Fields of research

  • Social Geography and Sustainable Resource Use
  • Cultural Geography
  • Human ecology

  • Tropics
  • Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Pacific Islands
  • Northern Germany, Ruhr Valley




  • 2020-2023 PI in Collaborative Research Centre 990:
    "Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems (Sumatra, Indonesia)"
    Project C02: "Social transformation processes and sustainable resource use in rural Jambi, Indonesia":
    WP1: Social effects of multi-stakeholder sustainability initiatives
    WP2: Replanting processes and effects on smallholder livelihoods
    WP3: Participatory sustainability assessmnent of future land use scenarios

  • 2018 PI in Cluster of Excellence Application "LUSci – Integrative Land Use Science for Sustainable Development"

  • 2017-218 Co-speaker of Co-Design Project "More diversity in land use – Regionalize it" in Future Earth

  • 2016-2019 PI in Collaborative Research Centre 990:
    "Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems (Sumatra, Indonesia)"
    Project C02: "Socio-cultural and institutional transformation processes in rural Jambi, Indonesia":
    WP1: Rural-urban linkages and flows
    WP2: Resource Governance

  • 2012-2015 New Collaborative Research Centre CRC 990 : Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems (Sumatra, Indonesia), sub-project C02

  • 2008-2011 Partnership Agreement with GTZ "Participatory livelihood assessment and poverty mapping" in "Second Rural Development Programme for Timor Leste" (RDPII-2005) (EU, BMZ) 2007

  • 2006-2009 SFB 552 (STORMA), Teilprojekt A5 "Welfare economic assessment of forest encroachment and ENSO effects in the face of personal capital and social capital dynamics"

  • 2003-2006 SFB 552 (STORMA), Teilprojekt A1 " Demographic change and its impact on land use"

  • 2000-2003 SFB 552 (STORMA), Teilprojekt A1 "Regional analysis of the cultural landscape and processes of change"