Wageningen Social Sciences

Are you at Lowlands festival this weekend? Be sure to join Robert Goedegebure, Rick Fransman and Carina Castagna (Urban Economics group) at Lowlands Science 🎉

Aquaculture provides food and livelihoods for millions of people 🐟 At the same time, it faces key challenges such as climate change impacts and providing equitable access to resources. So how do we handle these challenges? Professor Simon Bush (Environmental Policy group) authored the FAO Guidebook for developing aquaculture co-management systems. This guidebook supports governments, NGOs and the private sector on how to manage our shared aquaculture resources. Learn more below 🔽

Summer insights: steering new technology in the right direction 🤖🌱 Professor Vincent Blok (Philosophy Group) argues that AI can have major benefits for society but can be disruptive as well. We need to incorporate ethical, legal and social aspects in our research on this topic to make it more responsible and trustworthy. Do you want to know more about Blok’s work as a philosopher on AI and life sciences? Check out the video below 🔽

Summer insights: making climate policies just and inclusive ⚖️🌍 We need to go beyond simplistic assumptions for inclusive climate action, argues associate professor Ingrid Boas (Environmental Policy group). Take the Netherlands and Tuvalu: both are threatened by rising sea levels, but we assume we will save one place but give up the other, and that communities should move somewhere else. These assumptions have major consequences on where investors and donors invest their means and money. Do you want to know Boas’s thoughts on this topic? Watch the video below 🔽 The Tuvalu-Netherlands analysis can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eRMmv2mg

Don’t flush and forget! 🚽 We use 30 liters of fresh water every day to flush our toilets, and wash away valuable nutrients. How do we make sure we reduce water waste and change the system of our bathroom usage? Associate professor Bas van Vliet (Environmental Policy group) studies this change together with Annemiek Ter Heijne and Nora B. Sutton (Environmental Technology - Wageningen University & Research) in the EWUU alliance (TU/e, WUR, UU, UMC Utrecht). Besides technical challenges, there are important social factors that make changing our bathroom routine difficult, such as existing waste and food laws and ingrained privy habits. Do you want to know more about their research? Listen to this episode of BNR Nieuwsradio Wetenschap Vandaag (in Dutch): Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eUJViMJ7 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eS5CwwBi BNR website: https://lnkd.in/eT5ZP9Jc

Summer insights: governing the food system of the future 🧑🌾🏛️ Our food system faces major challenges. Climate goals, biodiversity, affordability: all these need to be addressed to ensure a robust food system. The question remaining is: how, and who will bring these aspects together? Associate professor Jeroen Candel (Public Administration and Policy Group @WUR) analyzes these questions of food governance. Through studying European policies such as Farm to Fork, he advances theories on policy integration, and delivers insights that help policy makers working on agriculture. Watch the video below to learn more about Candel's work 🔽

From better AI technologies to better societies 🤖🏘️ Congratulations to assistant professor Mareike Smolka (Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group) on receiving a Veni grant! Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often presented as the solution to global challenges or as an existential threat. These black-and-white framings seem inevitable, which leaves little room for alternative modes of thought. Through her grant, she will answer the question: how do we break out of the AI crisis of imagination towards envisioning better societies? Learn more about Smolka’s research and the other Veni grantees of Wageningen University & Research here: https://lnkd.in/g56ZFC4i

Summer insights: building a healthy society 🏘️🌿 How do we go from the notion that health is an individual lifestyle choice to a more holistic approach? Associate professor Lenneke Vaandrager (Health & Society Group) makes the case for a more inclusive perspective on health. She argues for designing our cities and societies in an inclusive way, to empower people to lead happy and meaningful lives. More on Vaandrager’s work in the video below 🔽

Summer insights: making our food system more inclusive 🥘🤝 Agriculture is not just about growing crops. We need to look closely at power relations in our food system, says associate professor Jessica Duncan (Rural Sociology Group). Climate change, biodiversity loss, and persistent food poverty are major reasons why our food system need to be more participatory and be held accountable, argues Duncan. Do you want to know more about Duncan’s work? Check out the video below 🔽

Improving the sustainability of aquaculture around the world with the Guidebook for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization 📄🐟 Aquaculture is a major source of protein and the livelihood of many farmers around the world. But fisheries also face challenges of water quality management, diseases and impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems. So how do we create aquaculture that addresses all of these issues? The new Guidebook for Developing Aquaculture Co-management Systems will bridge that gap between empowering farmers and creating sustainable ecosystems. Professor Simon Bush (Environmental Policy group) will present the Guidebook to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on July 12th. Bush: “I think it can greatly influence the way aquaculture is understood, in a positive way. Aquaculture is not just a private activity; it’s a shared activity that affects the entire ecosystem. We need to manage it at that scale to collectively ensure that we are supporting and maintaining ecosystems, while recognizing that on an individual scale there is a profit motive.” Do you want to know more about the guidebook and professor Bush’s work on marine governance? Read the news report here: 🔽 https://lnkd.in/e-MwahVp