Meet Our Researchers
Three questions for Maria Brück
Working title of the dissertation: Disaggregated analysis of ecosystem services in southwestern Ethiopia Faculty: Sustainability
Doctoral Programme: Sustainability Science
Contact: brueck@leuphana.de
1. "And what are you writing about again?" At a flat-sharing party, how would you summarise your research project in three sentences without using technical terms?
In my research I deal with human-nature relations and questions of justice. I analyse the different ways in which people take advantage of nature. This depends, for example, on the values we ascribe to nature or the context in which we live. For an alternative approach to my doctoral thesis, you can find a video here in which I have presented the basic idea of my research in a dance-like way.
2. "Writings the world desperately needs!" To what extent does your dissertation fill existing research gaps in the professional community?
Many studies that deal with ecosystem services put a monetary value on nature or do not take into account the diversity of human relationships with nature. So they work with aggregated numbers or results. With my research, I want to find out how to systematically analyse differences in human-nature relationships. For example, I investigated what values people in Ethiopia ascribe to nature and why.
3. What links do you see to your dissertation topic in practice?
In our study region in Ethiopia, there are many smallholders who are directly dependent on nature. Understanding who benefits from nature, where and how, can help shape more sustainable and equitable policy proposals. For example: Who benefits in what ways from coffee when production is intensified and geared towards export? Who benefits from establishing organically grown coffee in combination with eco-tourism offers?
If you are interested in presenting your research project in our short interview in GRADSCHOOL NEWLSETTER DOCS & POSTDOCS, please write to: graduate.community@leuphana.de.
