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
A biodiversity hotspot faces intensification of viticulture: the role of Fynbos remnants for the conservation of plants and butterflies
Loos, J. (Project manager, academic), Topp, E. (Project staff), Burghardt, S. (Project staff), Talanow, K. (Project staff), Martín-López, B. (Partner), Underhill, L. (Partner) & Edge, D. (Partner, non-academic)
01.04.18 → 30.06.20
Project: Research
Aufbau eines nationalen Weiterbildungszentrums für Fach- und Führungskräfte in Schutzgebieten Bulgariens im geplanten Umweltbildungszentrum "Kloster Rila"
Evers, M. (Project manager, academic), Lütkemöller, D. (Project manager, academic) & Pashova, R. (Partner)
German Federal Environmental Foundation
01.05.11 → 01.12.12
Project: Transfer (professional training)
NaGe: Befördern Nachhaltigkeitskompetenzen Frauen an die Spitze?
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic), Thiem, A. (Project staff), Katz, C. (Project staff), Moths, K. (Project staff) & Heilmann, S. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.03.11 → 31.12.14
Project: Research
BioKultDiv: Biocultural Diversity in Farming Landscapes of the Global South
Hanspach, J. (Project manager, academic), Díaz Reviriego, I. (Project staff), Benavides Frias, C. (Project staff), Ortiz-Przychodzka, S. (Project staff) & Drews-Shambroom, A. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.06.19 → 31.05.25
Project: Research
BiodiWert II: Konzepte zur Wiederherstellung von artenreichem Grünland in Deutschland (Grassworks-2) - Koordination, Sozialökologie und Modellregion Nord
Temperton, V. (Project manager, academic), Kuhn, L. (Project staff), Cebrián-Piqueras, M. A. (Project staff), Twerski, A. (Project staff) & Patru-Duse, I. A. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.11.21 → 30.04.25
Project: Research
Biomass - A renewable energy source? Sustainable biomass (re)production through Landscape Quality Management
Brüll, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.01.08 → 10.06.15
Project: Dissertation project
Blockierter Wandel? Die Überwindung von Dichotomien in den Raumbeziehungen als Element sozial-ökologischer Transformation. Teilprojekt 4: Naturkulturräume
Mölders, T. (Partner) & Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic)
01.08.03 → 28.02.06
Project: Research
CfN: Caring for natures? Geschlechterperspektiven auf (Vor)Sorge im Umgang mit ,Natur/en‘
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic), Mölders, T. (Project manager, academic), Kapitza, K. (Project staff), Deininger, M. (Project staff) & Katz, C. (Partner)
Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony
01.02.17 → 30.09.20
Project: Research
College Studien in der Praxis- KLIMAWERK Energieagentur GmbH & Co. KG
Hellmann, K. (Project manager, academic), Lang, F. J. (Project staff) & Schrader, R. (Project staff)
01.04.12 → 30.09.12
Project: Practical Project
Competence profiles, success criteria, and qualification requirements for scientists of environmental and sustainability sciences.
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic), Katz, C. (Project staff) & Thiem, A. (Project staff)
01.11.09 → 31.05.11
Project: Research
Kili-SES (NCP): Demand and values of Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP)
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic), Groß, M. (Project staff), Pearson, J. (Project staff) & Julius, J. (Project staff)
01.07.20 → 01.02.26
Project: Research
Der Beitrag von Semi-Subsistenzwirtschaft zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung ländlicher Räume. Eine Untersuchung in ausgewählten Regionen Polens (Arbeitstitel)
Szumelda, A. U. (Project manager, academic) & Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic)
01.12.09 → …
Project: Dissertation project
DFG research unit “The role of nature for human well-being in the Kilimanjaro Social-Ecological System” (Kili-SES-2) - Sub project 3: “Understanding social-ecological transformations: the role of initiatives’ values, rules and knowledge”
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic) & Groß, M. (Project manager, academic)
12.12.24 → 12.12.28
Project: Research
DFG research unit “The role of nature for human well-being in the Kilimanjaro Social-Ecological System” (Kili-SES) - Sub project 7: “Synthesis”
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic), Böhning-Gaese, K. (Project manager, academic), Fischer, M. (Project manager, academic) & Zeuss, D. (Project manager, academic)
12.12.24 → 12.12.28
Project: Research
Die Natur des Ländlichen. Zur Konzeption gesellschaftlicher Naturverhältnisse in ländlichen Räumen (Arbeitstitel)
Mölders, T. (Project manager, academic)
01.12.09 → 19.12.18
Project: Research
Dokumentation zum aktuellen Stand von Forschung und Diskussion zum Thema Geschlechterverhältnisse und Nachhaltigkeit
Katz, C. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.01 → 31.03.02
Project: Research
ESuDis: Effects of land management on the Supply and Distribution of ecosystem services
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic), Felipe-Lucia, M. R. (Project manager, academic) & Isaac, R. (Project staff)
13.07.20 → 31.12.23
Project: Research
FOR5501: A social-ecological systems approach to inform ecosystem restoration in rural Africa
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.23 → 30.04.27
Project: Research
FOR5501: A social-ecological systems approach to inform ecosystem restoration in rural Africa. Subproject SP1: Biodiversity impacts-local-scale restoration effects in western Rwanda
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.23 → 30.04.27
Project: Research
FOR5501: A social-ecological systems approach to inform ecosystem restoration in rural Africa . Subproject SP2: Landscape context - landscape-scale restoration dynamics in western Rwanda
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic), Kümmerle, T. (Project manager, academic) & Sun, P. (Project staff)
01.05.23 → 30.04.27
Project: Research
FOR5501: A social-ecological systems approach to inform ecosystem restoration in rural Africa. Sub Project SP8: Synthesis: Social-ecological restoration in western Rwanda
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.23 → 30.04.27
Project: Research
FOR 5501: A social-ecological systems approach to inform ecosystem restoration in rural Africa. Subprojekt SP3: Designing and implementing restoration governance for entvironmental justice
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.23 → 30.04.27
Project: Research
Fostering sustainable development in Eastern Europe: A case study of ancient agricultural landscapes in Central Romania
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic)
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
01.11.10 → 11.03.16
Project: Research
FRA.ME: Wissenschaftlerinnen Mentoring an der Universität Lüneburg
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic) & Thiem, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.07.04 → 18.06.07
Project: Research
Gestaltung gesellschaftlicher Naturverhältnisse in der ländlichen Entwicklung am Beispiel der nachhaltigen Nutzung von Agrobiodiversität
Burandt, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.08 → 07.02.18
Project: Dissertation project
Identifikation, Vernetzung und Stärkung von Akteuren im Bereich Care in der Green Economy
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic)
01.11.13 → 30.04.15
Project: Research
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
Intercultural CityLandscapes - Analysis and Design of Spatial Social-Ecological Transformations for Sustainable Regional Development
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic) & Katz, C. (Project staff)
18.02.09 → 18.08.10
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
Internationale wissenschaftliche Veranstaltung: „Zwölfte internationale Konferenz über das Monitoring und das Management von Besuchern in Erholungs- und Schutzgebieten“
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic)
21.06.24 → 31.01.25
Project: Scientific event
"Invasive" Arten im Prozessschutz
Kapitza, K. (Project manager, academic) & Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.17 → 30.04.20
Project: Dissertation project
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
Kollektiv-privater Landbesitz und die Krise des (Re)Produktiven
Dannenberg, J. (Project manager, academic)
01.06.13 → …
Project: Dissertation project
Kontroverse Praktiken – Praktiken einer Kontroverse. Schließung von Aushandlungsräumen in der öffentlichen Debatte zur Agro-Gentechnik in Polen
Sulmowski, J. A. (Project manager, academic)
01.12.09 → 22.06.16
Project: Dissertation project
Koordinatorin des Moduls "Wissenschaft trägt Verantwortung" im Leuphana-Semester am Institut für Umweltkommunikation
Burandt, A. (Coordination)
01.07.07 → 30.04.08
Project: Teaching
Language for Sustainability: Sustaining Biodiversity and Biocultures
Manuel-Navarrete, D. (Project manager, academic), Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic), Lam, D. (Project staff), Dillon-Swanson, T. (Project manager, academic), Gerber, L. (Project staff), Mwampamba, T. H. (Project manager, academic), Escalante, A. E. (Project staff) & Camou Guerreroe, A. (Project staff)
01.07.18 → 30.06.19
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
Lokale Konflikte um die Gestaltung gesellschaftlicher Naturverhältnisse am Beispiel von Agro-Gentechnik (Arbeitstitel)
Friedrich, B. (Project manager, academic)
01.12.09 → 29.04.15
Project: Dissertation project
MaSES: Mainstreaming Social-Ecological Sufficiency: Closing the sustainable consumption gap between societal demand and ecological limits (ERC Consolidator Grant)
Abson, D. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.23 → 30.04.28
Project: Research
Management von Gehölzen zur Verbesserung der Multifunktionalität in einer Kulturlandschaft Äthiopiens
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic)
German Federal Environmental Foundation
15.04.20 → 14.04.23
Project: Research
Nachhaltige Raumentwicklung - Wirtschaften in Netzen: Regionalvermarktung und Akteursnetzwerke von der Elbe bis zur Heide
Schrader, R. (Project staff), Lang, F. J. (Project staff), Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic) & Burandt, A. (Project staff)
15.10.12 → 28.02.13
Project: Teaching
Nachhaltige Raum- und Regionalentwicklung in der "Energiewende"
Heilmann, S. (Project manager, academic) & Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic)
01.10.13 → 30.09.18
Project: Dissertation project
Natur-Wissenschaft-Nachhaltigkeit. Die Bedeutung ökologischer Wissenschaften im Nachhaltigkeitsdiskurs sowie deren Zusammenhang mit gesellschaftlichen Natur- und Geschlechtervorstellungen
Katz, C. (Project manager, academic)
01.08.00 → 31.07.01
Project: Research
EQUIVAL: Nurturing a Shift towards Equitable Valuation of Nature in the Anthropocene
Pascual, U. (Coordination), Balvanera, P. (Project manager, academic) & Martín-López, B. (Partner)
11.11.17 → …
Project: Research
OpenNESS: OPERATIONALISATION OF NATURAL CAPITAL AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic)
01.10.13 → 31.05.17
Project: Research
tdAcademy: Platform for Transdisciplinary Research and Studies
Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Grauer, C. (Project staff) & Lam, D. (Project manager, academic)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.06.20 → 31.08.23
Project: Research
PoNa: Politiken der Naturgestaltung. Ländliche Entwicklung und Agro-Gentechnik zwischen Kritik und Vision
Mölders, T. (Project manager, academic) & Gottschlich, D. (Project manager, academic)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.08.08 → 30.04.09
Project: Research
Politiken nachhaltiger Naturgestaltung als Beitrag zur Demokratisierung der Demokratie – Agro-Gentechnik im Mehrebenensystem (Arbeitstitel)
Gottschlich, D. (Project manager, academic)
01.12.09 → …
Project: Research
PRIME Stipendium: Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic)
01.12.20 → 31.05.22
Project: Other
Project “Soils in the Media: Soil Topics on Youtube”
Lütkemöller, D. (Project manager, academic), Luenststaeden, B. (Project staff), Skubowius, K. M. (Project staff) & Beier, A. (Project staff)
01.03.13 → 01.12.13
Project: Other
Raumkonflikte – Konflikträume: Wie beinflussen neue molekularbiologische Züchtungstechniken Diskurse und Praktiken in ländlichen Räumen in Großbritannien und Deutschland?
Friedrich, B. (Project manager, academic)
01.07.19 → 31.03.20
Project: Research
Regionalisierte sozio-technische und -kulturelle Erfolgsfaktoren für ein nachhaltiges Wasser- und Landmanagment
Katz, C. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.09 → 31.12.09
Project: Research
Ressourcenpolitik und Geschlechtergerechtigkeit in der Globalisierung
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic) & Bauhardt, C. (Partner)
01.04.10 → 31.03.13
Project: Research
RURAGRI-MULTAGRI: Rural development through governance of multifunctional agricultural land use (MULTAGRI). Work package 5: Governance challenges to encourage landscape-scale uptake of appropriate management actions
Newig, J. (Project manager, academic), Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic) & Klein, A.-M. (Project manager, academic)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
29.08.13 → 31.12.16
Project: Research
Move'n'Sense: Sense of place and mobility in cross-border contexts – essentialist and progressive perspectives
Gottwald, S. (Project manager, academic) & Kołodyńska, I. (Project manager, academic)
05.11.21 → 02.01.25
Project: Research
PoNa: Shaping nature: Policy, Policies and Polity. Rural Development and Biotechnology in Agriculture between Criticism and Vision
Mölders, T. (Project manager, academic), Gottschlich, D. (Project manager, academic), Paszkowska, J. (Coordination), Friedrich, B. (Project staff), Sulmowski, J. A. (Project staff), Burandt, A. (Project staff), Szumelda, A. U. (Project staff) & Roth, S. (Coordination)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.11.09 → 31.10.14
Project: Research
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
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
Solidarity Farming - An Innovative Concept as a Contribution to the Strengthening of Agricultural SMEs and Sustainable Regional Development?
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic), Lang, F. J. (Project staff) & Schrader, R. (Project staff)
01.08.12 → 28.04.13
Project: Research
tdAcademy: Modul Gäste und Fellows
Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Grauer, C. (Project staff) & Lam, D. (Project staff)
01.05.20 → 31.05.25
Project: Research
sTeleBES : Telecoupled use of biodiversity and ecosystem services: synthesis of concepts, methods and evidence
Schröter, M. (Project manager, academic), Bonn, A. (Coordination), Koellner, T. (Project manager, academic) & Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic)
01.11.16 → 01.11.17
Project: Research
The future of brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Transylvania
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic) & Dorresteijn, I. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.12 → 27.04.15
Project: Research
The future of the European brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Transylvania II: How to maintain coexistence in a rapidly changing system
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic) & Dorresteijn, I. (Project manager, academic)
International Association for Bear Research and Management
01.02.13 → 20.04.15
Project: Research
ETH-Coffee: Towards a Sustainable Bioeconomy: A Scenario Analysis for the Jimma Coffee Landscape in Ethiopia
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic), Schultner, J. (Project manager, academic), Abson, D. (Project manager, academic), Duguma, D. W. (Project manager, academic), Jiren, T. S. (Project staff) & Brück, M. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.11.19 → 31.08.23
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
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
Unraveling patterns of ecosystem services supply: a case study in Southern Chile
Benra, F. (Project manager, academic)
01.09.18 → 31.08.22
Project: Dissertation project
VaNaTe: Unravelling the relation between Values of Nature and Telecoupling
Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.23 → 30.04.26
Project: Research
Von Weltbürger_innen und Anderen. Subjektivation im entwicklungspolitischen Freiwilligendienst weltwärts
Kontzi, K. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.09 → 05.02.14
Project: Dissertation project
Vorsorgendes Wirschaften: Wege zur gesellschaftlichen Transformation. Diskursanalytische Untersuchung des Transformationsfeldes Energie
Amri-Henkel, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.16 → …
Project: Dissertation project
Vorstudie: Universitäre und universitätsübergreifende Voraussetzungen für Nachwuchsförderung im Themenfeld "Gender und Nachhaltigkeit".
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic) & Katz, C. (Project manager, academic)
01.10.00 → 01.04.01
Project: Research
Waldwissen; wa'gen: Waldwissen und Naturerfahrungen auf dem Prüfstand: Reflexion von Natur- und Tätigkeitsverständnissen zur Entwicklung einer gendersensiblen forstlichen Waldbildungskompetenz
Katz, C. (Project manager, academic) & Mayer, M. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.05.05 → 30.11.08
Project: Research
BiodiWert: Was sind erfolgreiche Konzepte zur Wiederherstellung artenreichen Grünlandes in Deutschland? Eine multiregionale Bewertung sozial-ökologischer Systeme und pilothafte Umsetzung (Grassworks)
Temperton, V. (Project manager, academic), Leventon, J. (Project staff), Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic), Martín-López, B. (Project staff), May, F. (Project staff), Tischew, S. (Partner), Kirmer, A. (Partner), Kollmann, J. (Partner), Beckmann, V. (Partner), Dieker, P. (Partner), Thiele, J. (Partner) & Metzner, J. (Partner)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.10.20 → 30.09.21
Project: Research
Wildnis und nachhaltige Entwicklung
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic)
01.01.07 → …
Project: Research
WiN: Wirtschaften in Netzen – Stärkung regionaler Absatzmärkte für KMU als Beitrag zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung der Region
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic), Lang, F. J. (Project staff), Burandt, A. (Project staff), Schrader, R. (Project staff), Thiem, A. (Project staff) & Japsen, A. (Project staff)
Investitions- und Förderbank Niedersachsen – NBank
01.08.10 → 31.12.15
Project: Transfer (R&D project)
Wissenschaftliche Qualifizierungswege - Mentoring an der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Thiem, A. (Project staff) & Hofmeister, S. (Partner)
01.01.07 → 30.04.12
Project: Teaching