The Section for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Forestry (SeTSAF) in Göttingen. SeTSAF Mission Statement


The Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Use - Section for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Forestry (CBL-SeTSAF) is an interdisciplinary scientific centre at the Georg-August Universität Göttingen, which was jointly established by the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and the Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, with members from seven faculties - Geoscience and Geography, Biology, Economic Sciences, Social Sciences and Medicine. It is founding partner in the recently established Göttingen International Health Network, a collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, which ensures that health challenges caused by global change can be tackled effectively through interdisciplinary approaches.

The CBL-SeTSAF focuses its activities on development-related issues, with major areas of interest in research and education in


    sustainable development

    food production

    forest, soil and water management

    health – plant/animal/human in particular in the developing world.



CBL-SeTSAF implements and executes collaborative research projects in the above thematic areas, covering both basic and applied research, and supports international study programs on behalf of the faculties of Agriculture and Forestry as well as post-graduate programs of the faculties of Geoscience and Geography, Biology and Economic Sciences, also in collaboration with universities in developing in countries. Thus, CBL-SeTSAF draws on advanced theoretical and application-oriented knowledge among its members and partners, from such diverse fields as agriculture, veterinary sciences, forestry and agroforestry, development economics, ecology, biodiversity, landscape ecology, geography, nature conservation, hydrogeology and related social sciences and medicine, for the promotion of research and for capacity building to globally support sustainable food production and resource management, in the face of global change, climate change and food insecurity.

To increase networking and cooperation in research and education with other development- related domains in Göttingen and research institutes worldwide, embedded in research networks of global importance, is the explicit goal of the Center.