August 11, 2022
Abstract Many poor rural households depend on products from non-cultivated environments for subsistence and commercialization. Collective action schemes, such as community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), aim […]
August 11, 2022
Abstract Nature conservation is currently shaping many terrestrial ecosystems in Africa. This is particularly evident in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where conservation is intended to recover wildlife […]
August 10, 2022
(UN)LIMITED POSSIBILITIES? A workshop on gendered safety and positionality during fieldwork with Tamara Gupper, Kira Kreft and Laura Thurmann (Safer Fieldwork Project). Details at a glance […]
June 8, 2022
Plantation Knowledge: An International Workshop 15-17 June 2022. The fraught and complex legacies of the plantation—historically, environmentally, socially, politically, economically—currently occupy a center stage of interdisciplinary […]
June 7, 2022
As Chair of Epistemologies of the Global South at the University of Bayreuth and with over 100 publications in the fields of African history, African politics […]
June 1, 2022
Abstract This contribution explores conflicts in the context of energy-related investments and infrastructure projects in Kenya’s arid and semiarid north. Over the past decade or so […]
May 24, 2022
On 30th of May 2022, the next CRC228 lecture series presentation will take place. Prof. Dr. Matin Qaim (Director at the Center for Development Research) will present […]
May 16, 2022
This year, we are pleased to announce two Female Researcher’s Grants. The aim of the grants is to promote female researchers at all stages of their […]
April 13, 2022
Abstract This study assesses the extent of COVID-19-related food insecurity in Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia. Using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, we measure food insecurity […]
April 11, 2022
On 7th of April 2022, CRC228 researcher Michael Bollig gave a public lecture on the topic “Social and Cultural Anthropology – challenges and options for interdisciplinary […]
April 6, 2022
Join us for a virtual book launch event for an essay collection on “African Futures”, edited by Clemens Greiner, Steven van Wolputte and Michael Bollig published […]
April 1, 2022
Abstract This article examines the means by which perceived threats of sleeping sickness epidemics were used to justify extensive population resettlement through the formation of ‘concentrations’ […]
April 1, 2022
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global production networks and challenged the re¬silience of regional economies to external shocks. The tourism sector was severely affected by […]
March 17, 2022
The Collaborative Research Center 228 “Future Rural Africa” in collaboration with the Global South Studies Center (GSSC) of the University of Cologne, is recruiting a scientific […]
March 4, 2022
The new call for the female Postdoc-Programm “Kopf Frei” in the framework of the Female Professors Programme for the year 2022 is now published. Applications for […]
February 10, 2022
Abstract Environmental conservation is presented as a success story in Namibia’s Zambezi Region where conservation measures have led to an enormous increase in many wildlife populations. […]
February 8, 2022
Abstract The transition of farmers from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture is meant to reduce hunger, increase wellbeing and accelerate rural economic progress. While an impressive extant […]
January 12, 2022
Abstract Non-cognitive skills such as locus of control (LOC) and self-efficacy have been theoretically shown to influence behavioural and economic decision-making. While this effect has been […]
January 10, 2022
This article outlines the importance of place-based policies derived from knowledge on local realities. Through an analysis of maize policies and their impact on the Zambezi […]
January 4, 2022
Almost one-third of global drylands are open forests and savannas, which are typically shaped by frequent natural disturbances such as wildfire and herbivory. Studies on ecosystem […]
January 3, 2022
Environmental Change and Soci-Economic Transformation in North-West Kenya. In East Africa and beyond, pastoral groups find themselves and their livelihoods under increasing threat when dealing with […]
January 3, 2022
Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae) is an invasive alien weed with detrimental effects on agricultural production, biodiversity, human and animal health, threatening rural livelihoods in Asia and […]
January 3, 2022
During the last decades, the boundaries between humanitarian aid and development on the one side and security and physical force on the other side became increasingly […]
December 21, 2021
The Graduate School of Geosciences (GSGS) at the University of Cologne in conjunction with the Graduate School Scholarship Programme (GSSP) of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), is […]
December 20, 2021
The Collaborative Research Center 228, Future Rural Africa Project, in conjunction with the Universities of Bonn and Cologne are recruiting for the following Doctoral, Post-Doctoral research […]
December 13, 2021
‘Incorporating African scholars in the PI capacity at the CRC is reflective of the much-needed inclusivity and forward-thinking mindset required in academia today…,’ says Hellen Kamiri, […]
December 13, 2021
The killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the aftermath it caused, were a global turning point concerning issues of systemic racial discrimination. This injustice not […]
December 13, 2021
How does land-use change including road development point us towards the origins of a future pandemic? What insights would mapping land-use changes provide in tracking hotspots […]
November 30, 2021
In a pioneering model, the CRC-TRR 228, together with the German Development Bank (KfW) is funding research of junior researchers at the University of Namibia (UNAM), […]
November 25, 2021
Bonn, Germany, 25 November, 2021 The Collaborative Research Center (CRC-TRR 228), Future Rural Africa project has received the funding approval for an additional four years (2022 […]
November 10, 2021
“African time” delivers more hits on internet searches than “African nature” or “African people”. This shows that people seem to need to feed a stereotype. As […]
November 3, 2021
Community-based Conservation seeks to strike a balance between nature conservation and economic growth by establishing spatial and institutional settings that maintain and even regain biodiversity while […]
October 26, 2021
The wake of large infrastructural projects across Africa has opened up a vibrant debate on the consequent social, economic and political changes. Notably, market and resource […]
October 18, 2021
You are cordially invited to join the online talk on “Conceptual barriers in the current global sustainability discourse. Perspectives from African philosophy”, given by Prof. Dr. Martin […]
October 18, 2021
This work analyses the politics of anticipation and ensuing fears, tensions, and conflicts in relation to Kenya’s Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor which is to […]
September 28, 2021
Science is a place of bright minds. What counts is qualification, performance, and the best argument. Of course, these aspects should be considered regardless of gender, […]
September 21, 2021
The ongoing fragmentation of pastoral drylands is a matter of concern throughout Africa. Using the example of rangelands in northern Baringo County, Kenya, that were under […]
September 10, 2021
The gender board is pleased to announce that Romie Vonkie Nghitevelekwa has been chosen for the Female Researcher’s Grant 2021 with her research project “From subsistence […]
September 8, 2021
Mismatched and Conflicting. How are Rural Aspirations Contested? Rural aspirations differ, conflict, and are in a constant state of change. While these features characterizing aspirations may […]
September 8, 2021
Nature conservation and restoration in terrestrial ecosystems is often focused on increasing the numbers of megafauna, expecting them to have positive impacts on ecological self-regulation processes […]
August 13, 2021
Poor households make little investments in human capital, despite the potential benefits and are hence trapped in poverty. To overcome this poverty trap, households can invest […]
July 28, 2021
Several studies have questioned investors’ adequate consideration of the three pillars of sustainable development in the construction of development projects in the Global South. Other studies […]
July 8, 2021
Press Release | Aspirations matter: European Journal of Development Research Special Issue: ‘Rural aspirations in Africa – livelihood decisions and rural development trajectories’. Volume 33, issue […]
June 18, 2021
Despite colonial echoes, settlement schemes represent a major element in ‘nation-building’ endeavours in Tanzania’s history. Their evolution through the 1960s was circuitous and haphazard. This article […]
June 18, 2021
The dam allows me to have a good life, thank God”, says the Ethiopian smallholder. “I don’t have a house in town like rich people, but […]
June 12, 2021
The annual Diversity week from the Gender and Diversity Management at the University of Cologne will be taking place on the 14-18 June 2021. The central […]
June 9, 2021
The Kilombero wetland in Tanzania is affected by advancing land use and land cover changes (LULCC), where we observe a conflict between development interests and the […]
June 7, 2021
The emergence of new regional paths is a key topic in economic geography. While new paths are largely associated with positive regional economic outcomes, little is […]
June 7, 2021
Aspirations have been shown to affect households’ decisions around productive investments, but little work explores how aspirations are formed or eroded, especially in the face of […]
June 2, 2021
This paper investigates rural development from a micro-level standpoint, focusing on individual and collective aspirations. We aim to deepen understanding of how a person’s socio-economic environment shapes their aspirations and simultaneously how aspirations contribute to future-oriented actions.
May 20, 2021
The history of the Groundnut Scheme is so overwhelming farcical that the entire episode could easily be fabricated satire. If only it were so. Sadly, this […]
May 17, 2021
Enhancing agricultural productivity through the adoption of improved technologies presents a credible pathway to economic development and poverty reduction especially through increased commercialisation of production. We […]
May 11, 2021
This article contributes an economic geography perspective on the envisioning and implementing of mega-infrastructure projects in Africa. Focusing on development corridors and their implicit spatio-temporality of […]
April 16, 2021
Megaprojects are returning to play a key role in the transformation of rural Africa, despite controversies over their outcome. While some view them as promising tools […]
April 13, 2021
This article examines how rural roads relate to differences in livelihood patterns, attitudes toward social change, and land disputes in Baringo, Kenya. Although their direct use […]
April 7, 2021
In the introduction to their edited volume Elusive Promises: Planning in the Contemporary World, Simone Abram and Gisa Weszkalnys (2013) introduce their understanding of modern planning […]
April 7, 2021
Based on a study of globalized export horticulture at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, this paper explores urban development at the intersections of foreign capital investments and translocal […]
April 6, 2021
The aim of the grant is to promote female researchers at all stages of their careers. Support is given to creative scientific ideas that fit the […]
April 1, 2021
The CRC is pleased to introduce and welcome Valentine Opanga, the first Alexander von Humboldt International Climate Protection Fellow to be hosted by Bonn University’s Geography […]
April 1, 2021
CRC associate member Romie Vonkie Nghitevelekwa of projects C05, ‘Framing Futures’ and A04, ‘Future Conservation’, has published her book, Securing land rights with UNAM press. The […]
March 15, 2021
Dambisa Moyo’s seminal book Dead Aid is the antidote to past and current development strategies of western countries for Africa: development aid. Moyo’s solution? Foreign direct […]
March 11, 2021
With great sadness, we announce the death of our colleague and friend Dr. Elke Grawert. Elke passed away on 5 March, at the age of 62. […]
March 8, 2021
The Kwando Basin of north-eastern Namibia is firmly embedded in current national and international conservation agendas. It is a key part of the world’s largest transboundary […]
February 25, 2021
Globally, there is much debate about the rapid demographic developments in Africa (population growth, urbanization, youth bulge, migration), the growing demand for food, and the scenarios […]
February 22, 2021
What dangers does biodiversity loss pose to the eruption of future pandemics? Virologist and principal investigator of the CRC, sub-project B02, Prof. Dr. Sandra Junglen shares […]
February 2, 2021
Can we get rid of ‘the west vs.” the rest”’? Well, it is never too late to reflect on hierarchical structures in development research – and […]
January 4, 2021
CRC-TRR 228 ‘Future Rural Africa’ · COVID-19 shocks in rural Africa: Preliminary findings of ongoing research The Future Rural Africa podcast, is a research series by […]
December 28, 2020
Experiences from Researchers From a state of uncertainty, unrest, to adjusting and adopting. In brief anecdotes, CRC researchers reflect on their experiences of doing research during […]
December 28, 2020
“If it pays, it stays”: COVID-19 puts the financial stability of communal conservancies in Namibia at risk. Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in Namibia is often […]
December 28, 2020
Voices of rural communities involved in community-based conservation in Namibia during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak The Multidisciplinary Research Centre (MRC) of the University of Namibia (UNAM) […]
December 28, 2020
From health crisis to hunger crisis? Impacts of COVID-19 on fertilizer value chains in East Africa As the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic has fundamentally re-scrambled what is deemed […]
December 27, 2020
Argelander grant funds Covid-19 Research in rural Africa Dr. Emmanuel Nshakira Rukundo from the Institute of Food and Economic Resources and Dr. Christiane Stephan from the […]
December 27, 2020
Triggered by the worldwide protests against police violence and the related debates against structural forms of discrimination that unfolded after the violent killing of George Floyd […]
November 24, 2020
Throughout our research in Namibia, we encountered different versions of the idea that there is something peculiar about African perceptions of time. For example, in Otjiwarongo, […]
November 24, 2020
Anthropologist, Arjun Appadurai, begins his essay on the “Capacity to Aspire” with a captivating statement that “Poverty is many things, all of them bad, including material […]
November 3, 2020
In addition to wildlife conservation, Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programmes aim to foster regional development. To achieve this, communal areas couple to tourism Global Production […]
November 2, 2020
Following the debates about Black Lives Matter raised questions on postcolonial continuities and racist structures within academic partnerships. This is especially relevant with regard to a […]
November 2, 2020
Researchers from the Collaborative Research Center “Future rural Africa” are collaborating with their partners from, the University of Gondar (Ethiopia), Kabale University and Apata Insights (Uganda), […]
October 27, 2020
African Rural Futures: Debates, Theories, and Challenges Rattled by the adverse effects of COVID-19, the year 2020 continues to exemplify the global phase unprecedented with volatility, […]
October 27, 2020
What future for “cross-scalar linkages”? Far-reaching connections, inoperable crossings, and the difficulty to depart from ‘the modern’ Taking the ‘global’ and the ‘local’ as intrinsically distinct […]
October 22, 2020
New Publication (Sub-project A01-Future Carbon Storage): Initiatives to promote community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) have been evaluated with mixed results in socio-economic and ecological outcome dimensions. […]
October 22, 2020
The worldwide devastating effects of the COVID-19 did not only burden healthcare institutions but also strained economic, political, and social structures. Although the virus has its […]
October 14, 2020
Being part of project area C (“linkages”), project C03 “Green futures” is particularly interested in the relevance of cross-scalar relations. The overall objective of the project […]
October 13, 2020
In this new publication, the authors review two conceptual frameworks of risk management and apply them to the context of climate change in Africa, based on […]
October 12, 2020
The worldwide outcry after the violent death of George Floyd is a fierce reminder that racism and structural forms of discrimination are still omnipresent. Amidst the […]
October 12, 2020
Thinking about technological innovations in the field of development, this latest book by Arturo Escobar – one of the most famous post-development thinkers – offers an […]
October 1, 2020
New Publication: North-eastern Namibia’s Zambezi Region became part of the world’s largest transboundary conservation area in the early 2010s: the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. While wildlife […]
September 23, 2020
Geothermal development in Kenya not only contributes to electrification in Kenya, but also has the potential to significantly change livelihoods and future development in the marginalized […]
September 22, 2020
Can large scale investments into pastoral drylands of East Africa change the development narrative of pastoral communities who are often marginalised from centralized interventions and with […]
September 16, 2020
New Publication: Based on a study of Kenya’s geothermal-energy development in Baringo-Silali, this publication explores how and with whom government actors and local communities in rural […]
September 8, 2020
Far from the romanticized image of pristine wilderness and isolation, rural Africa is deeply embedded into the global political economy. To understand and explain how and […]
August 17, 2020
New Review Article: Linking integrative plant physiology with agronomy to sustain future food production Two billion people do not know where they can find their next […]
August 17, 2020
New Publication: Large investments, small farmers: A financialisation perspective on value chains in a development corridor Development corridors have recently gained momentum as territorial tools to […]
August 11, 2020
Magdalena Góralska (2020): Anthropology from Home: Advice on Digital Ethnography for the Pandemic Times. Anthropology in Action 27(1): 46-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3167/aia.2020.270105 “Whatever the future holds, the […]
August 5, 2020
CRC’s spokesperson, Detlef Müller-Mahn would like to draw your attention to an interesting new book on the Politics of Uncertainty, an issue which comes close to […]
July 28, 2020
The Il Chamus, Maa-speaking agro-pastoralists who inhabit the lowlands south of Lake Baringo, are concerned about their future. They have for long dealt with difficult climatic […]
July 22, 2020
Dr. Emmanuel Nshakira Rukundo from the Institute of Food and Economic Resources and Dr. Christiane Stephan from the Department of Geography, both at the University of […]
July 6, 2020
High hopes are pinned on tourism and its catalytic potential to foster growth in remote rural areas. In the Zambezi region of northeastern Namibia, tourism plays […]
July 6, 2020
Parallel to a worldwide trend, the community-based conservation model is an increasing phenomenon in Kenya, especially in northern pastoralist counties. Publication author of BICC Working Paper […]
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