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 The media is currently filled with news about the refugee crisis. On a daily basis, thousands of people flee wars, poverty, oppressive regimes and other unpleasant circumstances in search of a better livelihood. Debates continue to rage on the most suitable means of addressing and tackling these challenges. Drawing from the experience of pastoralists, Bettina Rudloff in her presentation titled "Land Conflicts are Security Risks - can the EU Stabilize the Sahel by Trade, Investment and Development?" explained how cooperation between pastoralists and settled farmers can be an effective means of preventing and settling land conflicts. In many cases, pastoralists are marginalised or forgotten. However, there are lots of opportunities especially at the local level to ensure peaceful coexistence. Some of the lessons learned from cooperation and conflict management of pastoralists, settled farmers and local communities can be applied in tackling the current refugee crisis. An interesting gender perspective was presented by Issack Bereket in his presentation "The Factors Affecting the Trust and Risk Attitudes of Ethiopian Households". According to his findings, gender, education and informal schooling affect trust and risk behaviours of people. Also, women were found to be more risk averse than men. This could affect women-based development projects and other policies. However, as pointed out in the ensuing discussions, projects by women usually have a higher success rate. Presentation by Maren Wesselow Who says that science and research cannot be fun? Maren Wesselow in her study "Role Playing Games in Land Use Research: Experiences from the Mahafaly Plateau in Madagascar" advocated for the use of role playing games (RPG) as part of the greater research process in combination with other methods. So go ahead and have some fun! Lots of fun at Tropentag 2015 The role of institutions (family and kinship networks, patron-client relations), organizations (state institutions, development agencies, livestock associations) and bargaining power were explored by Barbara Loehde in "Sociopolitical relations of Urban Livestock Farmers: Potentials and Controversies". According to her, the bargaining power of livestock farmers affect their access to benefits arising from technological innovations. We are all too familiar with the food versus fuel debate. The research by Tina Beuchelt "Solving Trade-Offs Between Food Security and Biomass Use: Addressing the Right to Food in Biomass Sustainability Standards" goes a step further and expounds on the negative environmental and social impacts of rising biomass demand for non-food purposes and why certifications cannot replace functional states. Although science and research presented in Tropentag 2015 does not offer or promise a magical or one-size-fits-all solution to confllicts and controversies, it offers new information, contributes to learning and encourages cooperation towards ensuring food security and peaceful coexistence!