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
- Journal articles › Research › Peer-reviewed
- Published
Bright spots: seeds of a good Anthropocene
Bennett, E. M., Solan, M., Biggs, R., McPhearson, T., Norström, A. V., Olsson, P., Pereira, L., Peterson, G. D., Raudsepp-Hearne, C., Biermann, F., Carpenter, S. R., Ellis, E. C., Hichert, T., Galaz, V., Lahsen, M., Milkoreit, M., Martín-López, B., Nicholas, K. A., Preiser, R., Vince, G., Vervoort, J. M. & Xu, J., 01.10.2016, In: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 14, 8, p. 441-448 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Broadening the scope of ecosystem services research: Disaggregation as a powerful concept for sustainable natural resource management
Brück, M., Abson, D. J., Fischer, J. & Schultner, J., 01.02.2022, In: Ecosystem Services. 53, 11 p., 101399.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Broad values as the basis for understanding deliberation about protected area management
Goodson, D. J., van Riper, C. J., Andrade, R., Stewart, W., Cebrián-Piqueras, M. A. & Raymond, C. M., 03.2024, In: Sustainability Science. 19, 2, p. 449-467 19 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Brown bear activity in traditional wood-pastures in Southern Transylvania, Romania
Röllig, M., Dorresteijn, I., von Wehrden, H., Hartel, T. & Fischer, J., 01.05.2014, In: Ursus. 25, 1, p. 44-52 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Can we have it all? The role of grassland conservation in supporting forage production and plant diversity
Kachler, J., Benra, F., Bolliger, R., Isaac, R., Bonn, A. & Felipe-Lucia, M. R., 12.2023, In: Landscape Ecology. 38, 12, p. 4451-4465 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Capital asset substitution as a coping strategy: Practices and implications for food security and resilience in southwestern Ethiopia
Manlosa, A. O., Schultner, J., Dorresteijn, I. & Fischer, J., 01.11.2019, In: Geoforum. 106, p. 13-23 11 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Carnivores’ contributions to people in Europe
Palacios-Pacheco, S., Martín-López, B., Expósito-Granados, M., Requena-Mullor, J. M., Lozano, J., Sánchez-Zapata, J. A., Morales-Reyes, Z. & Castro, A. J., 08.2024, In: Ecology and Society. 29, 3, 9.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Catalyzing Transformations to Sustainability in the World's Mountains
the Mountain Sentinels Network, Klein, J. A., Tucker, C. M., Nolin, A. W., Hopping, K. A., Reid, R. S., Steger, C., Grêt-Regamey, A., Lavorel, S., Müller, B., Yeh, E. T., Boone, R. B., Bourgeron, P., Butsic, V., Castellanos, E., Chen, X., Dong, S., Greenwood, G., Keiler, M., Marchant, R., Seidl, R., Spies, T., Thorn, J., Yager, K. & Martín‐López, B., 01.05.2019, In: Earth's Future. 7, 5, p. 547-557 11 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Chagga women´s connections with nature: fostering relationality through arts-based methods
Pearson, J., Massawe, J. J., Mbaruku, A. P., Mramba, E. I., Mwampamba, T. H. & Martín-López, B., 03.2025, In: Ecosystems and People. 21, 1, 21 p., 2459108.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Challenges for biodiversity monitoring using citizen science in transitioning social-ecological systems
Loos, J., Horcea-Milcu, A. I., Kirkland, P., Hartel, T., Osváth-Ferencz, M. & Fischer, J., 01.07.2015, In: Journal for Nature Conservation. 26, p. 45-48 4 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review