Open Science Meeting of the GLP in México

In early November I attended the Open Science Meeting of the Global Land Programme (GLP). The GLP is an interdisciplinary community of scientists and practitioners who study how we can use the land system sustainably. Every few years the community holds a conference, this time in Oaxaca, México.

The five-day conference was packed with scientific and cultural programmes. The opening ceremony was filled with music and dance as we kicked off the meeting with a calenda parade through Oaxaca. After this informal opening day, the main conference programme began on Tuesday. The overall goal was to find ways to create sustainable and just land systems. The presentations ranged from local issues such as the new Maya train in México to the introduction of global land use models. The backgrounds of the speakers also varied, from photographers, researchers (mainly), journalists, NGOs to local indigenous communities.

It was interesting to see how the theme, but especially the location of the conference, fostered broader political discussions about the dominance of the Eurocentric worldview in research and the inequality of money and power in environmental projects. This led to some heated debates about the organisation of research, research events and the capitalist system in general.

I also gave a presentation on my research into grassland management during drought. I showed that if extensive grassland management is more drought resistant, it may not pay off in terms of absolute profit, but if farmers accept lower profits in exchange for stability, it may be a worthwhile option. Unfortunately, the conference programme was so packed that there was no room for questions, which I thought was a pity, because both getting and giving feedback to others was quite challenging in terms of time.

One highlight of the conference was definitely the conference dinner. During the great menu, there was a show of different traditional dancing groups and live musicians. Afterwards, the stage transformed into a large dance floor and the rest of the night was a big party. 

Even though I would have liked more time for in-depth professional exchange, it was a very enriching experience for me both professionally and personally. Going to a conference on the other side of the world on my own was very exciting and sometimes a bit challenging, but by travelling earlier for a private holiday, the weather and culture shock had already worn off for me and I was able to enjoy the time very much.