Our Research Topics

On the following pages, we present our current and past research projects. 

BESTMAP

BESTMAP aims to develop a new flexible, interoperable and customizable framework that will take account of farmers' needs and effectively monitor policy impacts on natural, social and cultural assets in rural areas.

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NamTip

The NamTip project strives for a better understanding of desertification tipping points and their ecological and social drivers with a focus on the Greater Waterberg Landscape in Namibia.

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InsuranceGrass

Climate change and the associated extreme weather events - mainly droughts - are causing damage to grasslands. Economic losses for farmers and a loss of ecosystem services are the result. InsuranceGrass aims to investigate how these risks can be covered through the use of financial, natural and social insurance mechanisms.

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SEEMI (finished)

Insurance products specially designed for the needs of low-income people in developing countries, so-called microinsurance products, are seen as a promising tool for economic development.
Within the SEEMI research project, we contributed to a much-needed enhanced understanding of the effects of microinsurance on social-ecological systems. We focused in particular on the impact on informal safety nets.

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POLISES JRG (finished)

We explored the impacts of selected global food security policies on the resilience of smallholding farmers in Africa; we aimed to identify crucial aspects for an appropriate design of these policy instruments; and we wanted to promote knowledge transfer and social learning.

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