It is a grey, cloudy afternoon, as it is often the case during winter in Bayreuth. But then, the sun breaks through the thick blanket of clouds. Thomas Pickel is sitting in front of the GEO building at the University of Bayreuth. When the sun is out, nothing could keep the 27-year-old student inside. When […]
In November 2018, I got the chance to travel to this year’s CBD Cop 14 which was held in Sharm-El-Sheikh from Nov 17 – 29. I joined the conference from the date of 23rd November. It was my first international conference and I could learn very much from this experience. Experiencing the negotiations and processes […]
“Every Friday, we sit outside the Swedish Parliament until Sweden is in line with the Paris Agreement.” Greta Thunberg has a defiant look in her eyes while she is speaking these words. Powerful words that have brought her a lot of attention during the last weeks. The 15-year old Swedish girl with two braids has […]
Sinai Peninsula, known for its rich coral reef, Mount Sinai, and the deadly October war, is a bridge between Asia and Africa. It is situated between Mediterranean Sea in the north and Red sea in the south. In the southern tip of this beautiful peninsula lies the city of Sharm El Sheikh where The UN […]
„We don’t hunt The Big Five because of ethical reasons – and because it is way too expensive”, the white-haired, elderly man says, sitting in a chair at the Nkasa Lupala Lodge in the Wuparo Conservancy, glancing over the wide savannah landscape. “The Big Five” refers to five certain animals living in Africa: elephant, buffalo, […]
After two nights in the relatively clean and quiet Windhoek, I was looking forward to seeing the rest of the country. And lo! Suddenly, dusty Savannah as far as the eye can see. The dry grass was gleaming golden in the sunlight, many leafless and dried out bushes and trees were growing on each side […]
The Germans are said to have a very special bond with their forests: Already the famous poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller wrote several poems about the forest – back in the 19th century; today, 2 million people own forests; when big parts of German forests were dying in the 1980s, people took […]
The thin tent cover is cold and wet. It is this time of the day when day and night are fighting with each other. The “Namibian alarm clock” has done its job one more time: Loud, many-voiced chirring, close-by grunting and distant roaring. A look at the watch reveals: 5.50 am. Opening the tent’s zipper […]
On our second day in Windhoek and after a nice long sleep (shivering as the African sun still did not hold its promises), we tried out our rented car and headed to the GIZ (German Corporation for International Cooperation) office in Windhoek. It took some time to get used to drive on the “wrong” side […]
As mentioned in one of our articles about the study trip to Namibia, we had the chance to talk to John Kasaona, executive director of Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) in Namibia. This organization wants to “link conservation to the social and economic development of the people who live with wildlife and other […]
