The BOKU Europe-LAND project team is represented by an interdisciplinary team of scientists from the Institute of Social Ecology (SEC) at BOKU University in Vienna, Austria. The team combines backgrounds in social, natural and computer sciences, which allows them to apply and combine social and natural science approaches in their work. With two decades of work in various inter- and transdisciplinary project settings, the team has extensive experience in working with stakeholders and participatory modeling approaches. The Institute of Social Ecology focuses on the interrelations and co-evolutionary structures of social and natural systems in the context of sustainable development. Through an interdisciplinary lens, SEC aims to develop information systems on the environmental consequences of human activities (“pressures on the environment”). Furthermore, these concepts guide research on ecological, social and economic aspects of sustainable development at local, national and global levels, as well as the analysis of socio-ecological transformations.
Pictured (left to right): Dr. Mag. Claudine Egger, Dr. Christian Lauk, Dr. Veronika Gaube, Dr. Barbara Smetschka, Mag. Benedikt Grammer
The project team consists of team members Barbara Smetschka, Benedikt Grammer, Christian Lauk, Claudine Egger and is led by Veronika Gaube. The research team specializes in transdisciplinary land-use research, combining qualitative research approaches such as interviews and workshops with quantitative data analysis and participatory modelling.
In Europe-LAND the team is active in WP3, where Veronika Gaube, Barbara Smetschka and Claudine Egger are involved in the development of the Living Lab approach and the coordination of the stakeholder processes in the eight case study regions. Their aim is to identify current land-use trends and to develop narratives for future land use scenarios together with regional and national stakeholders. For their activities in WP5, team members Veronika Gaube, Claudine Egger, Benedikt Grammer and Christian Lauk plan to integrate the knowledge gained in WP3 to model future land-use trajectories. The modelling process will consider not only macro-structural developments, such as the effects of changing socio-economic and climatic factors, but also the effects on individual and socio-cultural factors that influence farmers’ regional land-use decision-making.