Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research

About: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research is a facility organization based out in Birmensdorf, Switzerland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Climate change & Soil water. The organization has 1256 authors who have published 3222 publications receiving 161639 citations. The organization is also known as: WSL.

Objectives of public participation: Which actors should be involved in the decision making for river restorations?

Abstract: [1] River restoration as a measure to improve both flood protection and ecological quality has become a common practice in river management. This new practice, however, has also become a source of conflicts arising from a neglect of the social aspects in river restoration projects. Therefore appropriate public involvement strategies have been recommended in recent years as a way of coping with these conflicts. However, an open question remains: Which stakeholders should be involved in the decision-making process? This, in turn, raises the question of the appropriate objectives of public participation. This study aims to answer these questions drawing on two case studies of Swiss river restoration projects and a related representative nationwide survey. Our findings suggest that public involvement should not be restricted to a small circle of influential stakeholder groups. As restoration projects have been found to have a substantial impact on the quality of life of the local population, avoiding conflicts is only one of several objectives of the involvement process. Including the wider public provides a special opportunity to promote social objectives, such as trust building and identification of people with their local environment.

How can landscape ecology contribute to sustainability science

Abstract: While landscape ecology is distinct from sustainability science, landscape ecologists have expressed their ambitions to help society advance sustainability of landscapes. In this context Wu (2013) coined the concept of landscape sustainability science. In August of 2017 we joined the 5th forum of landscape sustainability science in Beijing (see http://leml.asu.edu/chess/FLSS/05/index.html). To inspire landscape ecologists in developing research for a more sustainable future, we highlight some of the key points raised there. We emphasize challenges that have been identified in sustainability science that we consider particularly relevant for landscape sustainability. Then we describe how landscape ecology could enrich sustainability science. Finally, we propose five topics for landscape ecology research to advance landscape sustainability science.