Nachhaltigkeit

Events

Lecture by Verónica Zuccarelli Freire (MPI-GEA):

Not all that glitters is green: rethinking the energy transition through ancestral Indigenous ecologies and environmental justice in the Andes

16-18h in Lecture Hall 5

In recent years, Indigenous perspectives have gained recognition in academia and spaces like the Conference of the Parties for Climate Change. Central to this agenda is the defense of forests, water, animals, and resources in response to the global surge in extractive activities.

In Argentina, where our work is based, mining projects tied to the Energy Transition are expanding, sparking a contested narrative on resources. Here, Indigenous water and soil management techniques -such as terrace farming and llama herding- are maintained by Indigenous quechua communitites who manage fragile resources under severe conditions of high altitudes and aridity. This traditional ecological knowledge is locally understood through the Andean concept of Uyway/Uywaña[1]or mutual up-bringing, that reflects a worldview where humans do not dominate nature; instead, there is a network of reciprocity and negotiations among humans, animals, plants, and natural entities like mountains and rivers. Uywaña, extends to all life forms, where people and other beings engage in affection and care.

Guided by these concepts, we worked collaboratively with Indigenous communities in Cusi Cusi, located in the arid High Andean plateau of northwest Argentina, where a complex agricultural system evolved between 3,800 and 4,300 meters during two thousand years until present times. Specific and transgenerational activities aimed at promoting soil fertility - e.g. use of organic fertilizers, burning, the use of agricultural terraces. Landscape Archaeology, allowed us to assess the long story of agrarian practices.  Furthermore, in this region there is evidence of a very ancient practice of wetland creation and management. To this day, local families actively manage and maintain these wetlands, many of which have been sustained for centuries.

In this frame, the Andes is a key geographic and economic region in Latin America, where increasing demands over raw materials (i.e. minerals) required for the renewable energy transition are clashing with ecological dynamics and other forms of subsistence-focused land use as the one above-mentioned. By analyzing long-term food security and land management practices, it is possible to find ways to enhance land use diversification, combat desertification, and rehabilitate degraded ecosystems. Such efforts address food security challenges, navigating economic and ecological sustainability amid human-induced climate change. By doing so, our goal is to build a dialogue between traditional ecological knowledge and science, with the purpose of enhancing Indigenous governance in policy-making and environmental justice.

[1] Quechua and Aymara language

 

 

ESD-workshop with Jannik Heckmann (S4F):

From oil heating to heat pumps - education for sustainable development using heating as an example

14-16 h in room U2-139

After a brief theoretical introduction, the participants can use the example of heating to experience for themselves what education for sustainable development (ESD) can look like. As part of a "group puzzle", the participants use worksheets to explain to each other how natural gas, heating oil, wood pellet and fuel cell heating systems work and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. In particular, the emissions caused are discussed. The group puzzle is supplemented by a worksheet on heat pumps including an explanatory experiment

Clothes swap party organised by the organic student council and Students for Future

18-21 h in room U2-222

The Biofachschaft and Students For Future have jointly organised a clothes swap.
All interested parties - regardless of status group or university affiliation - are cordially invited to bring along well-preserved items of clothing that they no longer need and discover new favourites in return.

Please note the following:

Underwear is excluded from the swap.

Only freshly laundered items of clothing should be brought along.

The clothes should be in at least "okay" condition so that others can still enjoy them.

Please be considerate of other participants and be fair when choosing clothes.

Clothes that are not swapped will be donated to a charitable organisation afterwards.

Programme in the university hall

10-16 h in the university hall

Stands from:

Sustainability Office:
information stand and poster exhibition

Students for Future Bielefeld:
information stand

Scientists for Future:
Climate timeline and information stand

Health Management:
Information stand

VETHO:
Information stand and crossword puzzle

University Sports Service Bielefeld:
Houbi-Mobil and information stand

Department for Ecology and Climate Protection (AStA [Student Union]):
Info stand