Maria Helena Guimarães

Researcher (MED - Institute of Mediterranean Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)

Fixed-term employment contract

Biodiversity loss is one of the biggest societal challenges humans face. The simplification of ecosystems decreases the provision of goods and services that humankind depends upon (e.g. water, food, air quality). Increasing ecosystems diversity and heterogeneity are therefore critical societal goals that require integrated solutions which can only be found scattered across different disciplines, theories and methodologies from social sciences, political science and environmental economics as well as from outside the scientific community. A key approach and role within this is that of a trans-diciplinary facilitator: a researcher that implements coproduction of knowledge for the definition of actions that transform social-ecological systems. Their research activity is double folded into research in the specific theme (e.g. biodiversity loss, climate change, sustainability) and research on transdisciplinary theory building.