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Caroline van Bers

Resource Management

Osnabrück University
Institute of Environmental Systems Research

Raum 66/E05
Tel: +49 541 969 2505
Fax: +49 541 969 2599

Profile

Caroline van Bers has been involved in environmental management and sustainable development with academic, governmental and non-governmental organizations in Europe and North America for over thirty years. This work, ranging from research to capacity development, has always been interdisciplinary and applied in nature. A particular focus has been the promotion of Integrated Assessment approaches and methods at the science-policy-practice interface particularly in her management role with The Integrated Assessment Society for more than fifteen years.

Building on her graduate research and previous work in food policy and fair trade, a focus at present is the drivers behind current food consumption patterns. Important questions that are being addressed in this context:

How can the low value attributed to food by consumers that is driving unsustainable methods of food production be turned around?
What are the factors and conditions that trigger transformations in food systems and consumption behaviour?

Research Interests

Sustainable food production and consumption
Food security
Water-Energy-Food Nexus approach
Climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction
Stakeholder involvement and participatory processes
Adaptive water management
Integrated Assessment methods and tools especially scenario development, indicators and environmental & social impact assessment

Current Projects

The MEDUWA-Vecht(e) project ('MEDicines Unwanted in WAter') develops innovative solutions in the whole pharmaceutical chain to avoid emissions of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and multi-resistant micro-organisms in soil, (drinking) water, air and food, as much as possible at the source.
DAFNE Project: Use of a Decision-Analytic Framework to explore the water-energy-food NExus in complex and transboundary water resources systems of fast-growing developing countries. Funded by European Commission's Horizon 2020 Programme, 2016-2020.
Transformative management of the WEF nexus - Analysing Transformative Approaches for the Management of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Advancement of the SDGs in Sub-saharan Africa
Profillinie Mensch-Umwelt-Netzwerke (MUN) (German link)/ Human-environmental networks (English Link) The interdiscplinary researchers in this network from Osnabrück University and the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences are developing innovative research approaches and projects at the interfaces between natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities. This goal is stimuated by the organisation of interdisciplinary lectures and seminars, and other events on environmental and sustainability issues with actors from science, business, politics and civil society.

Completed in 2017-18

Incremental adaptation versus transformation: Identifying pathways for transformation in governance towards sustainable food systems funded by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Research Program under CGIAR. Link to final scoping report.