Focus on tropical forests: International research for a sustainable future

‘With this trip, we were also able to strengthen the HAWK's reputation as a research and cooperation partner and drive forward our internationalisation efforts,’ says Prof. Dr Helge Walentowski. The initiative aims to promote interdisciplinary approaches in the international research network in order to meet the challenges of climate change and the sustainable use of resources. Courses are offered on an ongoing basis, with researchers on both continents spending several weeks at the other university or college.

Inhaltlich geht es um das Promotionsprogramm „Ciencias para el Desarollo Sustentable“ (CIPDES). Der Aufenthalt war Teil eines umfassenden Kooperationsprojekts zwischen der HAWK und Forschungszentren in Lateinamerika, darunter das Centro de Investigación y Extensión Forestal Andino Patagónico (CIEFAP) in Argentinien, mit dem die HAWK bereits mehrere Projekte durchgeführt hat.

The activities during the first project visit to Chachapoyas included lectures, seminars and field excursions in the tropical mountain rainforest. An outstanding result of this visit was the discovery of a terra preta deposit in the region - a deep black fertile soil in the Amazon region - as well as prehistoric artefacts from the Chachapoya culture. ‘These finds are not only scientifically exciting, but also offer an excellent starting point for new interdisciplinary research projects,’ says Walentowski. Work is already underway on a corresponding research proposal, which is due to be submitted in May 2025.

Prof Dr Walentowski's team had previously held the ‘Summerschool Patagonia’ in El Manso, north-west Patagonia. This innovative teaching concept was developed as part of the now completed KLIMNEM project and offered as a compulsory elective module of the new Master's degree programme ‘Forest Ecosystem Management and Forest Bioeconomy’ in Göttingen. The participants learnt about methods for recording environmental and climate data and worked on concepts for sustainable forest management in an interdisciplinary manner.

‘The students were enthusiastic about the ‘Climatic aridity gradient in a nutshell’ approach,’ Walentowski reported on his experiences in Chachapoyas. The focus was on analysing changes in precipitation along the Patagonian Andean eastern canopy and their effects on the ecology of temperate forests, i.e. in temperate latitudes.

A cooperation agreement was signed between HAWK and UNTRM in Peru at the end of last year, which is intended to secure the collaboration beyond the 40-month funding period in the long term. The University of Chachapoyas is endeavouring to secure further funding for ten years. 

In September 2025, the team plans to travel to Chachapoyas again to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the UNTRM and to offer another field trip in the tropical mountain rainforest. HAWK students on the Master's programme ‘Forest Structure and Functional Properties of Tropical Forests’ will also take part.

In the long term, an English-language publication on the project is also planned: ‘Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research is the best approach to countering the global polycrisis with strong answers,’ emphasised Walentowski.