Emerging Issues

Soils are – together with air and water – one of the most vital elements for sustaining human life. Yet today, soils can only partly fulfill their functions in the earth and climate system, and on a global scale, more than 25 percent of the surface area is affected by deteriorating soil quality...

Personal health and the global repercussions of food consumption are becoming increasingly important factors in how we feed ourselves, and also closely connected with moral considerations. At the same time, major sections of the population in the global North and South alike are forced...

Climate and geo-risks include natural hazards like earthquakes, storms, flooding, heat waves, cold snaps and volcanic eruptions – but also man-made risks, such as collapsing hillsides due to erosion or water seepage, or micro-quakes caused by...