Prof. Dr. Jörn Fischer

Profile

Academic positionFull Professor
Research fieldsEcology of Land Use,Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Policy, Agricultural Sociology,Foreign Policy and International Systems
Keywordsresilience, sustainable development, transdisciplinarity, ecosystem services, landscape ecology

Current contact address

CountryGermany
CityLüneburg
InstitutionLeuphana Universität Lüneburg
InstituteSocial-ecological Systems Institute (SESI)

Host during sponsorship

Prof. Dr. Stefan SchalteggerInstitut für Ökologie, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Lüneburg
Prof. Dr. Stefan SchalteggerCentre for Sustainability Management (CSM), Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Lüneburg
Start of initial sponsorship01/11/2010

Programme(s)

2010Sofja Kovalevskaja Award Programme

Nominator's project description

Rapid global change poses a serious threat to ecosystems and traditionally managed cultural landscapes, especially in poor countries. This is the focus of the transdisciplinary research programme led by Joern Fischer, which aims to examine and promote sustainable development in Eastern Europe. Particular emphasis will be placed on agricultural landscapes in Central Romania. This region may be poor in economic terms but has an unusual wealth of diversity in both natural and cultural heritage. Traditional farming methods without modern machinery or artificial fertilisers have conserved an unusually high level of biodiversity, ranging from rare plant species such as orchids to large mammals such as wolves and bears. Since Romania joined the European Union, the region now faces the difficult task of achieving a balance between material affluence and the conservation of its unique natural and cultural heritage. Joern Fischer’s research programme brings together natural scientists, social scientists, regional decision-makers and local people, to develop scenarios for the region’s sustainable development.

Publications (partial selection)

2012Jörn Fischer, Tibor Hartel, Tobias Kuemmerle: Conservation policy in traditional farming landscapes. In: Conservation Letters, 2012, 167-175
2011Jörn Fischer, P. Batary, K. S. Bawa, L. Brussaard, M. J. Chappell, Y. Clough, G. C. Daily, J. Dorrough, T. Hartel. L. E. Jackson, A. M. Klein, C. Kremen, T. Kuemmerle, D. B. Lindenmayer, H. A. Mooney, I. Perfecto, S. M. Pilpott, T. Tscharntke, J. Vandermeer, T. C. Wanger, H. von Wehrden: Conservation: Limits of Land Sparing. In: Science, 2011, 593-593