We just reached over 1000 participants here at Tropentag 2015 in Berlin! This is a new all-time record. Last year in Prague there were 686 participants from 66 countries. Next year the Tropentag host will be Vienna, Austria. See all statistics at ATSAF homepage here

At conferences, we live for coffee breaks. They are the times when we take a breather from presentation after presentation, the places where we meet new people and reconnect with old colleagues, and of course the spot to refuel. For many of us, that sustenance of choice is coffee, and (at least in my book) chocolate-covered biscuits are the best complement. That’s all pretty standard for organized events. But what makes the coffee breaks at a meeting like Tropentag unique is the array of experts present to relay the story behind the coffee, tea, biscuits, and fruit.
So as I wandered around posters this morning, it struck me that these studies are not merely relevant to those specific geographies or ecosystems and to the local people and communities. There are also ties not very far removed from life outside of our study sites. And yet, we don’t always or even often think about what lies beyond the mug when sipping at a conference venue. Continue...

Poster Session 1.3 Biodiversity and ecosystem services Lisa Stefanie Lautz from Kassel University, Germany, presented her poster about the Mexican local crop ‘Nance’ (Byrsonima crassifolia) today. This plant is cultivated in home gardens and the tropical fruits are eaten and sold on local markets. Byrsonima occurs in Central and South America and is a member of the “acerola” family of Malpighiaceae. In Yucatán it has nearly disappeared from the wild... Continue...

We all agree that science can do a lot of good. Everyday we see and experience its positive impacts in various facets such as healthcare, nutrition and technology. In Tropentag 2015's session tagged "Cooperation and Conflict Management", a wide range of research and studies showing the role of science were presented and discussed. The audience is a big part of all sessions in Tropentag Continue...

by Pacifique Ingabire and Nizam Hussein

When people talk about value chains, we may understand how products move from one actor to another, and of course when you are a researcher or a student you hear it from lectures; but do we really conceptualize value chains in the same way? Given the variety contexts and questions in which it is used, do researchers have a common, concrete definition for this concept, or is it a vague term that is used differently depending on the objectives of the researcher? Christian Klein Continue...

The problem of aggravating hunger in the world is one of the most recurring topics for every student of economics, environmental science etc. Most of the time, however, it is treated more as a grievous occurrence happening somewhere, and there is probably some NGO dealing with the matter already, right? Continue...

Here is our video feature on two keynote speakers from yesterday's opening, former colleagues Brave Ndisale and Shenggen Fan, who so kindly found some time for us amidst their busy schedules. The talk was about women in food systems and the interplay of international organizations after a fairly discussed opening ceremony.

Did you know that Berlin is eight times the size of Paris, that it has 150-plus museums and even more of contemporary art galleries, that the central Tiergarten comprises 520 acres, or did you know that here there is museum dedicated to the famous currywurst? Discover our top 3 districts...