adaptation to climate change in African agriculture (RESALL)

Funding: Unit Land Systems and Sustainable Land Management, formerly Ambizione (SNF)
Personnel: Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Joana Eichenberger, Moritz Burger, Lisa Zamudio

Hackathon - Hack4stustainability

Digitalisation is regarded as a major lever to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while at the same time data is rapidly becoming the most valuable resource for future economies. It is important to use data in ways that benefit society. Hack4sustainability challenges participants to hack for sustainability and create an opportunity to address the SDGs through digital technologies. #hack4sustainability

SLM Workshop

ACRES - Agricultural Climate Resilience to El-Nino in sub-Saharan Africa

Funding: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Personnel: Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Dr. Sébastien Boillat

Land Degradation and Its impacts on Ecosystem Services in the Nigerian Savannah

Funding: UniBE International 2021 initiative of the Vice-Rectorate Development, University of Bern, Switzerland, Rufford foundation Small grant [27153-1], IDEA WILD equipment grant
Personnel: Ademola Adenle A.,  Prof. Dr. Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

Exploring the Knowledge Dynamics Associated with Forest Management for Climate Change Adaptation in South Africa

Funding: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, and Swiss-African Research Cooperation

Personnel: Dr. Ofoegbu C. and Prof. Dr. Ifejika-Speranza C.

 

Exploring the Knowledge Dynamics Associated with Forest Management for Climate Change Adaptation in South Africa

Funding: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, and Swiss-African Research Cooperation

Personnel: Dr. Ofoegbu C. and Prof. Dr. Ifejika-Speranza C.

 

Networking and collaborations

  • The unit Sustainable Land Management is a member of the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE)
  • The SLM research group was formed in 1987. Since 1992 it has been directing the WOCAT: World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies http://www.wocat.org/ global soil and water conservation programme, which is run by the interdisciplinary Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) of the University of Bern as of 1 July 2009.
  • Since 2000, the SLM research group has been hosting the editorial office of Mountain Research and Development (MRD), an international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the problems and potentials of the world’s mountain regions http://www.mrd-journal.org/. MRD is hosted by CDE as of 1 July 2009.
  • Management of PhD study programmes within the International Graduate School IGS North-South by T. Breu