CDE is Switzerland’s centre of excellence for sustainable development. One of the University of Bern’s strategic research centres, we are tasked with mainstreaming sustainability throughout the university’s research and teaching.
We conduct research and teaching on behalf of a more sustainable world. Our aim is to chart pathways to sustainable development and to initiate transformations in line with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In our strategy, we show how we are committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda through our theory of change. We combine sound research with inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to analysis and transformation. Our research agenda is created within long-standing partnerships spanning the global North and South.
We often feel helpless and overwhelmed in the face of current world crises. Now a new book by CDE scientists shows how civil society sustainability initiatives can provide a counterbalance. They’re a “step towards a more resource-efficient life,” says Stephanie Moser, one of the book’s authors. Read the interview.
Ready to make a difference? Join a programme designed for future changemakers who are ready to tackle pressing global challenges like climate change, resource depletion, and social inequalities. The programme starts in the autumn semester of 2025. Apply by 30 April 2025!
Apply by 30 April 2025!
In East Africa, millions of hectares of land are under threat from Prosopis juliflora, an invasive alien tree species. Finding ways of stopping this invasion was the focus of a research and implementation project conducted by an international team of scientists, including researchers from CDE. They have now published a book on their findings. Read the interview with CDE’s Albrecht Ehrensperger, one of the main authors.
Interview with Albrecht Ehrensperger on the Prosopis invasion in East Africa
More and more Swiss farmers are giving up milk production. The main reason is that many farms are no longer able to produce profitably at current milk prices. A new, comprehensive study by CDE reveals how producers perceive the challenges and mechanisms of the Swiss dairy market – and what their main points of criticism are. Read more in German or French.
March 4, 2025
13:30 − 17:40
Universität Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Kuppelsaal 501, 5. Stock
Kenya is considered a pioneer in digital infrastructure. However, the goal of an “empowered citizenry”, in which everyone can thrive in the digital economy, can only be achieved if the inequalities in digital skills are also overcome. In this area, Kenya – like many other countries – still has a lot of catching up to do. This new research project explores how enhanced connectivity and technology could be reimagined in a feminist way.
The European Union has launched a new generation of trade measures intended to end its reliance on goods produced in ways that threaten biodiversity. This policy brief considers the potential and risks of these new measures, and recommends ways to enhance their effectiveness while empowering vulnerable groups like small farmers and stewards of biodiversity.
The "African Leaders Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change and Call to Action" highlights the importance of forests and calls for continental collaboration, particularly through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to drive green growth. This new research project aims to work with stakeholders to co-develop strategies to scale up the intra-African use of timber for sustainable green growth.
New research project
Switzerland has the opportunity to design and implement legislation that, while being compatible with the EUDR for deforestation-free supply chains, can also help smallholders in the global South overcome problems that are likely to arise as their access to the European market narrows. This project aims to identify enabling mechanisms with African stakeholders and to facilitate advocacy for smallholders in the policy debate.
Mittelstrasse 43 3012 Bern
Phone: +41 31 684 88 22 info.cde@unibe.ch
