The 2013 DIAnet International School, its aims and principles against the background of the sustainability challenges of the Danube River Basin

Sustainable Development (SD) in the Danube River Basin needs an Interdisciplinary approach. Researchers must be able to identify, analyse and take into account the legacies of the past and the long history of human interactions with the environment in this densely inhabited region. This introductory contribution to DIANET 2013 maps the 7 pillars of the EU strategy for the Danube onto the ‘magic triangle’ of SD. Finding solutions requires understanding the present situation through the study of socio-natural sites. Such sites form by interaction of humans and the river system. Practices result in material arrangements which are created and kept in working condition by human actions. Benign or wicked, short- or longstanding legacies can be distinguished, their fate determines the potential for sustainable futures

A rewarding experience in many ways: The 3rd World Congress of Environmental History

The 3rd World Congress of Environmental History, held in Florianópolis, Brazil had the theme: “Convergences: The Global South and the Global North in the Era of Great Acceleration”. The short paper gives an overview of the rewards such congresses can bring. It specifically deals with the plenary talks by Robert Billot and Brigitte Baptiste, highlights the role of scholarly co-operation and makes a case for the opportunity offered by such congresses to review the environment of the hosting country, for which the plenary roundtables, the excursions, and field trips and comparative panels are referred to as examples. World congresses might have an environmental cost, but they do provide unique opportunities for scholarly exchange, in terms of themes, methods, conceptual approaches, and sources used. Behaving in an environmentally conscious way but at the same time enabling and fostering international and intergenerational exchange is a challenge that will have to be taken up in the future.The 3rd World Congress of Environmental History, held in Florianópolis, Brazil had the theme: “Convergences: The Global South and the Global North in the Era of Great Acceleration”. The short paper gives an overview of the rewards such congresses can bring. It specifically deals with the plenary talks by Robert Billot and Brigitte Baptiste, highlights the role of scholarly co-operation and makes a case for the opportunity offered by such congresses to review the environment of the hosting country, for which the plenary roundtables, the excursions, and field trips and comparative panels are referred to as examples. World congresses might have an environmental cost, but they do provide unique opportunities for scholarly exchange, in terms of themes, methods, conceptual approaches, and sources used. Behaving in an environmentally conscious way but at the same time enabling and fostering international and intergenerational exchange is a challenge that will have to be taken up in the future.The 3rd World Congress of Environmental History, held in Florianópolis, Brazil had the theme: “Convergences: The Global South and the Global North in the Era of Great Acceleration”. The short paper gives an overview of the rewards such congresses can bring. It specifically deals with the plenary talks by Robert Billot and Brigitte Baptiste, highlights the role of scholarly co-operation and makes a case for the opportunity offered by such congresses to review the environment of the hosting country, for which the plenary roundtables, the excursions, and field trips and comparative panels are referred to as examples. World congresses might have an environmental cost, but they do provide unique opportunities for scholarly exchange, in terms of themes, methods, conceptual approaches, and sources used. Behaving in an environmentally conscious way but at the same time enabling and fostering international and intergenerational exchange is a challenge that will have to be taken up in the future

Designing trans-disciplinary projects for sustainable development

Back in 1973, urban planners coined the term "wicked problems". The Danube River Basin abounds with such problems, in fact, sustainability issues tend to be wicked. Transdisciplinary research involving stakeholders has been one of the solutions identified to deal with such problems. The paper discusses merits and challenges of such research

The Onset of the English Agricultural Revolution: Climate Factors and Soil Nutrients

he English Agricultural Revolution began during a period of climate change in which temperatures decreased significantly. Lower temperatures meant less bacterial activity, a slower release of mineral nitrogen into cultivated soils, and a shorter growing season for crops a combination that tended to diminish yields. The English farmers reacted by increasing the flow of organic matter and manure into the soil, thus mitigating the negative effect of the colder temperatures to some extent. When the temperatures rose again, the faster mineralization of soil organic matter led to bountiful yields that encouraged English farmers to continue with these innovative strategies. The upshot is that the English agricultural revolution was more a discovery than an invention, that induced by a combination of climate challenges, social and institutional settings, and market incentives