The research focus of IBF is the integrated modeling of natural resources and ecosystems management using IIASA models such as the Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIOM) for the development of transformations in food and bio-based sectors that enable satisfying human needs while ensuring the sustainable use of terrestrial and marine environments.
The IBF Group strives to bring about transformations in the use and management of terrestrial, fresh water, and marine ecosystems for “happy people on a healthy planet” by informing national and international policies, and by engaging with businesses and civil society. For this, the group relies on a suite of well-established models, including the Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIOM) and the Global Forest Model (G4M), as well as its reputation as a credible partner in concrete policy/regulatory processes.
The group’s key research areas include:
- Land, water, and oceans management focusing on primary producers in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries and their impact on the environment, including land-based climate change mitigation.
- Bio-based sectors integrating consumers and producers across food, fibre, and fuel supply chains.
- Shocks, adaptation, and resilience within bio-based sectors including weather extremes.
- Food, nutrition, and poverty, as the main social outcomes of land, water, and oceans use.
- Integrated biosphere foresight and solutions developing forward-looking scenarios for the assessment of potential synergies and trade-offs between relevant Sustainable Development Goals at regional and global scales, and exploring national and international options for their achievement to inform policymaking.
Projects
Navigating European forests and forest bioeconomy sustainably to EU climate neutrality (ForestNavigator)
Modelling INdividual Decisions to Support The European Policies related to agriculture (MIND STEP)
Land Management for Sustainability (LAMASUS)
Brazil-EU Cooperation for Development of Advanced Lignocellulosic Biofuel (BECOOL)
Staff
Charlotte Janssens
Guest Research Assistant (IBF)
Ellen Tan
Project Officer (IBF)
Hao Zhao
Guest Research Assistant (IBF)
Florian Huber
Senior Research Scholar (IBF)
News
12 September 2023
Plant-based food alternatives could support a shift to global sustainability
Replacing 50% of meat and milk products with plant-based alternatives by 2050 can reduce agriculture and land use related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 31% and halt the degradation of forest and natural land, according to new research.
07 July 2023
IIASA research informs EPA's regulations for sustainable biofuels
IIASA research informed the recently announced Final Renewable Fuels Standards Rule by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding biofuel volume requirements and percentage standards for 2023–2025. The rule establishes biofuel volume requirements and associated percentage standards in view of steady growth of biofuel use in the US's fuel supply and aims to ensure a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy future.
19 June 2023
A holistic approach to addressing food security in Africa
The African continent faces a multitude of challenges, and food security is among the most pressing. New research by an international team of researchers sheds light on the challenges and opportunities facing the African continent in securing sufficient food supplies with a particular focus on rice.
Events
29 August 2023 Rennes, France
Agri-food systems in a changing world: IIASA at the EAAE congress
07 December 2022 Montreal, Canada & Online
IIASA at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference
Focus
14 July 2023
Ambitious ecological restoration and deforestation control strategies could support Colombia’s climate and biodiversity targets
IIASA researchers Juliana Arbelaez-Gaviria and Eleanor Warren-Thomas have coauthored a new policy brief published with the Colombia team of the Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land, and Energy (FABLE) Consortium, an initiative under the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) and part of the UN Sustainable Development and Solutions Network (UNSDSN). The brief outlines how deforestation and ecological restoration in Colombia may impact carbon, biodiversity, and agricultural production by 2030.
27 June 2023
Driving change from the ground up
Options Magazine, Summer 2023: Felicity Addo joined IIASA in 2021. She is a key contributor to the FACE Africa project, bringing together local actors to co-design strategies to ensure food security in The Gambia.
26 June 2023
Utilizing forest management practices to counteract EU species loss
Options Magazine, Summer 2023: Strategic forest management could provide the pathways needed to mitigate climate change while minimizing species loss in the EU.
Publications
Ippolito, T., Balkovič, J. , Skalský, R. , Folberth, C. , Krisztin, T. , & Neff, J. (2023). Predicting spatiotemporal soil organic carbon responses to management using EPIC-IIASA meta-models. Journal of Environmental Management 344 e118532. 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118532. Rinke Dias de Souza, N., Palma Petrielli, G., Dourado Hernandes, T., Leduc, S., Di Fulvio, F. , de Souza Henzler, D., Ferreira Chagas, M., Lopes Junqueira, T., & Cavalett, O. (2023). Bioenergy-livestock integration in Brazil: Unraveling potentials for energy production and climate change mitigation. Journal of Cleaner Production 422 e138586. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138586. Lutz, W. & Pachauri, S. (2023). Systems Analysis for Sustainable Wellbeing. 50 years of IIASA research, 40 years after the Brundtland Commission, contributing to the post-2030 Global Agenda. IIASA Report. Laxenburg, Austria: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) 10.5281/zenodo.8214208. Kim, H., Peterson, G., Cheung, W., Ferrier, S., Alkemade, R., Arneth, A., Kuiper, J., Okayasu, S., Pereira, L., Acosta, L., Chaplin-Kramer, R., den Belder, E., Eddy, T., Johnson, J., Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, S., Kok, M., Leadley, P., Leclere, D., Lundquist, C., Rondinini, C., Scholes, R., Schoolenberg, M., Shin, Y.-J., Stehfest, E., Stephenson, F., Visconti, P., van Vuuren, D., Wabnitz, C., José Alava, J., Cuadros-Casanova, I., Davies, K., Gasalla, M., Halouani, G., Harfoot, M., Hashimoto, S., Hickler, T., Hirsch, T., Kolomytsev, G., Miller, B., Ohashi, H., Gabriela Palomo, M., Popp, A., Paco Remme, R., Saito, O., Rashid Sumalia, U., Willcock, S., & Pereira, H. (2023). Towards a better future for biodiversity and people: Modelling Nature Futures. Global Environmental Change 82 e102681. 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102681. Ringwald, L. & Zörner, T.O. (2023). The money-inflation nexus revisited. Journal of Empirical Finance 73 293-333. 10.1016/j.jempfin.2023.07.002. Jung, M., Lesiv, M. , Warren-Thomas, E., Shchepashchenko, D. , See, L. , & Fritz, S. (2023). The importance of capturing management in forest restoration targets. Nature Sustainability 10.1038/s41893-023-01192-8.