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This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the actual implementation of transdisciplinary research in sustainability science. Following three aims, this work likes to (1) contribute to the measurability of transdisciplinary research processes as well as their societal and academic outputs and impacts, to (2) demarcate transdisciplinary research from other modes of research in sustainability science and to (3) identify and examine the determinants that shape the contribution of transdisciplinary research to societal action for sustainable development and to scientific knowledge production. To serve these aims a mixed methods approach is applied that combines strong quantitative elements with in-depth qualitative analyses that integrate the perspectives of practitioners. This thesis provides a broad set of indicators to describe and assess transdisciplinary research that translate theoretical concepts form transdisciplinarity theory into observable variables. The indicators offer a holistic perspective on transdisciplinary research by representing research mode characteristics, societal as well as scientific outcomes of research projects and their specific context. To theoretically demarcate transdisciplinary research from other forms of research, a narrative literature review first elaborates the differences between "normal science", political use of scientific knowledge and transdisciplinarity in their underlying logics of problem definition, knowledge production and research utilization. Subsequently, these concepts were compared with perspectives and expectations of practitioners in the forest sector on integrative research settings. Moreover, a cluster analysis of data from 59 research projects identified five research modes that empirically demarcate ideal-typical transdisciplinary research from other research modes within sustainability science: (1) purely academic research, (2) practice consultation, (3) selective practitioner involvement, (4) ideal-typical transdisciplinary research and (5) practice-oriented research. Based on this finding, transdisciplinary research can be characterized as an intensive, but balanced involvement of practitioners. It incorporates not only the needs and goals of the practitioners but also their norms and values. Ideal-typical transdisciplinary research goes beyond mere consultatory research approaches and must be distinguished from what is conceptualized as applied research. Regression analysis of 81 research projects and statistical group comparisons of the five research mode clusters show that societal and academic outputs and impacts vary with specific project characteristics and combinations of project characteristics defined as research modes. The findings indicate that more interactive research modes reach more societal impacts. In particular, the involvement of practitioners in early project phases and the targeted dissemination of the research results positively affect societal impacts. This finding also aligns with practitioner expectations on integrative research and research utilization, provided by qualitative analysis. Moreover, the quantitative results show that scientific outputs and impacts decrease with the intensity of interactions, indicating a trade-off between societal and scientific outcomes and impacts. Overall, the empirical results of this thesis support the claimed effectiveness of transdisciplinary research in providing societally relevant, applicable knowledge and encourage further funding of transdisciplinary research by funding agencies.
Tropical ecosystems are critical for biodiversity conservation and local people’s livelihood sustenance. However, these ecosystems are under high pressure from land-use and land cover (LULC) change, which is further projected to intensify and increase rapidly, thereby affecting biodiversity and the provisioning of vital ecosystem services (ES). It is thus important to understand how LULC might change in the future and how such changes could affect biodiversity and ES provisioning in a given landscape of tropical ecosystems. Scenario planning has become an increasingly popular tool and technique to produce narrative scenarios of the future landscape change. Thus, quantifying changes under different land-use scenarios could be a means to elucidate the synergies and trade-offs within the scenarios. In this dissertation, the author examines the future of biodiversity and ES provisioning for different plausible land-use scenarios in southwestern Ethiopia. First, he translates four future plausible narrative social-ecological land-use scenarios ("Gain over grain", "Coffee and conservation", "Mining green gold" and "Food first") developed for southwestern Ethiopia by participatory scenario planning into spatially explicit LULC scenario maps. Results showed distinct LULC changes under each scenario. Second, the author investigates the impact of these land-use scenarios on biodiversity by specifically modelling woody plant species richness in farmland and forest. Both indicators of human disturbance and environmental conditions were used. Third, he also investigates the effect of these land-use scenarios on woody plant-based ES provisioning by combining woody plant species with household surveys on how woody plants were used by the local community. He models and predicts the current and future availability of woody plant-based ES under the four scenarios of landscape change. Overall, the findings of this dissertation show the importance of integrating future land-use mapping with participatory, narrative-based scenarios to assess the social-ecological outcomes of alternative futures. The spatially explicit maps of LULC change, biodiversity and ES (at different scales) could be used as a valuable input to support stakeholders and decision-makers to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of different development trajectories on ecosystems and human well-being and to avoid or minimize future undesirable consequences. To this end, apart from the benefits of coffee production under "Mining green gold" and crop production under "Food first" scenarios, the findings under these scenarios of large-scale agricultural intensification point to a potentially high loss of biodiversity and ES. These two scenarios could have a negative long-term impact on ecosystems and human well-being. Finally, the "Coffee and conservation" scenario, which involves the creation of a new biosphere reserve, appears to be the most sustainable scenario. This scenario could result in a sustainably managed, diversified landscape which could make major contributions to biodiversity conservation and human well-being in the region and beyond.
Protected areas are an essential tool for conserving biodiversity. However, their ecological effectiveness is contested and their capacity to resist human pressures differ. This dissertation aimed to assess the ecological effectiveness of different protection levels (from strict to less strictly protected: national park, game reserve, forest reserve, game-controlled area, and unprotected areas) in biodiversity (both mega diverse butterflies and mammals), maintaining habitat connectivity, and reducing anthropogenic threats at the wider landscape in the Katavi-Rukwa Ecosystem of southwestern Tanzania. To achieve this overarching goal, the researcher employed an interdisciplinary approach. First, he analyzed butterfly diversity and community composition patterns across protection levels in the Katavi-Rukwa Ecosystem. He found that species richness and abundance were highest in the game reserves and game-controlled areas, intermediate in the forest reserves, national park and unprotected areas. Species composition differed significantly among protection levels. Landscape heterogeneity, forest cover, and primary productivity influenced species composition. Land-use, burned areas, forest cover, and primary productivity explained the richness of species and functional traits. Game reserves hosted most indicator species. Second, the author modelled the spatial distribution of six large mammal target species (buffalo Syncerus caffer, elephant Loxodonta africana, giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis, hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus, topi Damaliscus korrigum, and zebra Equus burchellii) across environmental and protection gradients in the Katavi-Rukwa Ecosystem. Based on species-specific density surface models, he found relatively consistent effects of protection level and land-use variables on the spatial distribution of the target mammal species: relative densities were highest in the national park and game reserves, intermediate in forest reserves and game-controlled areas and lowest in un-protected areas. Beyond species-specific environmental predictors for relative densities, the results highlight consistent negative associations between relative densities of the target species and distance to cropland and avoidance of areas in proximity to houses. Third, the author examined temporal changes in land-use, population densities and distribution of six large mammal target species across protection levels between 1991 and 2018. During the surveyed period, cropland increased. Wildlife densities of most, but not all target species declined across the entire landscape. Based on logistic regression models, target species preferred the national park over less strictly protection levels and areas distant to cropland. Fourth, he quantified land-use changes, modelled habitat suitability and connectivity of elephant over time across a large protected area network in southwestern Tanzania. Based on analyses of remotely-sensed data, cropland increased from 7% in 2000 to 13% in 2019. Based on ensemble models, distance from cropland influenced survey-specific habitat suitability for elephant the most. Despite cropland expansion, the locations of the modelled elephant corridors (n=10) remained similar throughout the survey period. Based on circuit theory, the author prioritizes three corridors for protected area connectivity. Key indicators of corridor quality varied over time, whereas elephant movement through some corridors appears to have increased over time. Overall, this dissertation underpins differences in ecological effectiveness of protected areas within one ecosystem. It highlights the need to utilize a landscape conservation approach to guide effective conservation across the entire protection gradient. It also suggests the need to enforcing land use plans and having alternative and sustainable forms for generating income from the land without impairing wildlife habitat.
Companies are invited to contribute to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and sustainability management accounting (SMA) has an important role to play in achieving them. However, if companies are to address the SDGs and linkages beyond organizational boundaries, SMA needs a broader scope than is conventionally assumed. Therefore, the author advances a multi-level framework that addresses context, action-formation, and transformative contributions (CAT) in the following directions: first, an innovative systematic method that allows screening company-related SDGs and assessing corporate contributions to selected SDGs is introduced; second, management control systems are integrated to support managers in guiding employee behavior to make contributions to the SDGs; and, third, self-reinforcing mechanisms of the path-dependence theory are incorporated to serve as a guide to identifying barriers to individuals and groups becoming involved in SMA. This advanced CAT framework contributes to corporate practice and research by providing a multilevel framework that offers concrete management guidance for SMA to address the SDGs. It also facilitates analysis of both enabling and inhibiting factors at the organizational level. The advanced CAT framework has several implications for SMA: it promotes backcasting from the SDGs for benchmarking purposes, integrates different social, environmental, and economic issues, facilitates future-oriented action and transformation planning, addresses different layers such as the company as well as individuals and groups within it and enables to identify barriers hindering individuals and groups from becoming involved in SMA.
The research described in this dissertation focuses on developing a process to remove oligomers and suppress their formation by intercepting the aging procedure's precursors using adsorbents when biodiesel and its blends are used as fuel. So far, there has been no attempt to cause the stabilization of biodiesel and its blends using adsorbents from open literature. This investigation is one of the first studies on the use of adsorbents to mitigate biodiesel and diesel fuel's stability behavior–biodiesel blends and the removal of oligomers or suppressing the formation of high molecular mass species in aging oil. This study's primary aim has been achieved by several experimental measurements that provided results on adsorbents' effecton fuel oxidative stability, especially ester-based fuel like biodiesel and its blends. The chemical composition and some critical rheological analyses of the samples have been measured to understand their role in the oxidation of the sample by comparing the presence and absence of the adsorbents during the aging process. Furthermore, it aims to use adsorbents to suppress oligomers' formation and remove them in aging oil due to the influence of biodiesel and its blends. The research project also seeks to stabilize fuel, especially ester-based fuel like biodiesel, and its blends using the adsorbents. The adsorbents' application will enhance biodiesel's oxidative stability and its blends during long-term storage or application, focusing on its use in plug-in hybrid vehicles, emergency power plants,and generators. The combustion engine only starts in plug-in hybrid vehicles if the battery cannot supply energy on longer journeys. As a result, the fuel remains longer in plug-in hybrid vehicles. Fuels that are exposed to heat and oxygen over anextendedperiod can form aging products. These aging products lead to the formation of deposits, especially in the case of diesel fuels mixed with biodiesel content,and can, therefore, endanger the operational safety of the vehicle in critical components such as injectors or filter units.
This dissertation evaluated the efficacy of three different internet-based interventions that can be regarded as indirect interventions to reduce depression since they primarily targeted risk factors for depression. For this purpose three registered randomized controlled trials were conducted. In addition to assessing the efficacy of the interventions regarding the primary outcomes, the efficacy to reduce depression and further secondary outcomes was studied. In Study I (N=200) the efficacy of an internet-based stress management intervention (iSMI), which was adapted and tailored to career starting teachers, was compared to a waitlist control group (WLG). The participants of the intervention group (IG) reported significant reductions on the primary outcome perceived stress at post-intervention (T2) and three month follow-up (3-MFU). Furthermore, it was shown that the intervention indirectly also reduced depression at T2 and 3-MFU. The effects were sustained at an extended 6-MFU. Besides efficacy, the feasibility to complement the iSMI with a newly developed internet-based classroom management training was shown. Moreover, mediation analyses corroborated the role of problem- and emotion-focused coping skills in the intervention's effect on stress and the indirect effect of the intervention on depression through stress. Study II (N=262) demonstrated the efficacy of an internet- and app-based gratitude intervention on the reduction of primary assessed repetitive negative thoughts at T2 and 3-MFU, as compared to a WLG. The participants of the IG also reported significantly reduced depressive symptoms at T2, and 3-MFU, with significant clinically meaningful effects. The effects were sustained at an extended 6-MFU. Besides efficacy, mediation analyses showed that repetitive negative thinking mediated the gratitude intervention's effect on depression. Finally, Study III N(=351) showed that an internet-based intervention, tackling worries at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, was effective as compared to an active mental health advice group. At T2, two weeks after randomization, the IG reported significantly reduced levels on the primary outcome worry as compared to controls. Participants of the IG also reported significantly reduced levels of depression at T2, with significant clinically meaningful reductions. The extended follow-ups in the IG indicated that the improvements from baseline were sustained until the 2-MFU and the 6-MFU. In a mediation analysis, worry was shown to mediate the intervention's effect on depression. Across all three studies a reliable deterioration of depression was occasionally observed. In summary, the studies in this dissertation demonstrated the efficacy of various indirect interventions focusing on rather common psychological problems to indirectly reduce depressive symptoms. The extent to which depression severity could be reduced is comparable to reductions found within participants with comparable baseline depression severity, in internet-based interventions directly addressing depressive symptoms. Indirect interventions are suggested to increase the uptake of interventions that reduce depressive symptoms, since they might be perceived as less stigmatizing and might broaden the range of interventions to choose from.
Environmental governance beyond borders: Governing telecoupled systems towards sustainability
(2023)
This doctoral dissertation analyses the environmental governance of long-distance social-ecological interactions in telecoupled systems in two issue domains: global commodity chains and infrastructure projects as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Although both domains involve different governance actors, institutions and processes, they both concern the question of how the involved actors develop governance structures and institutional responses to telecoupling. This dissertation aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how to govern environmental problems that are associated with global flows. Since many multilateral environmental governance initiatives have not yet produced the desired solutions to global problems, particular attention is directed at unilateral state-led governance approaches. This dissertation addresses the questions of (1) how to achieve a spatial fit between the scale of telecoupled systems and the scale of governance institutions, (2) how governance actors exercise agency in governing telecoupled systems, and (3) how state actors can govern the domestic and foreign environmental effects of telecoupled flows. The results show that creating a spatial fit in the governance of global commodity flows is challenging because boundary and resolution mismatches can emerge. Boundary mismatches denote situations where social-ecological problems transcend established jurisdictional boundaries, whereas resolution mismatches refer to governance institutions that have too coarse a spatial resolution to allow them to address the specific aspects of social-ecological problems effectively. No single governance institution is likely to avoid all mismatches, which highlights the need to align multiple governance approaches to effectively govern telecoupled systems.
To respond to the challenges of the Anthropocene, scholars from various disciplines increasingly emphasize that a mere outer transformation is insufficient and that we also need an inner transformation that addresses deep leverage points. Yet, the open questions are how the inner and outer dimensions relate to each other and how inner transformation might lead to outer transformation. How we attempt to answer these questions is determined by our dominant paradigm. Paradigms define how we understand and shape the world, and thus, they define how we conceptualize challenges, such as inner and outer transformation. Various authors argue that the dominant paradigm, which is characterized by reductionism, empiricism, dualism, and determinism, might be a root cause for insufficiently addressing sustainability challenges. As an alternative, many argue for a relational paradigm, which understands complex phenomena in terms of constitutive processes and relations. A relational paradigm might offer possibilities to reconceptualize inner and outer transformation in the Anthropocene and might shed new light on how to integrate both in sustainability science. Yet, it is still being determined how a relational paradigm can contribute to the understanding of inner and outer transformations towards sustainability in the Anthropocene. Therefore, this dissertation's overarching scope is to contribute to systems change towards a more social-ecological future by generating insights into and exploring possibilities of a relational paradigm for inner and outer transformation in the Anthropocene. This thesis is divided into three sub-questions. The first research question aims to increase the theoretical understanding of a relational paradigm. The second research question aims to develop a transformative educational case study grounded in a relational, justice-oriented approach. The third research question aims to analyze how a relational paradigm might contribute to policies and practices for sustainable lifestyles. The results indicate that inner and outer transformation in the Anthropocene can be reconceptualized as paradigm-ing relationality in the Ecocene. "Paradigm-ing" as an active verb, reconceptualizes inner and outer transformation into ontologies, epistemologies, ethics, and socialecological realities that are ongoing, nonhierarchical, nonlinear, dynamic, co-creative processes of intra-action. The Ecocene decenters the human and attends to what we might be able to intra-actand become-with. These insights can offer unexplored perspectives to address sustainability challenges and increase our capacities to respond in novel ways.
Over the past two decades, transitions research has witnessed rapid development. However, there is still a notable gap in our understanding of sustainability transitions in conflict settings and the role of international organizations in these transitions. Little is known about the dynamics of power, limiting and facilitating factors, and the role of (international) actors in sustainability transitions in conflict settings. This dissertation seeks to make contributions to these discussions by examining energy transitions in Afghanistan, a conflict-affected country, between 2001 and 2021. It specifically focuses on the involvement of international development organizations, shedding light on their role in energy access, institutional change, and imagining Afghanistan's future energy system development. After security, access to affordable energy is frequently reported to be Afghanistan's most pressing need. Following the fall of the first Taliban regime in 2001, billions of dollars and dozens of international development organizations poured into Afghanistan to support the reconstruction of the country including its energy sector. Between 2001 and 2021, the government of Afghanistan and the international development organizations worked on various aspects of energy system development despite on-going insurgency and threats against infrastructural projects. In 2021, the Taliban regained power, resulting in the suspension of operations for most development organizations, with only a few humanitarian agencies remaining active. Within this context, this thesis explores topics such as the country's energy potential and policy, the role of international development organizations in the energy sector, and visions for a future energy system in Afghanistan. The research conducted for this thesis employed a qualitative case study approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews and document analysis.
Contemporary society is shaped by the idea that time is, above all, a scarce economic resource that must be used efficiently. Increasingly, however, scientific findings suggest that such a way of perceiving of time seems a major cause of the current global climate and sustainability crisis. Considerably less research work has been carried out in relation to the role of individual time-related needs regarding unsustainable consumption behaviour, although consumer research has been addressing needs-oriented approaches to sustainable consumption for a long time. Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) is considered an essential strategy to achieve the global sustainability goals of Agenda 2030. Internationally, as well as on a national level, ESE is increasingly mainstreamed in educational curricula and practice. Given the relation between time, needs and sustainability, it appears valuable to inquire into this field from the perspective of ESE. The core research interest of this cumulative dissertation is therefore the question of how the connection between time, our needs and sustainability can be conveyed through pedagogical approaches. The inquiry used an exploratory, qualitative research design to address this question. In a first step, the concept of sustainability-related time use competence was developed. This then served as a guiding concept for the understanding of time used in this work and as the overall objective for the educational intervention developed and piloted as part of the research. Next, a content analysis of German curricula was conducted with the aim of determining whether and to what extent these address the relation between time and sustainability. The results show curricula contain only a few starting points that encourage a connection between time and sustainability in school lessons. The study further indicates that an understanding of time as a scarce resource to be used efficiently has prevailed in school contexts so far. The next step involved developing and piloting a time use competence curriculum in cooperation with three partner schools, using an Action Research Approach. This intervention followed the pedagogical approach of Self-Inquiry Based Learning (SIBL) seeking to sensitise learners to the relation between individual needs and consumer behaviour. During implementation, which lasted one semester, students logged their time, were encouraged to reflect on their personal needs, and subsequently implement individual change projects related to time use. This was embedded in continuous reflective individual and group exercises. The results strengthen the hypothesis that there is a relation between time use and sustainability. Furthermore, the pedagogical approach of SIBL has proven suitable to enable students to reflect on their time use and to raise their awareness of the role of individual needs. Participants reported that changes in time use did indeed increase their personal well-being. A third empirical study was carried out, inquiring into students' time use during the period of COVID-19-induced school closures, using a Grounded Theory Approach. Since the pandemic disrupted young peoples' routines drastically, the research focused on which kinds of learning experiences students made during this time and which insights can be derived for ESE. The results of the semi-structured interviews with 69 participants show first that a variety of learning experiences are revealed, such as learning one's own learning and everyday rhythms or creatively adapting consumption habits to the new situation of "lockdown". Overall, a key finding of this work is that students are currently unable to adequately realise their time-related needs. In view of the findings from research on time and sustainability, one recommendation is therefore that everyday school life could give students more space to organise their time according to their needs. Furthermore, it would be advisable to give the topic of time in connection with sustainability more space in curricula and in teacher training. The experiences during the pandemic have shown that schools and all actors involved including students and teachers, are so far insufficiently prepared to handle crises. Here, the approach to time use competence piloted in this work can offer valuable stimulations for ESE research and practice. This is especially true since it is compatible with existing approaches to key competencies for sustainability by seeking to complement them with a stronger focus on individual, needs-oriented time shaping.