Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

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We conduct research to understand and develop sustainable strategies for managing natural resources, energy and communities. In our research, we seek to find effective and equitable solutions to today's climate and environmental challenges.

Description

The Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (NRHU) research programme focuses on different dimensions of the natural environment and the sustainable use of natural resources as the foundation for human societies. We aim to provide knowledge on identifying, exploring, and using natural resources securely and sustainably and to integrate this knowledge into governance systems and management practices. Our work considers complexity and interconnections between natural and man-made environments, often adopting interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches.

Research in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development is conducted both in Uppsala and at Campus Gotland.

Our Research

The Environment, Nature and Society research theme concentrates on interactions between humans and nature. We apply interdisciplinary approaches and a wide variety of natural and social science research methods. The approaches and concepts used involve socio-ecological systems, environmental sociology, environmental economics, natural resource management and economics, governance, and sustainability analysis. We also work with different environmental policies and Sustainable Development Goals, practical application of the ecosystem services concept, biodiversity conservation and restoration, nature and fishing tourism development, environmental conflicts and management of natural resources. Much of our work is conducted in collaboration with stakeholders at different societal levels, from local communities and organisations to governmental authorities. We consider a broad range of environments, including coastal habitats, fisheries and aquaculture systems, freshwater ecosystems, forests and urban areas.

Specific research topics:

  • Resilient food systems and supply
  • Multifunctional landscapes
  • Recreational fishing and fishing tourism
  • Eco-labelling and sustainable food
  • Contamination and remediation of coastal areas
  • Ocean observations
  • Seagrass, fisheries and coastal areas
  • Ecosystem services, biodiversity, sustainable development goals
  • Forests and society
  • Freshwater systems and water governance
  • Limits to growth and scale
  • Transformative change of social-ecological relations in the past and present
  • Human-animal interaction
  • Power, inequality, and conflicts over natural environments
  • Geosociality and geopower

Ökad turism kan innebära ett större tryck på miljön i turisttäta områden.

The Energy, Resources and Society research theme focuses on problem-oriented interdisciplinary research concerned with the sustainable use and management of energy, natural resources, and safe infrastructures and settlements underpinning contemporary modern society. We analyse the global supply of fossil fuels and critical raw materials, sustainable deployment of and resource requirements for renewable energy technologies, energy/climate governance, energy security, energy futures and resource geographies, and establishment of safe and sustainable settlements and human infrastructures. In our research, we combine natural sciences (e.g., geology, physics, and volcanology) with social science approaches (e.g., sociotechnical imaginaries, political geology, and security studies). We collaborate closely with colleagues from several international research institutions and universities, including the China University of Petroleum-Beijing, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Durham University, and the University of Iceland.

Specific research topics:

  • Sustainable energy transition
  • Sustainable energy systems
  • Energy systems analysis and impacts
  • Energy security and governance
  • Resource extractivism, security and governance
  • Space resources as a source of critical raw materials
  • Sociotechnical imaginaries and energy visions
  • Carbon budgets and regional climate policy
  • Volcanically versus anthropogenically induced climate change
  • Volcanic threats to society and infrastructures
  • Systems shifts and systems interactions for low-carbon energy
  • Tools for exploring local energy transformation
Vy över ett industrilandskap med slagghögar och kranar.

Vy över ett industrilandskap med slagghögar och kranar.

Climate Change Leadership (CCL) at the Department of Earth Sciences in Uppsala University is a transdisciplinary research theme that explores the interactions between environmental science and society at large. The researchers analyse what roles different governance systems and actors can play in the context, and in particular how effective and fair political or other strategies for societal change can be developed and implemented, including the consequences these might have. Climate transformation, governance and policy is a broad theme at the centre of the CCL research, and a range of related environmental goals are also specifically targeted in various studies.

Read more in our Climate Change Leadership Blog

Specific research topics:

  • Climate science denial
  • Science-policy interactions and decision-making
  • Climate leadership among various stakeholders
  • Political strategies for achieving climate targets
  • Climate change and democracy
  • Climate policy and public acceptance
  • Climate mitigation and sufficiency
  • Climate policy and circular economy
  • Green transformation
  • Wicked problem governance
  • Climate governance and private diplomacy
  • Synergies and barriers between climate and biodiversity policies
  • Policies for multifunctional landscapes

International Zennström professorship in climate change leadership

The CCL theme is host for the Zennström guest professorship in climate change leadership, which is a series of visiting professors co-financed by a generous donation from Zennström Philanthropies, founded by Uppsala University alumn Niklas Zennström and his wife Catherine Zennström.

Read more about the guest professors on our blog

Earth System Governance

The Earth System Governance Project is a global research network that aims to advance knowledge at the interface between global environmental change and governance. The network connects and mobilizes scholars from the social sciences and humanities researching at local and global scales. From 2025 to 2030 The International Project Office of the Earth System Governance Project will run by Climate Change Leadership at the Department of Earth Sciences.

Read more about the Earth System Governance Project

Bild från COP28 i Dubai, december 2023. Fotograf Mikael Karlsson.

Bild från COP28 i Dubai, december 2023. Fotograf Mikael Karlsson.

Networks and centers associated with NRHU

The Baltic University Programme (BUP)

The BUP is a cooperation of more than 110 universities located in 10 countries in the drainage area of the Baltic Sea. The Programme strives to find novel ways of interaction among universities and between universities and society. The main aim is to enhance strong regional educational and research communities, while also fostering a greater awareness of sustainable development, environmental protection, and democracy in the Baltic Sea Region. The BUP started in 1991 as an enthusiastic effort to bridge the information divide left by the Iron Curtain and has been growing ever since.

Read more about The Baltic University Programme (BUP)

Blue Center Gotland (BCG)

The Blue Center Gotland (BCG) is a collaboration between Uppsala University, the County Administrative Board Gotland and Region Gotland, which focuses on research and development related to water on land, along coasts and at sea, with a focus on Gotland. BCG supports cooperation among researchers and society both nationally and internationally.

Read more about Blue Center Gotland (BCG)

PhD Studies

According to international evaluations, Uppsala University has some of the most comprehensive research in geosciences in Europe, and our doctoral students at Uppsala University are among the most satisfied with their doctoral education. We offer doctoral studies in eight research areas.

Read more about our PhD Studies

For a list of members, see the University directory..

Completed projects

Completed projects

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