Contact
Dr Gesche Krause
Gesche.Krause@awi.de
0471 / 4831-1631
Dr Lena Rölfer
Lena.Roelfer@awi.de
0471 / 4831-2442
Dr Christina Hörterer
christina.hoerterer@awi.de
0471 / 4831-2442
Projects
Various environmental challenges profoundly affect social-ecological systems (SES), influencing both human societies and natural environments. Tackling these challenges necessitates inter- and transdisciplinary research approaches. Adopting a problem-focused SES perspective, we collaborate across diverse disciplines, including natural sciences like biology, biogeochemistry, and mathematical modelling, as well as social sciences such as economics, psychology, and political science. Additionally, our approach integrates engineering and humanities fields, including history and cultural studies.
Ongoing Projects
PrimePrevention
PrimePrevention integrates social and natural sciences, engineering, as wells as relevant stakeholder groups through a transdisciplinary co-creation process in two living labs located along the German Baltic Sea. The overall objective is to develop a smart and flexible ocean observation strategy tailored to the specific observation needs of individual stakeholder groups. Observation and prediction methods will be exemplified for selected biological hazards (Cyanobacteria, Vibrio, and hypoxia) in the western Baltic Sea.
We analyse the scientific and political frameworks by identifying actors and the associated ecosystem services affected by marine biological hazards. In addition, we create a social network baseline for these hazards and develop respective indicators in collaboration with policy makers. Accompanying this, we evaluate the factors and processes for the successful co-development and transfer of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge.
This effort seeks to derive recommendations for actions to mitigate their economic and health impacts while also taking into account cascading effects from other marine extremes.
Link to project site (German).
INDIFUN-AI
With the help of AI approaches the overall diversity of the entire plankton community of the Fram Strait (Arctic) is assessed. This data is then applied to forecast future scenarios of Arctic planktonic biodiversity. Recommendations to policy and indicator integration in current monitoring processes are co-developed with stakeholders. By participatory methods a deeper understanding of the repercussions between biodiversity and system functions. Main methods applied in the social science research are exchange platform workshops, next to stakeholder mapping and collaborative scenario development.
Leverage Points for Climate action
Leverage points are places to intervene in complex social-ecological systems where a small intervention can lead to big changes within the system. In this working group we discuss and further develop the Leverage Points Perspective as a bridging tool between research and society.
More information.
Completed Projects
INTERNAS
The INTERNAS project transferred knowledge from international environmental assessments to German policy through participative consultations, enhancing national SDG implementation. It also aimed to standardise knowledge transfer processes and developed success indicators while engaging diverse stakeholders. It received funding in 2018 - 2021 from the Initiative and Networking Fund by the Helmholtz Association, in which the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz-Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) pooled and applied their expertise on terrestrial, marine, coastal and polar ecosystems.
ESKP
Addressing societal and environmental challenges requires transdisciplinary research that integrates diverse knowledge, reconciles values, and fosters shared solutions. The "Earth System Knowledge Platform" (ESKP) concept of the German Helmholtz Association (HGF) was funded between 2012 - 2020, in which the information and knowledge of eight Institutes of the HGF within the research field "Earth and Environment" were combined and synthesised (www.eskp.de). AWI as one of these eight institutes welcomed this opportunity and developed a unique, tailored ESKP@AWI strategy as part of its program-oriented research structure. In addition to providing scientifically-based knowledge, the various research work packages of AWI focused on target-specific translation and contextualization of the best available scientific knowledge.
GAIN
The GAIN project (Green Aquaculture Intensification in Europe) funded by EU Horizon 2020 between 2018 – 2021, aimed to support the ecological intensification of aquaculture in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA), with the dual objectives of increasing production and competitiveness of the industry, while ensuring sustainability and compliance with EU regulations on food safety and environment. In GAIN, we assessed consumer acceptance of aquaculture within the framework of the circular economy to identify bottlenecks and propose solutions to market barriers.
Link to project site.
Digital Earth
The Digital Earth project, funded by the German Helmholtz Association (2018-2021), united all its Earth and Environment research centres to enhance Earth system understanding. It developed data science methods within scientific workflows, enabling collaboration between natural and data scientists. For the latter, social science research investigated the collaboration dynamics in interdisciplinary research settings.