Is There a Connection Between Religion and Responsibility for Preserving Biodiversity? Representatives of three religions – Christianity, Judaism, and Islam – will discuss this question on 2nd September at the Zwinglihaus in Basel. At this open event, not only the speakers but also participants will be invited to share their own thoughts and feelings on the topic. […]

Who doesn't want to be pretty and fashionable? That’s what the fashion industry is for! But everything comes at a price—one we don’t pay at the checkout, but through the overuse of the planet’s resources, the loss of biodiversity, and growing social inequalities. Understanding the situation Recently, researchers from University of Pisa published a detailed analysis in the International Journal of the Commons, presenting their scientific findings on the global operation of the fashion industry. The analysis provides an overview of [...]

Money talks Did you know that Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of soy? And that most of these shipments head to the Netherlands? The situation is similar with beef—here too, the Netherlands is the biggest importer. While large-scale producers and traders happily pocket the profits, Brazil—especially the Amazon and Cerrado regions—struggles with severe land conflicts, pollution, and the destruction of wildlife and soils. Will trade rules address the problem? The EU’s deforestation regulation (EUDR) was designed to exclude products [...]

Researchers, NGOs, activists all around the World stress the urgent need for transformative change to halt – or at least slow down the alarming loss of biodiversity. While this idea is widely acknowledged in policies and funding calls—using terms like “transformations,” “interventions,” and “transdisciplinary partnerships”—we still lack clear understanding of how partnerships can actually drive such change. This gap is especially clear when tackling biodiversity loss, which is often overlooked in research and decision-making. To address it, researchers of PLANET4B [...]

Can Christianity play a direct role in sustainable agriculture? Are churches ready to embrace biodiversity as part of their spiritual message? And what hands-on impact can local faith communities have when it comes to protecting nature, raising environmental awareness, and promoting sustainable practices? These thought-provoking questions are at the heart of a News of the Reformed Church's recent report, featuring insights from Ghezal Shabir — a researcher of PLANET4B and a colleague at FiBL. You can read the original interwiev [...]

Inspirational, educational, engaging, and scientifically valuable: this is the latest case study published within the PLANET4B project on the practice of transformative change, authored by our partner CGE Erfurt. The 48-page, colorful document with personal experiences explores how urban youth relate to a neglected topic like biodiversity, and how this topic can be brought to the forefront, shaping their knowledge, thinking, and attitudes about it. The authors reveal the journey of a young, student-led learning community formed in the frame [...]