Professors Thomas Elmqvist and Carl Folke
Research
Research in the Natural Resource Management Group focus on the dynamics of
coupled social ecological systems based on a resilience perspective and
complex systems theory. This includes research areas such as
a) exploring
what maintains the capacity of ecosystems to sustain societal development,
b) how to create sustainable practices in the face of global changes, and
c)
research on where adaptive and transformative capacity resides in
social-ecological systems.
We do basic and applied interdisciplinary research, develop theory, make
empirical and comparative analyses, and model social-ecological systems. We
have an extensive national and international network of collaborators with
scholars from a diversity of disciplines in the natural and social sciences
and the humanities. We work closely with Stockholm Resilience Centre and our
group consists of six faculty and approximately 15 graduate students.
Research topics include:
- freshwater and catchment management,
- sustainable food production in agriculture and aquaculture,
- coral reef, seagrass and mangrove ecosystem management,
- coastal fisheries’ institutions and organizations,
- management of tropical dry forests,
- sustainable cities and urban ecology,
- dynamics of human institutions, organizations and driving forces in sustainable ecosystem management,
- adaptive co-management systems,
- the critical role of ecological knowledge as a link for proper monitoring and interpretation of ecosystem processes and dynamics.
Teaching
We offer an annual undergraduate course (10 p C-kurs), “Natural Resources and Society”. We also organize graduate courses on current topics with CTM and the Beijer Institute. We supervise approximately 10 degree projects per year, including Minor Field Studies mainly in tropical countries, in addition to the graduate degree program with approximately 20 active graduate students.
Outreach
We are actively involved in the dissemination of research results through collaboration with Albaeco (www.albaeco.com) and CTM. Further, we actively contribute to adaptive co-management processes and take part in a diversity of outreach activities and advisory functions for governmental and non-governmental organizations.
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