Katharina Mader

1999 Autumn Conference:
21.–23.9.1999, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler
(in co-operation with the International Human Dimensions Programme, Bonn)

The conference was opened with a lecture by J. Mittelstraß on the understanding of nature from a scientific, historical, and epistemological point of view. This was a starting point for the following sections: M. Thompson (London) talked about how and why cultural and behavioural diversity lead to different kinds of environmental understanding. D. Gyawali (Kathmandu) reported on the influence of “social carriers of technology” on the environmental perception from the particular perspective of developing countries. H. Coward (Victoria, Canada) gave an overview and comparison of the contributions of various religions to environmental ethics. D. Birnbacher (Düsseldorf) examined in his lecture whether universal environmental values exist or can be constructed and how far the overall concept of “sustainability” applies. This section was rounded off by a commentary by P. Claval (Paris). The final section opened with a lecture by M. Redclift (Canterbury, UK) on the concept of “sustainability” which he illustrated with a case study from the Caribbean Coast. H.-K. Yoon (Auckland) and R. P. Sieferle (Mannheim) commented from a religious and historical point of view.

The conference and its lectures form the basis of Volume 19 “Environment Across Cultures” from the book series “Wissenschaftsethik und Technikfolgenbeurteilung” (ethics of science and technology assessment).