RESEARCH 

THEMES

Socio-cultural values of nature 

Intangible, 'non-material', relational, and place-based values and lived experiences in nature. Qualitative methods in cultural ecosystem services valuation, and tensions between the lived experience and quantification. e.g. Stålhammar and Thorén 2019; Stålhammar and Pedersen, 2017, (thesis).

Urban nature and biocultural diversity

Plural knowleges of urban nature and biodiversity, and qualitative methods in urban planning and governance, and environmental and epistemic justice e.g. Stålhammar 2021a; Stålhammar and Brink, 2020.  

Valuation of ecosystem services and implementation in planning

Scrutinizing the implementation of ecosystem services approaches in planning and governance e.g. Beery et al, 2016, including critical examination of assessment approaches for trees (project), and of preference-based valuation of nature in relation to sustainability transformations e.g. Stålhammar 2021b.

Integration of knowledge

Theoretical foundations for integration of social and natural scientific disciplines and dimensions of knowledge through interdisciplinary concepts e.g. Thorén and Stålhammar 2018, and integration of scientific and local knowledge in relation to biodiversity and climate change impacts (project). 

Nature connectedness and inner dimensions of sustainability transformations

Approaches for connectedness with nature e.g. Beery et al. 2023, the role of hope for pro-environmental behaviour e.g. Vandaele and Stålhammar, 2022, ecopsychology and deep leverage points for sustainability transformations, re-imagining narratives, perceptions and relations with the natural world (course).

Relational approaches for sustainability 

Exploring relational approaches to move beyond the dichotomous human-nature paradigm within sustainability research and practice e.g. West et al. 2020.


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CURRENT PROJECTS

PHD THESIS

PREVIOUS PROJECTS & COLLABORATIONS 

Nature by Numbers

Representing nature in numbers and accounting for risks related to biodiversity and climate change in financial reporting affects how we interprets its value in society. In this interdisciplinary theme (2022) at the Lund University Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies, we explored to what extent the ongoing quantification and financialisation captures the complexity of nature.

VIVA-Plan

VIVA-PLAN was a 3-year project (2019-2021), which aimed to develop a sustainable spatial planning framework for revitalising in-between spaces in deprived areas for social inclusion, biodiversity and wellbeing including safety and security by engaging diverse actors and citizens from both Sweden and Denmark. I worked as a post doc in the project and examined citizen resistance against the exploitation of urban nature, and how framings and assessments of green infrastructure leverages power in planning.

ECOSIMP

The project "Implementing the ecosystem services concept at the municipal level" (ECOSIMP, 2013-2016) studied the conditions for integrating the concept and approach of ecosystem services into municipal planning and decision-making in Sweden. The project was performed in close cooperation with representatives from the seven municipalities in Kristianstad, Simrishamn, Trelleborg, Malmö, Lomma, Helsingborg and Båstad in the province Skåne, Region Skåne and Skåne Association of Local Authorities.