Maria Helena Guimarães

Investigador (MED - Instituto Mediterrâneo para Agricultura, Ambiente e Desenvolvimento)

Contrato Trabalho Funções Públicas a termo resolutivo certo

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.
My research combines theory and practice to develop transformative solutions and uncover vital knowledge through transdisciplinary facilitation with a specific focus on sustainability at local and global scale. Building on my background in biology I make use of concept such as carrying capacity, non-linear relationships and resilience in structuring collaborative dialogue between scientific and tacit knowledge. In the process I also explore the critical role, skill sets and value of transdisciplinary facilitators: people whose role is to purposefully create the conditions that allow representatives of different disciplines, of the private and the public sectors, and of the civil society, to coproduce knowledge. Such facilitation models and roles are already well utilized in field of urban development with the implementation of co-design processes in planning projects. I believe that transdisciplinary facilitation applied to natural resource management will be transformative for effective implementation of sustainable management actions but requires being underpinned by research.
My work divides into two mainstreams: (1) systems thinking and participatory approaches in the development of decision support systems to the analysis of management options where I have explored the application of Systems Approach Framework to the recovering and maintenance of wetlands, as well as, to water quality improvement in estuaries:
1. Guimarães M.H., Madureira L., Nunes L.C., Santos J.L., Sousa C., Boski T., Dentinho T. (2014). Using Choice Modeling to estimate the effects of environmental improvements on local development: When the purpose modifies the tool. Ecological Economics 108: 79-90
2. Guimarães M. H., Boski T., Dentinho T. (2014). Economic Base Model for Guadiana Estuary - An application for Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Marine Policy 43: 63–70
3. Guimarães, M. H., Ballé-Béganton, J., Bailly, D., Newton, A., Boski, T., Dentinho, T. (2013). Transdisciplinary conceptual modeling of a social-ecological system — A case study application in Terceira Island, Azores. Ecosystem Services Journal 3: 22–31
4. Guimarães, M.H., A. Mascarenhas, C. Sousa, T. Boski, and T. Ponce Dentinho (2012). The impact of water quality changes on the socio-economic system of the Guadiana Estuary: an assessment of management options. Ecology and Society 17(3): 38.
5. Guimarães, M., Mascarenhas A., Sousa C., Boski T., Dentinho T. (2010). System Approach for Coastal Zone Management: Application in Southeast Coast of Terceira Island and Guadiana Estuary. Geographic Technologies Applied to Marine Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Zone Management. H. Calado and A. Gil. Ponta Delgada, S. Miguel, Açores, Centro de Informação Geográfica e Planeamento Territorial. Agosto 2010.
and (2) development of methodological approaches, principals and conditions to advance the field of transdiciplinarity.
1. Guimarães M.H., Guiomar N., Surová D., Godinho S., Pinto-Correia, Sandberg A., Ravera F., Varanda M. (2018). Structuring wicked problems in transdisciplinary research using the Social–Ecological systems framework: An application to the montado system, Alentejo, Portugal. Journal of Cleaner Production 191: 417-428.
2. von Wehrden, H., Guimarães M.H, et al. (2018). Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research: Finding the common ground of multi-faceted concepts. Sustainability Science 1-14
3. Guimarães M.H., Fonseca C. Gonzalez C., Pinto-Correia P. (2017). Reflecting on Collaborative Research Into the Sustainability of Mediterranean Agriculture: A Case Study Using a Systematization of Experiences Approach. Journal of Research Practice, 13 (1), Article M1
4. McKee A., Guimarães, M.H., Pinto-Correia T. (2015). Social capital accumulation and the role of the researcher: An example of a transdisciplinary visioning process for the future of agriculture in Europe. Environmental Science & Policy 50: 88-99
5. Guimarães M.H., Nunes L. C., Madureira L., Santos J. L. , Boski T., Dentinho T. (2015). Measuring birdwatchers preferences: A case for using online networks and mixed-mode surveys. Tourism Management 46: 102-113
6. Guimarães M.H., McKee A., Lima M.L., Vasconcelos L., Boski T., Dentinho T. (2014). Putting transdisciplinarity into practice: a mixed mode procedure for stakeholder participation in natural resource management. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 58 (10): 1827-1852
I also have a dedicated set of work and expertise in the field of sustainable transitions and natural resource management.
1. Rangel M., Pita C., Maria de Oliveira M, Guimarães M.H. et al. (on-line). Do fisher associations really represent their members’ needs and opinions? The case study of the octopus fishery in the Algarve (south Portugal) Marine Policy JMPO 3119
2. Hernández P.A., Guimarães M.H., Rivera M., Silva E. (2018) Assessing sustainable food systems governance in EU’s outermost regions - the case of the Azores in Portugal. Sustainability
3. Silveira A., Ferrão J., Muñoz-Rojas J., Pinto-Correia T., Guimarães M.H. , Schmidt L (2018). The sustainability of agricultural intensification in the early 21st century: Insights from the olive oil sector in Alentejo (Southern Portugal). In The Diverse Worlds of Sustainability.
4. Pinto Correia, T. Mckeen A., Guimarães M. H. (2014). Transdisciplinarity in Deriving Sustainability Pathways for Agriculture, In: Sutherland L., Darnhofer I., Wilson G., Zagata L. (Eds), Transition pathways towards sustainability in European agriculture. ©CAB International 2014 ISNB: 978-1-78064-219-2
5. Guimarães M.H., Sonderblohm C.P., Pita C., Rangel M., Pereira J., Gonçalves J.M.S., Erzini K. (2017). Participatory assessment of management measures for octopus vulgaris pot and trap fishery from southern Portugal Marine Policy 75, 133-142