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.
Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP)
The Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) at IIASA offers an exceptional opportunity for PhD students to engage in collaborative research with IIASA’s interdisciplinary teams.
Each summer, participants work on projects closely related to their doctoral research under the guidance of experienced IIASA scientists, contributing to IIASA’s mission of addressing complex global challenges.
YSSP opportunities in BNR Program YSSP - Young Scientists Summer Program
Models, tools, datasets
Global Forest Model (G4M)
Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIOM)
Community Water Model (CWatM)
Integrated model for BiodIversity distribution projectionS (ibis.iSDM)
Projects
European Union Biodiversity and Climate strategies Assessment (BIOCLIMA)
Designing a resilient and coherent Trans-European Network for Nature and People (NaturaConnect)
Creating leverage to enhance biodiversity outcomes of global biomass trade (CLEVER)
Advancing Capacity and Analytical Tools for Supporting Common Agricultural Policies post 2027 (ACT4CAP2027)
Staff
Eunbeen Park
Research Scholar (AFE)
Youngjin Ko
Korea Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow (AFE)
Andrey Krasovskiy
Senior Research Scholar (AFE)
Pavel Kiparisov
Researcher (AFE)
News
22 October 2026
André Nakhavali to receive prestigious 2027 Kamide Lecture Award in Biogeosciences
IIASA researcher André (Mahdi) Nakhavali will receive the 2027 Kamide Lecture Award in Biogeosciences from the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS), in recognition of the excellence, originality, and potential impact of his research. The award will be formally presented at the AOGS 2027 Annual Meeting, where he will also deliver an invited lecture to the international geoscience community.
22 October 2026
Global agricultural productivity growth is in decline
Global agricultural productivity growth has hit its lowest level since the 1970s, threatening future food security. IIASA researchers contributed to Chapter 3 of the 2026 GAP Report published by the Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Initiative at Virginia Tech, exploring how regenerative agriculture could help reverse this trend while improving farm profitability and resilience.
19 October 2026
13% of Earth's land identified as biodiversity conservation hotspots
As governments prepare to gather in Yerevan, Armenia, this week for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17), new research identifies 13% of Earth's land area as hotspots for biodiversity conservation, highlighting where conservation efforts are most urgently needed.
Events
Yerevan, Armenia
IIASA at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference
Brussels, Belgium
ForestNavigator Research Marketplace and Final Conference
St. Pölten, Austria
IIASA at European Researchers' Night
Focus
19 October 2026
Arms, food, and nuclear winter: An IIASA modeling story spanning 40 years
In the 1980s, IIASA researchers asked what cutting military budgets and redirecting these funds to agriculture could do for the world's food supply. Today, researchers at the Institute are asking the reverse question: what would happen to the world’s food if nuclear weapons were used? A folder of working papers from 40 years ago highlights some striking connections between these two questions.
16 October 2026
Uganda-Austria water partnership leaves scientific legacy for water management
IIASA Journalist in Residence Lisa Palmer's latest article in the Science Diplomat highlights an IIASA-led partnership which found about 60% of Uganda’s rivers in good condition while building national capacity to track pollution and manage growing risks.
Publications
Göransson, A., Umeki, K., Allansson, J., & Wetterlund, E. (2027). Integrating pyrolysis-based biocarbon production with sawmills: Heat recovery and techno-economic performance. Energy Conversion and Management 371 e122206. 10.1016/j.enconman.2026.122206.
Kim, M., Duijndam, S., Aerts, J.C.J.H., de Bruijn, J. , Lupi, V., & Botzen, W.J.W. (2027). Residential relocation decisions under sea level rise and incentives from insurance: A discrete choice experiment study of France. Ecological Economics 251 e109190. 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2026.109190.
Benavides, E., Graham, L., Sadler, J.P., Wayman, J.P., Méndez-Sánchez, F., Ortiz-Alacaraz, A., & Matthews, T.J. (2026). When data are scarce and ranges are small: modelling trade-offs in fine-scale insular species distributions. Ecological Modelling 522 e111848. 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2026.111848.
Matschegg, D., Fuhrmann, M., Strasser, C., Krobath, P., Wetterlund, E., Stern, T., & Dißauer, C. (2026). GHG reduction potential of biomass gasification pathways: An Austrian life cycle emission analysis. Cleaner Environmental Systems 23 e100506. 10.1016/j.cesys.2026.100506.
Torto, S.O.G., Pachauri, R.K., Singh, J.G., Tiwari, S. , Malik, H., Jadoun, V.K., & Afthanorhan, A. (2026). Transactive energy management in modern multi-vectored energy systems: A comprehensive framework. Sustainable Futures 12 e102073. 10.1016/j.sftr.2026.102073.
Renhart, A., Krisztin, T. , & Piribauer, P. (2026). The Impact of the EU Common Agricultural Policy on Regional Agricultural Productivity. Agricultural Economics 57 (6) e70148. 10.1111/agec.70148.