Portrait - Center for international Development and Environmental Research (ZEU)
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Focus Areas
- Focus Areas
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According to the ZEU's regulation the center's research activities are based on subject-specific/methodical priorities. These represent the research interests of the ZEU members and are defined by the latter. Each member may be involved in several focus areas.
It's the Center’s Council that can establish and terminate a focus area. The area’s speaker and his/her deputy are elected from among its members. The speakers serve as contact for the ZEU bodies and are responsible for organization and coordination of activities within the respective focus areas.
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Land Use
- Focus Area: Land Use
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Speaker: Prof. Martin Petrick, Vice Speaker: N.N.
Land is a fundamental resource that shapes ecosystems, economies, and human well-being. The way we manage land determines biodiversity, climate resilience, and the availability of essential resources. The growing demand for food, fuel, and fiber places increasing pressure on land, raising questions about how to balance production with conservation and long-term sustainability. The ZEU Focus Area takes a systems approach to land use, recognizing its connections to food systems, environmental processes, and socio-economic structures. We examine the effects of different land-use patterns, such as deforestation and agricultural expansion, on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and climate mitigation.
Our research also explores how land use interacts with food processing, distribution, and consumption, and how changing diets and technological advancements shape land-use demands. By understanding these relationships, we can assess the environmental footprint of different food systems and identify strategies to reduce land degradation, resource depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions. Our goal is to contribute to a future where land is managed efficiently and equitably, supporting both food production and ecological integrity. We aim to inform strategies for more sustainable land use by integrating insights from environmental science, economics, and governance, ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.
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Climate and Environment
- Focus Area: Climate and Environment
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Speaker: Dr. Elena Xoplaki, Vice Speaker: N.N.
Global environmental change refers to the alterations in the Earth System, driven by human activities and biological and physical processes.
Understanding these changes and their impacts on societies, ecosystems, and human wellbeing is crucial for advancing risk assessments and informing adaptation and mitigation strategies. Our research focuses on enhancing preparedness and supporting well-informed decisionmaking to safeguard human wellbeing through climateneutral technologies.
We study past, present, and future climate and environmental changes, and their impacts at various scales, considering factors such as natural and anthropogenic climate change, land use, biodiversity loss, and pollution. We use a range of methods, including proxy records, remote sensing, modelling, and field surveys, to address climate variability, extreme events, and associated impacts. Our goal is to contribute to the transformation towards sustainable development, based on the Sustainable Development Goals, and to support the development of effective environmental governance mechanisms. Well-functioning governance mechanisms are essential for managing socio-ecological systems and regulating action for sustainability and global common goods, such as climate and environment. We examine institutions, processes, and norms that regulate action for sustainability, and aim to inform strategies for sustainable development and environmental governance. By doing so, we can help ensure a sustainable future for human wellbeing and the planet.
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One Health
- Focus Area: One Health
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Speaker: N.N., Vice Speaker: N.N.
One Health aims to understand the intricate relationships between human, animal, and environmental health, and to develop effective strategies to tackle the complex health challenges that emerge from these interactions.
One Health’s proactive approach ensures that all species can thrive in a healthier, more resilient world. Research in this area covers a wide range of topics, including emerging infectious disease outbreaks, their relationship to the environment, land use, climate and societies, and links to other Focus Areas of the ZEU. By analyzing historical disease outbreaks, such as the plague in late medieval Europe, we identify trends, risk factors, and successful interventions that can inform strategies for managing future health threats. Spatial analysis of hosts, vectors and human activities allows the development of tailored management plans for disease surveillance, as shown for Schistosomiasis in East Africa. Increasing antimicrobial resistance due to overuse in agriculture, the impact of urbanization and environmental pollution is another issue being addressed within the ZEU.
- Regulations
