National Centre of Competence in Research
NCCR North-South
The NCCR North-South is one of 27 National Centres of Competence in Research implemented by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. >> More
| |  Research for Global Transformation
The NCCR North-South will hold its 3rd international conference on research for development - ICRD - on
20-22 August 2012 in Bern, Switzerland. The 3rd ICRD will offer space for keynotes, workshops, and poster sessions. The aim of the conference is to share and discuss the most recent insights on development-oriented research conducted in North-South partnerships and to develop an agenda for research partnerships with developing and transition countries.
For more details see www.icrd.ch
| |  Research for Sustainable Development: Foundations, Experiences, and Perspectives
Edited by Urs Wiesmann and Hans Hurni, 2011
Achieving sustainable development requires knowledge-based and value-conscious social, political, and economic decisions and actions at multiple levels. Research aiming to support sustainable development must co-produce knowledge at the interfaces between disciplines, between science and society, between knowledge cultures in the global North, South, and East, and between global visions and local realities, while remaining rooted in solid disciplinary foundations. Research for Sustainable Development presents 29 articles in which interdisciplinary teams reflect on the foundations of sustainability-oriented research, on concepts, tools, and approaches to overcome the challenges of such research, and on specific issues of sustainable development.
Download Book (8 MB)
| |  Recognising the rights of migrants to strengthen regional integration
In Central America, irregular migration between neighbouring countries has become a normal facet of life. Nevertheless, irregular migrants are exposed to severe human rights abuses. Although Central American countries share a history of regional integration and many institutions intended to support integration have been active since the 1960s, local governments rarely coordinate with one another concerning the protection of migrants and their rights. This edition of evidence for policy argues that acknowledging migrants’ contribution to Central American development and recognising their rights would strengthen Central American integration overall.
Download (Spanish / PDF 1 MB)
| |  Sustaining mobile pastoralists in the mountains of northern Pakistan
For centuries, landless mobile pastoralists have produced milk, meat, wool, maintained biodiversity, and conserved the soil in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Pakistan. But the provision of these goods and services is at risk as the pastoralists are becoming marginalised. They have weak bargaining power at markets, their mobility is limited by tree plantings that obstruct transhumance routes, and crops are encroaching on their traditional pastures. This issue of evidence for policy analyses the reasons for these trends and discusses ways to overcome them.
Download (English / PDF 1 MB)
| |  ‘Green economy’: development opportunity or buzzword?
The term “green economy” has dominated international debates on development and environmental policies for the past two years. This can be attributed to the hope that a green economy will be a win–win solution for overcoming the current climate and financial crises. Though closely interlinked, the development agendas of industrialised, transition, and developing countries differ considerably. As this global edition of evidence for policy outlines, successful achievement of a global green economy will require harmonising these agendas and harnessing the unique potential of each context.
Download (English / PDF 897 KB)
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| | Panel discussion: Green Economy: Chances and Risks for Agriculture
Urs Wiesmann, co-director of the NCCR North-South, will be speaking at this event on global agricultural policy, 23 May 2012, at ETH Zurich. SWISSAID, CDE, Biovision, and others are co-sponsoring the discussion conceived in the lead-up to the UN Rio+20 conference. A key topic is the relevance of the “green economy” concept for small-scale farming.
Apply immediately (link)
Programme (EN / PDF 864 KB)
Programm (DE / PDF 922 KB)
Programme (FR / PDF 868 KB)
Landless mobile pastoralists (Ajars) step out of the shadows
For the first time, a gathering of all key stakeholders met at the National Agricultural Research Centre with mobile herders to address the issues of Ajars in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This workshop on landless mobile pastoralists, held in Islamabad, 24 to 26 April 2012, produced several breakthroughs on behalf of the Ajars, who act as important custodians of mountain ecosystems and contribute significantly to the livestock economy in Pakistan.
Download researchers’ statement (PDF 135 KB)
Link to workshop website
Download related policy brief (PDF 1 MB)
Link to University of Peshawar announcement
Corporate Engagement for Conflict Transformation: Conceptualising the Business–Peace Interface
A new article by NCCR North-South researchers published in the Journal of Conflict Transformation & Security explores how business actors may alleviate conflicts by addressing their economic causes. It provides a conceptual basis for the relationship between business interests and peace, charts trends, and examines business actors’ motivations for social engagement in Nepal.
Download article (PDF 1.2 MB)
North-South Forum: urban transformation
The fifth North-South Forum took place on 24 April 2012, at the ETH Zurich. It addressed the interface between formality and informality in urban transformation in order to show the peculiarities and vitality of these hybrid development processes. The event was jointly organised by the North-South Centre of the ETH Zurich, the NCCR North-South, and the Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (KFPE).
- Forum flyer (PDF 729 KB)
- "Addis through the looking-glass" (PDF 13.9 MB), Marc Angélil, Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich:
- "Addis through the looking-glass II" (PDF 3.8 MB), Zegeye Cherenet, HafenCity University Hamburg, Germany:
- "The informal brick industry‘s ambivalent contribution to urban growth in
Asia and Africa" (PDF 2.7 MB), Daniel Wyss, Skat Consulting
- "Popular urbanisation – a comparative analysis of planetary urbanisation" PDF (14.9 MB), Christian Schmid, Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich:
- "Urban development and the practice of street vending in Southeast Asia: Juggling informal rules and formal regulations", Norman Backhaus, NCCR North-South and University of Zurich:
- "Urbanism of fear and the gangs: How violence fabrics the city in Latin America" (PDF 10.1 MB), Yves Pedrazzini, EPFL and former collaborator NCCR North-South:
New book: From the Periphery to the Centre: Remaking the Bolivian State and Society
A new book (in German) by Bolivian Vice President Álvaro García Linera examines the Morales administration’s concept of “plurinationalism” as well as the obstacles and problems encountered during the development of a new constitution. It includes a recent interview in which García Linera discusses his political theories and Bolivia’s current situation with NCCR North-South researcher Stephan Rist and Andreas Simmen.
Order book (German)
Migration Year Book for Nepal
The South Asia office of the NCCR North-South and the Nepal Institute of Development Studies have published The Nepal Migration Year Book 2010. The book provides data on various aspects of migration such as the different forms of migration, the number of migrants, and their remittances.
Download book (PDF 3MB)
New article: “Representative Seroprevalences of Brucellosis in Humans and Livestock in Kyrgyzstan”
A new article by NCCR North-South researchers published in EcoHealth reports on the results of a study testing for brucellosis among humans and animals in Kyrgyzstan. The researchers found high seroprevalence of brucellosis in Kyrgyzstan and evidence of under-reporting of human cases. They point to the need for interventions such as mass vaccination of sheep, goats, and cattle.
Download article (English / 168 KB)
Download related policy brief (English / PDF 1.1 MB)
| |  Managing the commons upstream and downstream: the need to adapt institutions
Common-pool resources (forest, water, pasture) are key livelihood assets for rural communities in the mountains and adjoining lowlands of Tanzania. Local upstream and downstream communities traditionally had institutions governing access and setting flexible boundaries around resources. They enabled shared, coordinated resource use. But introduction of government institutions demarcating new boundaries has led to fragmentation of resource management, harming rural livelihoods and the sustainability of the resources. This edition of evidence for policy recommends adapting the institutions to reflect resource flows and boundaries as well as empower the local level.
Download (English / PDF 864 KB)
| |  Partnerships in Development-oriented Research: Lessons Learnt and Challenges Ahead
Bishnu Raj Upreti, Anne B. Zimmermann, Berhanu Debele, Guéladio Cissé, 2012
The challenges posed by global change processes require concerted responses from the development, research, policy, and practitioners' communities in the global North and South. North–South research partnerships are a means of acquiring both the context-specific knowledge and the holistic understanding necessary to respond to the challenges. This book is based on experiences made during a 12-year partnership-based research programme, the NCCR North-South. It is aimed at funders of research and development interventions, policymakers, development practitioners, and researchers themselves.
Download (English / PDF 1.9 MB)
| |  Newsletter 8: Spotlight on Southeast Asia
The current newsletter focuses on NCCR North-South activities in South Asia. Research in the region aims to support development of interventions that address environmental and livelihood challenges, enhance agricultural practices and human welfare, increase access to sanitation, and improve management of health risks.
Download pdf (1.3 MB)
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