Tropentag 2024 was officially opened today at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, Austria. Katharina Gugerell, moderator and professor of sustainable land use at BOKU, gave a warm welcome to all attendees in the packed modern lecture hall. She emphasized the extreme importance of this year’s overall topic: ‘Explore opportunities… For managing natural resources and a better life for all’. We, the global society, are namely facing a triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss, and pollution in combination with waste. Professor Gugerell emphasized that the research outcomes presented at Tropentag provide a crucial variety of approaches to address this crisis.

We were also welcomed by several dignitaries: Eva Schulev Steindl (President of BOKU University), Leonore Gewessler (Austrian Federal Minister for Climate Action, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology), who attended digitally, Peter Huber (Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs), Stefanie Lemke and Andreas Melcher (professors at the BOKU cluster for Development Research), and Folkard Asch (chairperson of the Council for Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Research, ATSAF), all of whom stressed the increasing significance of science and its pivotal role in facilitating a stable, and secure world of tomorrow.

Especially Peter Huber’s message is one worth remembering: “Successful development cooperation needs all the know-how that will be exchanged and discussed at this conference”. Folkard Asch’s statement ties into this by highlighting the need to reach those who have to make the decisions and those who have to act locally to make research and knowledge valuable as well as impactful. Clear messages for all people at Tropentag to keep in mind when immersing themselves in the conference.

Following the welcome addresses, the plenary session moved on to the keynote speeches and discussion with special guests Franz Fischler, Anja Gassner, and Lerato Thakholi. The session ended with the Hans H. Ruthenberg Award for Graduates 2024 and the Herman Eiselen Science Award 2024 hosted by the Fiat Panis Foundation.