Jürg Staudenmann: "During the uprising, we tried to educate people about environmental issues."

When you were a kid, what did you want to be?

For a long time, I wanted to be a pilot for the Swiss Air Rescue service. I was really into technology and nature. This was possibly a sign of my desire to help people (laughs). Environmental protection had just hit the headlines in the 80s and was a regular theme in our studies at high school. I found it fascinating. But I was told that it was an ungainful occupation and that I should study something more intelligent like civil or mechanical engineering.

Despite this advice, you graduated from Environmental Engineering at ETH and then completed a postgraduate course in Development Cooperation. Why did you choose to study at ETH?

I’ve always wanted to understand relationships. Initially, I was interested in technical aspects. Combining this with a fascination for the environment, I decided to study environmental engineering. It was the first year that the course had run and we were still based in Agricultural Engineering.

However, it didn’t take long for me to realise during my time at ETH that social aspects are exciting too. So during the second half of my course, I also attended lectures in environmental sciences. Disciplines like "human ecology" were all the rage at the time.

Later, when undertaking research at university in Wädenswil, I got involved with China and India. We were examining approaches to waste water treatment, such as fish and plant-based systems to treat waste water and recover nutrients. As a result of my growing interest in intercultural and social topics, I finally considered a postgraduate course. NADEL, the Postgraduate Course on Developing Countries, was the obvious choice.

You have over 20 years of experience in sustainable development and international cooperation. How has ETH helped you in your work?

I certainly got my job with the UN development programme because I had this environmental background. Later on I was a regional advisor for water issues in Eastern Europe. I was able to draw on the skills I had learnt when studying at ETH: social development topics from NADEL and technical aspects from environmental studies. Interdisciplinary skills have always been a priority for me.

Can you tell us about an experience from your time in the field that has left a lasting impression on you?

I was first deployed in Palestine between 2001 and 2003. The Second Intifada was underway. My work included looking after a wadi, a river bed that dried out regularly and was of immense importance for migratory birds in the Mediterranean region. Our project partners organised several excursions for school pupils from the Gaza Strip. It was a hugely positive element in a sea of misery. But at the same time, it was slightly surreal; during the uprising, we tried to educate people about environmental issues.

You were stationed in various places and worked with people from various cultures. Is there anything that they all have in common?

All people have similar desires and basic needs: they want to lead a decent and dignified life. This includes having an income or livelihood which allows them to feed their families. The climatological, cultural or political landscape shapes what this looks like in each case. But everyone always wants to be part of the social and political process too.

Since 2014, you've been working at Alliance Sud, a development policy think-and-do tank responsible for the climate and environment. What does your work involve?

Alliance Sud is the political arm of the Swiss development organisations. It is our job to influence Swiss policy on important issues in the realm of development policy. It’s almost the next logical step in my career path: from technical aspects and natural science, the incorporation of social issues and finally adding the political context. I find it highly fascinating.

It goes without saying that I benefit hugely from my sound background in natural science and most importantly the systematic thinking I learnt at ETH. Added to this are the experiences I gained in social and societal issues from various countries and development cooperation. These are key to the issue of climate justice, in the sense of the north/south dimension. The challenge is to incorporate everything in the context of Swiss policy.

We develop and represent political positions, on say CO2 legislation. From a development policy standpoint, the matter of climate finance is important. In other words, how should prosperous countries like Switzerland support the poorest people in developing nations during the climate crisis? After all, they are much more affected by the consequences of climate change, most of which they haven’t caused. We develop principles and discuss them directly with parliamentarians. Through our work, we try to influence aspects of the political process from the standpoint of the world’s disadvantaged.

When you look back at your education and career, would you make the same decisions again?

I would make similar decisions but now I would get straight into environmental sciences and leave aside the technical focus. I also wouldn’t take postgraduate course in Switzerland, but study somewhere else. But I rarely made conscious decisions to aim for a particular career. Especially not in the sense of needing any intermediate stages to reach any distant career goal. It was much more a case of opportunities presenting themselves and me recognising and seizing them. I didn’t plan my career from the outset but I’ve always found it fulfilling. In other words, if I were setting out again today, I’m sure my career would take a slightly different but just as interesting a path.

What advice would you give anyone studying at ETH today?

Just that: you shouldn’t and can’t really plan your career. I’ve observed numerous things over my time and don't believe that rigidly calculated career paths work. Every single step has to be consistent, then doors start to open. Also if you are considering further studies, it’s important that the course makes sense to you and isn't just the means to a dream career that you hope to pursue in the distant future.

But I believe that the students of today have the right approach: they are following their hearts rather than an anticipated career. After all, a lot in life makes sense, even the unexpected. If you have the courage to engage and reflect on what happens to you, then even setbacks can be useful stepping stones. I would even say that you can't move forwards without going backwards some of the time.