11/03/2020 | Global societal challenges such as climate change, the loss of biodiversity, food security, addressing social inequalities and preventing and overcoming violent conflicts, require strong interdisciplinary and international research collaboration. Research at the interface of environment and development is often hampered by traditional academic boundaries New ideas and fresh research approaches are needed to meet these challenges and young researchers in particular play a key role in doing so.
To address research questions at the environment-development interface and to helpovercome these structural barriers within academia, the five German research
institutes ATB, GIGA, IGZ, ZALF and ZMT have initiated the Leibniz Environment and Development Symposium (LEADS).
This year's edition took place on March 9 and 10 at the headquarters of the Leibniz Association in Berlin. The meeting again provided a forum for postdoctoral researchers and doctoral candidates to present and discuss in detail their nearly ready to submission papers and allowed for exchange between members of various institutes working on the intersection between Environment and Development from a social science perspective.
The aim of LEADS is to foster interdisciplinary exchange and stimulate collaboration on global societal challenges among early career researchers and senior scholars. As such LEADS also contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the United Nations.
Contacts 
Working Groups