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. 

Models, tools, datasets

Forestry and logging

Global Forest Model (G4M)

Projects

Chamois picture taken near the Rax

Designing a resilient and coherent Trans-European Network for Nature and People (NaturaConnect)

Staff

No image available

Jose Albiac

Guest Research Scholar (WAT)

Dor Fridman profile picture

Dor Fridman

Research Scholar (WAT)

Zuelclady Araujo Gutierrez profile picture

Zuelclady Araujo Gutierrez

Research Scholar (IBF)

No image available

Albert Brouwer

Research Scholar (IBF)

News

Cows eating breakfast on a dairy farm

28 March 2023

Climate-related costs could significantly affect largest listed livestock companies

IIASA researchers collaborated with the FAIRR Initiative – a collaborative investor network – on the development of a new IPCC-aligned climate risk analysis tool for investors. Analyses done using the new tool, show that climate-related cost increases could significantly affect the bottom lines of the largest listed livestock companies unless new strategies are urgently adopted.
View of Hintersee lake in Bavarian Alps, Germany

01 March 2023

European conservation leaders gather to boost collective dialogue for a Trans-European Nature Network

More than 70 leading EU policy and governmental decision makers came together to lay the foundation for a bold new vision for Europe's nature protection in the first NaturaConnect stakeholder event this year.

Focus

Aerial drone shot of palm plantation on high mountain

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.

Sunrise over the forest

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.
Securing sustainable and resilient food systems for The Gambia

Publications