Building on the research previously undertaken in the Ecosystems Services and Management and Water programs, the BNR Program fully exploits the potential for biodiversity research within integrated system analysis.
The program brings together different elements of land and aquatic ecosystems including agriculture, forests, and fisheries with water and the marine environment to inform global and regional policy assessments and provide robust science-based knowledge and foresight. The program aims to establish IIASA as an international community hub for biosphere research through innovative tool development; to lead the integration of biophysical-economic modeling with governance; to engage with stakeholders; and to facilitate community driven efforts. It provides policymaking support through core program and group research undertaken in the four BNR research groups.
BNR further engages in bilateral collaborations with other research programs and groups at the institute on key cross-cutting themes such as climate change adaptation and mitigation, the green economy, resilient food systems, transboundary governance, resource depletion and migration, and digital transformation.
Projects
Designing a resilient and coherent Trans-European Network for Nature and People (NaturaConnect)
Staff
Andrey Krasovskiy
Senior Research Scholar (AFE)
Dylan Bos
Program and Project Officer (IBF, BNR)
Aline Soterroni
Guest Research Scholar (IBF)
Paula Abarca del Rio
Project Officer (WAT)
News
23 September 2024
Transforming agriculture from carbon source to sink
The food system is one of the most significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet, making the reduction of emissions in this sector a priority for policymakers around the world. IIASA researchers explored the potential of carbon sequestration on farmland to combat climate change, offering insights into economic effects as well as its climate change mitigation potential.
18 September 2024
The first Forest Policy Modeling Forum convenes in Brussels
The Forest Policy Modeling Forum, taking place on 18-19 September, brings together policymakers and modelers at the EU and Member State level to discuss ex-ante modeling needs and support forest policy for a better climate, improved biodiversity, and a striving bioeconomy across the EU.
22 August 2024
Meeting ambitious restoration targets in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
IIASA researchers contributed to a new study showing that efforts to meet restoration targets for the globally important, biodiversity rich forests found along Brazil’s Atlantic coast will only be effective with a sustainable intensification of cattle farming.
Events
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) & Online
German IIASA Networking Event: "Systems analysis for a sustainable and peaceful future"
Focus
17 July 2024
Biodiversity lessons from nature
IIASA researchers Silvia Artuso and Juliette Martin reflect on a recent workshop presented at the Institute as part of the IIASA School Engagement Initiative, during which they introduced students to systems analysis and took them on an adventure to explore the amazing biodiversity of Laxenburg park.
08 July 2024
Future food demand in The Gambia: can increased crop productivity and climate adaptation close the supply–demand gap?
The Gambia faces significant food availability issues due to low agricultural productivity. IIASA researchers and colleagues used the FABLE Calculator to explore actions to reduce the food supply-demand gap by 2050. The results, published in Food Security, reveal that current cropland will not meet food demand by 2050.
Publications
Hong, M., Song, C., Kim, M., Kraxner, F., Ko, Y., Son, J., & Lee, W.-K. (2025). Realizing climate resilient development pathways in forestry: A focus on carbon management in Republic of Korea. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 110 e107665. 10.1016/j.eiar.2024.107665. Escobar Lanzuela, N. , Seber, G., Skalský, R. , Wögerer, M., Jung, M., & Malina, R. (2024). Spatially-explicit land use change emissions and carbon payback times of biofuels under the carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation. Science of the Total Environment 948 e174635. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174635. Rouhette, T., Escobar Lanzuela, N. , Zhao, X., Sanz, M.J., & van de Ven, D.J. (2024). Limits to forests-based mitigation in integrated assessment modelling: global potentials and impacts under constraining factors. Environmental Research Letters 19 (11) e114017. 10.1088/1748-9326/ad7748. Frank, S. , Derci Augustynczik, A.L., Havlik, P. , Boere, E., Ermolieva, T., Fricko, O. , Di Fulvio, F. , Gusti, M., Krisztin, T. , Lauri, P., Palazzo, A. , & Wögerer, M. (2024). Enhanced agricultural carbon sinks provide benefits for farmers and the climate. Nature Food 5 (9) 742-753. 10.1038/s43016-024-01039-1. Werden, L.K., Cole, R.J., Schönhofer, K., Holl, K.D., Zahawi, R.A., Averill, C., Schweizer, D., Calvo-Alvarado, J.C., Hamilton, D., Joyce, F.H., San-José, M., Hofhansl, F. , Briggs, L., Rodríguez, D., Tingle, J.W., Chiriboga, F., Broadbent, E.N., Quirós-Cedeño, G.J., & Crowther, T.W. (2024). Assessing innovations for upscaling forest landscape restoration. One Earth 7 (9) 1515-1528. 10.1016/j.oneear.2024.07.011. Park, E., Jo, H.-W., Biging, G.S., Chun, J.A., Jeon, S.W., Son, Y., Kraxner, F., & Lee, W.-K. (2024). Advancement of a diagnostic prediction model for spatiotemporal calibration of earth observation data: a case study on projecting forest net primary production in the mid-latitude region. GIScience & Remote Sensing 61 (1) e2401247. 10.1080/15481603.2024.2401247.