Melanie Feurer

I am an agronomist / forest scientist / geographer who is interested in land system dynamics and their effects on , Smallholders and local communities, governance mechanisms as well as local adaptive capacities and coping strategies. I have been working primarily in the humid tropics with Southeast Asia and West Africa as focal regions. My current research is focusing on ecosystem services and resilience in forest frontier landscapes using mixed methods and Simulation Modelling (ABM/Predictive/Economic modelling). As I have a strong interest in stakeholder perceptions, participatory action research tools form the core of any methodological approach. Particular land use systems of interest are community forests, different forms of agroforestry, tree crop plantations and forest landscape restoration.

I am currently working as Postdoc in the team of Forestry and Rural Development at the Chair of Silviculture, University of Freiburg as well as in Forest Policy and International Forest Management at the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, Bern University of Applied Sciences. My responsibilities include leading and carrying out research projects, supporting third party policy mandates, and teaching in BSc and MSc programmes. I hold a PhD in Geography and Sustainable Development from the University of Bern and a MSc in Agricultural and Forest Sciences from the Bern University of Applied Sciences.