Core Position: Programme & Projects
„What fascinates me here at Biovision is the connection between research and application. Knowledge of new, environmentally friendly techniques in organic farming and control of disease-transmitting insects is not filed away but disseminated directly – since knowledge is the only resource which grows as it is shared.“
When Flurina Wartmann stands in front of a world map, it warms her heart. So many countries she has travelled, so many exciting places she has visited, and the many people she has met! – Experiences and chance meetings that have left their mark and influenced her way of life. One of these people is J. Nakola of the Maasai in Kenya. She got to know him on a trip through the Maasai Mara and through him learned a lot about the dark side of the national park and its effect on the local population. After intense talks with other travelers and game wardens a fascination was ignited in her for the conflict between environmental protection, tourism and the local population. Back at home she wrote her school leaver's dissertation on this complex topic. It was no accident then, that she studied geography with a minor in biology at the University of Zürich. On a semester abroad at the Universidad de Zaragoza in Spain she took courses focusing on Latin America and at the same time developed her Spanish skills.
For her MA at the University of Zürich, Flurina Wartmann specialised in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and due to her interest in spatiotemporal processes took on an interdisciplinary thesis at the interface between geography and biology. She eventually carried out these studies in the heart of Borneo, where she researched the seasonal kinesic behaviour of wild orangutans. In central Kalimantan she lived for two months in a research camp in the rainforest and learned how to make herself understood in Indonesian. Through contact with the local population she gained moving insights into the way of life of the Dayak, who are torn between their traditions and a culture of globalization. She likes to remember the conversations and evenings spent together on the terraces of the dwellings on the Kapuas River.
At Biovision, Flurina Wartmann supports the construction of Infonet, the internet information platform for farmers, with regards to content. She has been providing support for Biovision in the Programme and Projects department since the end of her studies. Additionally, the geographer is responsible for the production of maps of the project areas and prepared the launch of Biovision onto GoogleEarth.
