1 PhD position in Conceptualising and quantifying human-nature connections in Germany | Leuphana University

This position is part of the Leverage Points project. It focuses on conceptualising and quantifying human-nature connections and how changes in such connections relate to sustainability outcomes, in food and energy systems in Lower Saxony (DE) and Transylvania (RO).

You will be expected to work closely with the research consortium, including seven other PhD students, eight Principal Investigators, and Four Postdoctoral researchers.

The Leverage Points project focuses on understanding how changes in interconnected social-ecological systems facilitate the transformation to sustainability repre-sents one of the key challenges of sustainability science. Drawing on insights from systems thinking and solution-oriented transdisciplinary research, this project will focus on hitherto under-recognized leverage points – system properties where a small shift can lead to fundamental changes in the system as a whole. Leverage Points will focus on changes in relatively intractable, but potentially highly influential, system properties that could help to realign complex social-ecological systems to the normative goals of sustainability. Specifically, we will analyse three sustainability-relevant leverage points: 1) institu-tional dynamics (RESTRUCTURE); 2) human-environment interactions (RECONNECT); and 3) sustainability-related knowledge creation and use (RETHINK). The three leverage points will be studied individually and with regard to their interdependencies, on two key themes (food and energy) in two contrasting case study regions (Transylvania in Romania, and Lower Saxony in Germany).

This position looks at conceptualising and quantifying human-nature connections and how changes in such connections relate to sustainability outcomes, in food and energy systems in Lower Saxony (DE) and Transylvania (RO).

Specific tasks and responsibilities may include:

1) Co-leading the creation of a literature review of the connections between people and ecosystems in a larger team;

2) creat-ing a review of the opportunities for people-ecosystem connections in food and energy provision based on statistical analysis of word abundances and normative aspects;

3) quantifying ecosystem service flows within the empirical study regions and linking these with other parts of the project both in terms of study design and data output.

To this end, the candidate may also lead the creation of a spatial database for the overall Leverage Points project.