Agricultural production is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change around the world, and poorer countries face significantly more difficulties than the developed world. Coffee is an agricultural commodity that most people enjoy but are oblivious to the climate-related challenges affecting coffee farmers. Among the many challenges affecting coffee production is the price volatility, prevalence of fungal diseases, and migration of younger generations from rural to urban regions. In such a complex setup, how can their quality of life and ecosystems and our favorite cup of coffee be guaranteed in the future? And, how can we as scientists contribute to ensuring the sustainability and resilience of coffee producers?

Conservation of biodiversity is one of the main challenges today. A higher degree of biodiversity results in ecosystems that can withstand adverse conditions and better provide essential ecosystem services. This is the case for both agricultural and natural systems.

The 'living lab' Vrouwe Vennepolder is situated just north of Leiden, The Netherlands, and aims to find ways to improve the agriculture of the future.

The research that is united in the Liveable Planet programme, touches upon a wide range of aspects of human life. The goal is to deepen and expand the scope and to connect more researchers. The following case studies are examples of current research projects.

Many students are finishing their master thesis on sustainability this summer. In this blog, we reflect on their topics, approaches, and goals by highlighting theses from Governance of Sustainability, European Law, Global Archaeology, Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Ecology, and Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology.

79 students, 15 organisations, and 16 projects: within the master’s programme Governance of Sustainability, diverse groups of students worked together with organisations to tackle sustainability challenges. In this blog, Annemiek de Looze reflects on how the power of their transdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving was the key to a successful, interesting, fun semester.