University Amsterdam
The Institute for Environmental Studies is the oldest environmental research institute in the Netherlands. IVM has built up considerable experience in dealing with the complexities of environmental problems, participating in numerous (inter)national research projects. The institute has repeatedly been evaluated as the best Dutch research group in this field. IVM's research community of about 150 scientists and support staff addresses challenging environmental problems and offers both pragmatic and innovative solutions. The department for Spatial Analysis and Decision Support (SPACE) has an outstanding record in integrated observation and modelling of socio-ecological systems with a focus on ecosystem services, adaptation to climate change, land change and decision support. SPACE has experience in developing a range of different decision support tools involving policy makers and stakeholders in processing complex information on socio-ecological systems. The department of Environmental Economics (EE) is specialized in (participatory) valuation of ecosystem services and adaptation measures. Also, the department leads several projects in the field of community-based environmental monitoring and natural resource management.
Description of the principal personnel
involved with their relevant experience
Prof. Dr. Peter Verburg (Professor Environmental Spatial Analysis) has strong expertise in spatial analysis and modelling of land use, quantification and mapping of ecosystem services, biodiversity, ex-ante assessment models and decision support. He is chair of the Global Land Project a core project of IHDP and IGBP bringing together research on land change from different (disciplinary) perspectives. He coordinates the BiodivERsA project CONNECT and is module leader in FP7 VOLANTE and CLAIM. He has (co-) authored over 100 scientific papers in the field of land change and environmental assessment.
Boris van Zanten MSc is a PhD student in landscape valuation and management. Boris holds a bachelors degree in human geography and a master's degree in environmental sciences. He has expertise in ecosystem service value mapping, quantification and spatial modelling, and is interested in exploring possibilities for quantification techniques for cultural and recreational ecosystem services.