Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences SAHS
Das Meum Scret des Balthasar Gioseph de Vincenz (1789–1858)
SWISS ACADEMIES REPORTS, VOL. 15, NO 2, 2020
Balthasar Gioseph de Vincenz aus dem surselvischen Dorf Siat reiste mit 16 Jahren nach Spanien und stellte sich in den spanischen Solddienst. Er nahm an zahlreichen Kämpfen teil und geriet einmal gar in französische Gefangenschaft, konnte sich daraus befreien und machte danach eine steile Karriere im spanischen Heer.
Der Autor zeigt in einzelnen transkribierten Passagen aus dem «Meum Scret» die Nähe des Schreibenden zum Spanischen. Da sich der Sprachkontakt zwischen dem Bündnerromanischen und dem Spanischen aufgrund der geographischen Begebenheiten nicht von sich aus ergibt, spiegelt diese Handschrift eine ganz persönliche Sprachbiographie und stellt daher auch in sprachwissenschaftlicher Hinsicht ein ganz besonders interessantes Schriftstück dar.
Ursin Lutz (2020) Das Meum Scret des Balthasar Gioseph de Vincenz (1789–1858). Swiss Academies Reports 15 (2).
Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences a+
Ethical guidelines for animal experiments
The Swiss Animal Welfare Act permits the use of animals for certain scientific purposes; at the same time, however, it requires that the dignity of animals be respected and their welfare protected. For researchers, reconciling these various societal interests can be challenging. The ethical guidelines for animal experiments (2025) are designed to clarify the margin of discretion left by the legislation and to encourage researchers to reflect on the handling of animals in their experiments. The decisive factors for updating the previous version from 2005 were new scientific knowledge and research methods on the one hand, as well as changes in the legal framework on the other.
Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT
Roles of Scientists in Sustainability Transformations: A Guide for Reflection and Workshop Facilitation
Scientists, scientific experts, and knowledge brokers often find themselves in situations where they need to play new roles in society or are criticised for positioning themselves at the interface between science and other societal fields of action. The present guide aims to stimulate reflections on, and discussions of, various different roles that scientists perform.
European Academies Science Advisory Council EASAC
Changing wildfires: policy options for a fire-literate and fire-adapted Europe
There is an increased probability of extreme fires, due mainly to climate change (droughts and declining summer precipitation), rural depopulation, and land-use changes. To respond to this, a new European Academies report is calling for an urgent shift in wildfire policy – from reactive fire suppression to proactive, risk-based land management.
Already today, wildfires burn half a million hectares in the EU yearly on average, i.e. nearly twice the size of Luxembourg. While the Mediterranean remains the highest-risk region, the report warns that continental, alpine, and boreal regions must also prepare for a new era of fire. Instead of focussing on fire suppression and emergency response, the report advocates for an integrated EU framework for landscape fire-risk governance that prioritises prevention alongside these three elements: climate and land-use policies that focus on restoring carbon-rich peatlands and managing forests sustainably; integrate fire risk into biodiversity and tree-planting plans; and educate for a fire-resilient society.
The report under the auspices of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) was drafted by scientists from across Europe. On behalf of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, Marco Conedera, forest engineer at the WSL Campus in Cadenazzo, contributed as a reviewer of a draft version.