Colombia is experiencing an unprecedented societal and economic transformation process, with unknown consequences for its ecosystems and biodiversity. As response to this, we are forming a multidisciplinary research group studying different aspects of socio-ecological systems, their interactions and how these affect ecosystem services and human well-being. We are particularly (but not only) interested how socio-ecological dynamics shape Colombia’s rural landscapes and their up-coming transformations in a post-conflict era.

Our research embraces a wide range of topics at the interface between ecology and society, such as

  • biodiversity conservation
  • biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
  • ecosystem services and their governance
  • global climate and environmental changes
  • ecosystem monitoring and management
  • agroecology and sustainable tropical agriculture
  • public participation and engagement with the environment
  • local (traditional) knowledge and practices on socio-ecological matters

and has the objective to understand and manage socio-ecological landscapes, improving their resilience and adaptive capacity in a changing world.

For this we use a variety of methods and approaches ranging from field studies, qualitative research methods, data analysis and synthesis, as well as quantitative modelling for better decision making. It is our mission to (1) identify and close knowledge gaps, (2) develop and evaluate sustainable management strategies, and (3) most importantly contribute to the formation of young scientists able to work in trans-disciplinary research and at the interface between basic and applied science. We belief an open exchange of ideas, data, and knowledge plays a crucial part in a globalized world. Therefore, we consider academic exchange and (inter-)national cooperation to be of fundamental importance.