Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
Organisational unit: Institute
Organisation profile
Vision & Mission
We envision a fair world where the benefits generated within social-ecological systems are shared sustainably with other species, both within and across generations. Solutions to sustainability challenges are developed collaboratively across diverse scientific disciplines, knowledge systems, and social interests. To realise our vision, we recognise the need for transformative change. In pursuit of such change we:
- use place-based social-ecological systems thinking to understand and resolve sustainability challenges such as biodiversity loss and environmental injustice;
- bring together insights and approaches from the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities in genuinely collaborative endeavours;
- integrate experiences, practices, and understandings from diverse knowledge systems;
- embed tools for transformative change into the social-ecological systems thinking via a leverage points perspective;
- develop and apply methods to bridge multiple scales and governance levels; and
- provide spaces for people sharing our vision to meet and exchange ideas.
Main research areas
We primarily conduct integrative and transdisciplinary research. In particular, the following topics are central to the Institute's research work:
- Biodiversity conservation
- Biocultural diversity
- Cross-scale governance
- Leverage points & transformation
- Ecosystem services
- Relational values
- Environmental justice
Understanding human-carnivore relationships: from social conflicts to ecosystem services
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic), Lozano Mendoza, J. (Project staff), von Wehrden, H. (Partner), Dorresteijn, I. (Partner) & Fischer, J. (Partner)
01.11.16 → 31.10.17
Project: Research
Vorsorgendes Wirschaften: Wege zur gesellschaftlichen Transformation. Diskursanalytische Untersuchung des Transformationsfeldes Energie
Amri-Henkel, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.16 → …
Project: Dissertation project
SENet: Social and ecological networks supporting biodiversity and food security
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic) & Bergsten, A. (Project manager, academic)
15.01.16 → 17.03.18
Project: Research
TraVo: Transformation in Ökonomie und Politik: Teilvorhaben 2: Nachhaltigkeitswissenschafliche Ansätze und Geschlechterverhältnisse in der Transformationsdebatte
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic), Moths, K. (Project staff), Amri-Henkel, A. (Project staff) & Lenz, C. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.08.15 → 30.10.16
Project: Research
Leverage Points for Sustainability Transformation: Institutions, People and Knowledge
Vilsmaier, U. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Newig, J. (Project manager, academic), Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic), Schomerus, T. (Project manager, academic), von Wehrden, H. (Project manager, academic), Sieveking, A. (Project staff), Klaniecki, K. T. (Project staff), Dorninger, C. (Project staff), Clarke, E. A. (Project staff), Horcea-Milcu, A. I. (Project staff), Lam, D. (Project staff), Patru-Duse, I. A. (Project staff), Jager, N. W. (Project staff), Derwort, P. (Project staff), Patru-Duse, I. A. (Project staff), Apetrei, C.-I. (Project staff), Freeth, R. C. (Project staff), Engbers, M. (Project staff), Peukert, D. (Project staff), Berkau, A. J. (Project staff), Lutz, L. M. (Coordination), Leventon, J. (Project manager, academic) & Abson, D. (Project manager, academic)
Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony
01.04.15 → 31.03.21
Project: Research
Kleinforschungsprojekt: Transformationsfeld Energiewende im Raum - Impulse aus der Genderforschung
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic), Henkel, A. (Project staff) & Stumpe, F. (Project staff)
16.02.15 → 30.09.15
Project: Research
IPBES: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic)
01.01.15 → 31.12.18
Project: Research
SoCoFarm: SoCoFarm: Soil Communication by Farmers; Study on Farmer´s Perception of and Communication about Soils
Lütkemöller, D. (Project manager, academic) & Tischbierek, M. (Project manager, academic)
01.12.14 → …
Project: Other
SESyP: Identifying social-ecological System Properties benefiting Biodiversity and Food Security
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic), Hanspach, J. (Coordination), Schultner, J. (Coordination), Dorresteijn, I. (Coordination), Collier, N. (Coordination), Dugo, G. S. (Project staff), Rodrigues, P. (Project staff), Jiren, T. S. (Project staff) & Manlosa, A. O. (Project staff)
01.06.14 → 31.05.19
Project: Research