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
Paula Abarca del Rio
Program and Project Officer (WAT, BNR)
Petr Havlik
Interim Program Director and Principal Research Scholar (BNR); Research Group Leader and Principal Research Scholar (IBF)
News
03 February 2023
Exceptional young scientists awarded
IIASA is proud to announce the winners of the 2022 Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) awards. The awards provide financial support for three exceptional young scientists to return to IIASA for an additional three months of research.
27 January 2023
Farming more seaweed to be food, feed, and fuel
New research just published in Nature Sustainability shows that expanding global seaweed farming could go a long way to addressing the planet’s food security, biodiversity loss, and climate change challenges.
24 January 2023
Supporting evidence-based policymaking in The Gambia
Researchers working on the FACE-Africa project have co-developed country-specific information and tools with Gambian food system stakeholders to evaluate possible strategies for adapting to climate change and ensuring sufficient healthy food for The Gambia. Their recommendations and key findings are now available in a new IIASA policy brief.
Focus
25 January 2023
Ambitious actions are urgently needed to shift food and land use systems to a sustainable future
The Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-Use and Energy (FABLE) Consortium's publication in Sustainability Science collects insights from 20 countries.
20 January 2023
Understanding the link between biodiversity and land-use management
Meet Cindy Azuero-Pedraza, a participant in the 2022 IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program. Learn about her forestry research in the Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program, where she worked with the Integrated Biosphere Futures Research Group to incorporate biodiversity data into forest management decisions.
20 January 2023
Securing sustainable and resilient food systems for The Gambia
Policy Brief #36, January 2023. Co-developing resilient food and land-use systems can help bridge the gap between demand for sustainable, healthy food and attainable food supply in The Gambia.
Publications
Yuwono, B., Yowargana, P., Fuss, S., Griscom, B.W., Smith, P., & Kraxner, F. (2023). Doing burden-sharing right to deliver natural climate solutions for carbon dioxide removal. Nature-Based Solutions 3 e100048. 10.1016/j.nbsj.2022.100048.
Hunt, J. , Zakeri, B. , Nascimento, A., Gazoli, J.R., Bindemann, F.T., Wada, Y. , van Ruijven, B. , & Riahi, K. (2023). Compressed air seesaw energy storage: A solution for long-term electricity storage. Journal of Energy Storage 60 e106638. 10.1016/j.est.2023.106638.
Labrière, N., Davies, S.J., Disney, M.I., Duncanson, L.I., Herold, M., Lewis, S.L., Phillips, O.L., Quegan, S., Saatchi, S.S., Shchepashchenko, D. , Scipal, K., Sist, P., & Chave, J. (2023). Toward a forest biomass reference measurement system for remote sensing applications. Global Change Biology 29 (3) 827-840. 10.1111/gcb.16497.
Vergarechea, M., Astrup, R., Fischer, C., Øistad, K., Blattert, C., Hartikainen, M., Eyvindson, K., Di Fulvio, F., Forsell, N., Burgas, D., Toraño-Caicoya, A., Mönkkönen, M., & Antón-Fernández, C. (2023). Future wood demands and ecosystem services trade-offs: A policy analysis in Norway. Forest Policy and Economics 147 e102899. 10.1016/j.forpol.2022.102899.
Spillias, S., Valin, H. , Batka, M. , Sperling, F., Havlik, P. , Leclere, D., Cottrell, R.S., O’Brien, K.R., & McDonald-Madden, E. (2023). Reducing global land-use pressures with seaweed farming. Nature Sustainability 10.1038/s41893-022-01043-y. (In Press)
Schaap, K.J., Fuchslueger, L., Quesada, C.A., Hofhansl, F. , Valverde-Barrantes, O., Camargo, P.B., & Hoosbeek, M.R. (2023). Seasonal fluctuations of extracellular enzyme activities are related to the biogeochemical cycling of C, N and P in a tropical terra-firme forest. Biogeochemistry 10.1007/s10533-022-01009-4.