Main menu

WSL Home About WSL Research UnitsEconomics and Social Sciences

Economics and Social Sciences

Main menu

The Economics and Social Sciences Research Unit is concerned with economic, institutional and societal questions of WSL-Research topics, in particular with landscape, natural resources, spatial development and natural hazards. It addresses real and specific problems and deals with them in an interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary or disciplinary way.

The work of the research unit is undertaken in accordance with the idea of sustainability and improves the knowledge of systems, of objectives, and of transformation.

The researchers

investigate societal claims, attitudes, valuations, and participation and decision processes regarding the topics mentioned above;
analyze economic, societal, and spatial processes, as well as societal structures, institutions, and relevant policies (e.g. governance) as to their effects on the environment, resources, and life quality;
develop and evaluate communicative, persuasive, regulative, institutional, and economic measures, instruments and strategies.

News

02.03.2021

Wie häufig besuchen Jugendliche den Wald und was machen sie dort? Antworten liefert eine Umfrage der WSL bei 643 Schülerinnen und Schülern.

17.11.2020

How can biodiversity in forests be preserved? Join the Forum für Wissen on November 26 (in German). Online participation, free of charge.

24.08.2020

A new study has identified 160 government subsidies that not only pursue political goals, but also impair biodiversity.

01.07.2020

WSL analysis finds that while the Federal Council received emergency powers at the start of the pandemic, Swiss federal governance endured.

02.06.2020

The lockdown saw many Swiss people go to forests more often than usual, but even more stopped visiting them entirely, a survey reveals.

16.04.2020

Urban gardens help with psychological restoration. A WSL study shows that allotments are more restorative on average than domestic gardens.

Projects

Noise and Greenspaces

Can people in urban regions recover from stress in green spaces or is there too much noise? Researchers from WSL and Empa explore the audio-visual requirements green spaces have to meet to enable noise-exposed people to recover from stress.

Recipes for Biocites

Basierend auf bestehendem Wissen und der Zusammenarbeit zwischen verschiedenen Partnern im In- und Ausland entwickeln wir eine Vision für nachhaltige Städte der Zukunft, in denen urbane Wälder eine zentral Rolle spielen

LABES 2: Continuation of landscape monitoring Switzerland 2020/21

After further refining the concept, WSL and FOEN will work together on updating the landscape monitoring. An expanded set of indicators for landscape perception and satellite-based new indicators for the physical landscape are the new elements of the monitoring. Despite the new and expanded indicators, comparability with past surveys is ensured.

Naherholung an der Glatt: Ansprüche der Bevölkerung an die Gewässeraufwertung

Mit Hilfe einer quantitativen sozialwissenschaftlichen Erhebung wird die aktuelle Nutzung der Glatt entlang des Projektperimeters «Fil Bleu Glatt» erfasst. Dabei wird ein spezielles Augenmerk auf die räumliche Abbildung der Streckennutzung gelegt. Mit der Analyse werden Bedürfnisse bezüglich der optimalen Wegvariante abgebildet und weitere Anforderungen an das Naherholungsgebiet Glatt ermittelt.

Let's talk about Better Gardens

Let's talk about Better Gardens hat zum Ziel, die Ergebnisse des gleichnamigen Forschungsprojekts einer breiten Öffentlichkeit zu vermitteln und einfache und effektive Methoden zur Förderung der Biodiversität in städtischen Quartieren zu entwickeln.

Let's Talk about Better Gardens

In diesem Umsetzungsprojekt vermitteln wir die Ergebnisse eines Forschungsprojektes über den Zusammenhang von Bewirtschaftungsformen von städtischen Gärten, Biodiversität und Wohlbefinden an die Bevölkerung und entwickeln einfache Methoden, um Biodiversität in Nachbarschaften zu fördern.

Waldwahrnehmung mit allen Sinnen

Attraktivität von Wäldern wird meistens anhand von visuellen Merkmalen bestimmt. Waldwahrnehmung basiert aber nicht nur auf visuellen Eindrücken - alle Sinne spielen eine Rolle. In diesem Projekt wird die Waldwahrnehmung von Waldbesuchenden mit allen Sinnen, insbesondere des Gehörsinns, erfasst.

Suffizienzpolitik in ländlichen Gemeinden

Das Forschungsprojekt untersucht, welche Potentiale für Suffizienzpolitik es in ländlichen Gemeinden gibt, welche Faktoren eine solche Politik hemmen und fördern, und wie Bund und Kantone die Gemeinden unterstützen können, Suffizienzpolitiken zu entwickeln und zu realisieren.

Integration of biodiversity conservation and forest management

The publication "How to balance biodiversity conservation and forest management - a tour across Europe" written by more than 70 scientific and professional experts from 50 Institutions and 20 different countries explores how to best integrate biodiversity conservation in forest management

Difficulties in implementing biodiversity targets

What are the difficulties in implementing biodiversity and landscape objectives? An expert survey provides information.

Biodiversitätsrelevante Fehlanreize

Der Artenrückgang in der Schweiz ist alarmierend. Aber noch immer existieren verschiedenste Geldflüsse, Vergünstigungen und finanzielle Anreize die Biodiversität direkt oder indirekt schädigen. Solche Fehlanreize müssen eliminiert oder umgelenkt werden. Dazu braucht es eine Übersicht.

Expert Survey "Challenges Landscape"

10 Jahre nach der Ersterhebung werden erneut Expertinnen und Experten in der Schweiz dazu befragt, was Ihrer Meinung nach die künftigen Herausforderungen der Landschaftsentwicklung darstellen.

Effect of contact with nature during childhood on environmental attitudes, ecological behavior and environmental citizenship behavior

The project will assess the impact of a multitude of different settings on EA and EB/Environmental Citizenship Behavior by comparing children's and adults' self-report.

Mehrzweckspeicher als Zukunftsmodell?

Obwohl die Schweiz über reichlich Wasser verfügt, kann es zukünftig lokal zu Engpässen kommen. Mehrzweckspeicher stellen eine Möglichkeit dar, um auf zukünftige Wasserknappheit zu reagieren. Dieses Projekt untersucht die Chancen und Risiken einer gemeinsamen Bewirtschaftung.

WaMos3

The aim of WaMos is to investigate the relationship of the Swiss population to the forest. In WaMos3, important aspects of the last household survey are replicated and the survey instrument is further developed in terms of content and methodology.

Städtische Luftqualität mit Topfpflanzen messen

Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner der Stadt Zürich erhalten die Gelegenheit, Daten für die Umweltforschung zu erheben. Dies im Rahmen des internationalen Citizen Science Projekts strawbAIRies der Universität Antwerpen, an dem neben Zürich die Städte Lissabon, Paris, Poznan, Tartu und Antwerpen teilnehmen

Climate Adaptation Practices

How do we deal with mass movements and related cascading processes in mountain regions? We answer this question by (i)analysing how climate adaptation strategies and action plans are implemented into practice and (ii) identifying factors which motivate actors to take action (or not).

Psycho-social effects of the displacement of allotment gardeners

Which psycho-social effects does the loss of an allotment garden have on users of these gardens? Was does the loss mean for these people? It this study we examine this in Altstetten, Zurich.

Integrated risk and resources management

This project contributes to a better understanding of the social and institutional barriers of an integrated management as strategy to climate-change related problems in Alpine regions.

Determining the Insurance Value of Ecosystems

The project expands the scientific bases for insurance services of forests and defines their value from the population’s perspective. In this way we can enhance the awareness of human dependence on natural resources and foster their inclusion in political, economic and individual decision-making.

The influence of spatial planning on land use in Germany and Switzerland

Spatial planning is supposed to influence land use and settlement development. But how does it really work? In this research project we analyse the impact of spatial planning on land use by comparing regional case studies in Germany and Switzerland. Conceptually and empirically we focus on governance capacities and impacts.

Integrating nature conservation in to forest policy at the sub-national level (INCFoP-sub)

Integrating nature conservation in forest policy is a challenge, especially on sub-national levels. We investigate how the potential effectiveness of policies hinges on actor constellations and the role of science.

Potential of integrated landscape management for renewable energy projects

Recent research results show that the widespread resistance to renewable energy projects is mainly due to a lack of comprehensive planning. How can the potential of integrated landscape management be used for the production of renewable energy?

Power Density Switzerland

"Power Density" describes the relationship between energy carrier, area and time. Renewable energies and particularly biomass require much larger area to produce energy compared to fossil fuels. This study helps identify where and to what extent which type of bioenergy could be used.

ESPON Alps 2050

The ESPON Alps 2050 project develops a vision and common spatial perspectives for the Alpine area to strengthen territorial cooperation among Alpine countries towards more effective sustainable development.

Landschaftsbeobachtungsprogramm Schweiz LABES

Ziel dieses Projektes ist, das LABES Monitoring-Instrument, das zwischen 2009 und 2017 entwickelt wurde, bis 2020 konzeptionell zu überprüfen.

Conceptual evaluation of the Swiss landscape monitoring program 2018-2020

What are the qualities of the Swiss landscape? How do people assess the state of the landscape? These are the kinds of questions being taken up by the Landscape Monitoring program (LABES) launched in 2008. This project evaluates the program for relevance and use of up-front technology.

Zielkonflikte im Wald - ATREE

Die wachsenden Sektoren einer nachhaltigen Wirtschaft konkurrieren um immer knapper werdendes Land, was den Druck auf die Wälder erhöht. Ausgehend von der Perspektive der Waldwirtschaft möchte das ATREE Projekt systematisch Zielkonflikte zwischen verschiedenen Sektoren einer nachhaltigen Wirtschaft

GoApply: Multilevel Governance of Adaptation to Climate Change

GoApply will contribute to the vertical and horizontal integration and further development of national climate change adaptation strategies and action plans.

ENERGYSCAPE

This project focuses thus on assessing public judgments of the landscape effects stimulated by a mix of renewable energy systems in Swiss landscapes.

Energy wood potential in the Ukrainian Carpathians

The Ukraine only covers half of its energy demand with own resources. This project determines how wood resp. energy wood in areas with high forest cover can be used more efficiently, and which economic and ecological consequences will arise.

Partizipatives GIS als Planungsinstrument für Windenergieprojekte

Erhebung von lebensräumlichen Aspekten und partizipativ-interaktiver Standortwahl.

Considering nature conservation in thinning

The project aims to examine how a balance between ecological and economic goals in thinning decisions can be achieved.

Freiraum

Das Forschungsprojekt ermittelt die noch vorhandenen Freiräume im Schweizer Berggebiet und untersucht am Beispiel der kantonalen Richtpläne, wie die Raumplanung mit Freiräumen umgeht und mit welchen Instrumenten betrieben wird.

Klimaschutz durch Hochmoorschutz

Das Projekt «Klima- durch Hochmoorschutz – CO2-Kompensation durch Hochmoorrenaturierung in der Schweiz» soll auf den grossen Handlungsbedarf, der in der Schweiz im Hinblick auf Klimaschutzpotentiale durch Moorrenaturierung herrscht, reagieren.

Governing regional adaptation to climate change

This analysis of the FOEN pilot program "Adaptation to Climate Change" researches governance of adaptation to climate change on the regional and municipal level. The project identifies conducive and inhibiting factors to regional adaptation to climate change in order to increase our understanding of the role regional and local frameworks play in adapting to climate change.

Revitalisierung der Wigger: Die Ansprüche der regionalen Bevölkerung

Ziel des Projektes ist es, zu ermitteln, welche Ansprüche die regionale Bevölkerung an die zukünftige Gestaltung der Wigger und ihre Nebengewässer hat. Dabei sollen insbesondere auch die Erholungsansprüche berücksichtigt werden. Die Erhebung sollte gleichzeitig eine Baseline für die Evaluation der sozio-kulturellen Aspekte des Revitalisierungsprojektes bereitstellen.

Small urban gardens

The aim of this study is to explore which present or imagined organizational forms of urban gardens are best suited to our current society.

Recreational spaces

Daily life stress can be a substantial detriment to human health and wellbeing. In comparing the stress-reduction capacities among different urban recreational spaces, this project aims at identifying the components of urban nature causing these health benefits.

Collective financing of renewable energy projects

The transition to renewable energies (RE) is a costly endeavor and requires large amounts of capital. This research project investigates organizations that draw on collective financing of RE, in particular we will focus the formation of these organizations and way collective financing is realized and organized.

Healthy Alps

Across the Alps, land-use is changing rapidly. The project investigates the consequences of this change for alpine agricultural landscape, focusing on ecosystem services, biodiversity, and effects on human health and wellbeing, as well as their possible interrelations.

INSPIRATION

The aim of INSPIRATION is to adopt a funder and end-user demand-driven approach to establish and promote the adoption of the knowledge creation, transfer and implementation agenda for land use, land-use changes and soil management in the light of current and future societal challenges.

Governance of regional development

Several new approaches in regional development, all characterized by typical attributes of governance, emerged in Switzerland over the last few years. This research project identifies and analyses these attributes and functionalities of new regional governance regimes in Switzerland.

Participatory siting procedures for hydropower plants

In this project, rather informal coordination processes (that are usually taking place prior to the mandatory formal procedures) for the expansion of hydro power are examined. It will be shown, how such procedures are evaluated by the public and what kind of effects they have on the (interests of the) participants in such participatory groups.

Landscape-scale biodiversity

Biological diversity has a huge potential to preserve and support agricultural ecosystem services. This project analyses the impact of agricultural and environmental policies on biodiversity and ecosystem services of agricultural production systems.

Urban forests

Urban forests fulfil important ecosystem services and are greatly appreciated by the public for their social and cultural services. The aim of the project is to get insights into people's expectations and assessments of these services. Furthermore, the project aims to link the population's perceptions and expectations with on-site forest characteristics.

Media renaturation

River renaturation has become an increasingly important issue in our society. Since 2011, Swiss cantons have been required to counteract adverse ecological effects. Various interests and demands around the river area inevitably lead to tensions and conflicts that are often difficult to resolve. An analysis of media coverage and presentation of the topic from a long-term perspective offer deeper insights into the course of the public debate and into some of the social and historical issues surrounding river renaturation.

Strategies for better gardens

Urban gardens experience increasing social and ecological importance, yet, there are only few studies about it. This project investigates the value of urban gardening for social benefit, biodiversity and soil quality.

Future prospects for renewable energy

The production of renewable energy is a landscape service of growing importance and great political relevance. However, the expansion of renewable energies is causing various conflicts with competing landscape services.

WML - WaMos meets LFI

In Switzerland, there are two very different forest monitoring instruments: The National Forest Inventory NFI and the socio-cultural forest monitoring WaMos. The aim of the current project is to bridge physical and social aspects.

Landscape impacts of renewable energy production

The project aims to gain insight into the population's attitudes towards the impact of renewable energy production on landscape quality. Particularly, the role of connotations attached to respective landscape changes will be investigated.

Analyzing the Contribution of Participatory Environmental Planning to Social Learning

The research project studies the role of social learning in the context of participatory negotiation processes based on the case study of a complex planning project in the field of natural hazard management and use of natural resources.

Parc Adula

During the creation of the national park “Parc Adula” a written survey will be conducted. Goal of the study is to find out what locals think about of the creation of “Parc Adula” and which knowledge they have about it.

Landscape and amenity migration

The objective of this research project is to analyze in-migration to rural regions in Switzerland. The focus is on the role of landscape amenities as a factor contributing to local quality of life and influencing attractiveness of a region for potential in-migrants.

NFP 68: Controlling urban sprawl to limit soil consumption (SPROIL)

The project aims at examining the political, planning and socio-economic factors, the so-called drivers, which have been determining urban sprawl since the 1950s. The identified drivers will be used in spatially explicit predictive models.

Local Growth Management

The implementation of local growth management measures seems to have reached its limits. Recent popular referendums at the national and cantonal levels have demonstrated the need for countermeasures.

Success control of Chriesbachrevitalization

In this project we evaluate the revitalization of the Chriesbach from a social point of view. It will especially be analyzed in how far the social goals (e.g., usage and acceptance of a green corridor and an open-air laboratory) are achieved.

Recovery from everyday demands and stress

In this project we analyse what people do in their leisure time to recover from daily demands and stress. The project aims at determining the ranking and (self reported) effectiveness of nature and forest visitis in terms of restoration, compared to other alternatives (e.g., TV, Cinema, etc.). The resuslt will be used to gain deeper understanding of the associations between stress, (mental) fatigue, and restoration.

Urban Gardening

Allotment gardens are a special type of urban green and play an important role in modern urban environments both for the ecosystem and for the society. The study of the WSL investigates the effects of allotment gardens on the well being and physical and social health of their users.

Visitor Study at Wildernesspark Zürich

The aim of this project is to evaluate the Wildernesspark Zürich from the visitors' perspective. We are particularly interested in what visitors do during their stay and how they perceive the park. Moreover, we also analyse in how far people report feelings of restoration after their visit, and how this self-reported restoration is associated with environmental and psychological factors of the park visit.

Agent-based Modelling

Agent-based modelling enables to model all actors on the wood market individually. Simulating the model then provides insights into the market processes. With the simulation of various scenarios, the effects of structural and institutional changes on the wood market should be explored. The project is part of the WSL-project “An economic analysis of Swiss wood markets”, which is connected to the NRP 66 program “resource wood”.

An Economic Analysis of Swiss Wood Markets

In this project, researchers analyse the workings of the Swiss wood markets on the basis of case studies and explain them with the help of economic theories. The results will be used to develop an agent-based model. This should make it possible to develop scenarios for future wood availability and present options for influencing it through economic instruments.

GeneMig

GeneMig is an inter- and transdisciplinary CESS project that identifies societal and environmental challenges and risks associated with migration of species and their genes in a changing environment. This project (1) combines genetic methods with landscape modelling and (2) assess public attitudes and coping strategies towards species migration in the context of environmental change.

Photovoltaic-panels on avalanche protectionconstructions

In Switzerland exist around 600 km of avalanche protection constructions, mainly between 1800m and 2500m of altitude. Two pilot creations in Bellwald (VS) test whether avalanche protection constructions are suited as carriers of photovoltaic panels and for producing electric power. In our project we evaluated with qualitative and quantitative methods how local tourists and local inhabitants perceive these pilot creations and, more generally, to which degree they accept solar panels in different environmental settings.

Evaluation of steering instruments in outdoor winter sports

Disturbances through increased recreation activities have an impact on wildlife populations, especially in winter. The nation-wide campaign “Respektiere deine Grenzen” tries to minimize the conflict between winter sports and wildlife populations in the Swiss Alps. This project analyses the outcome of the campaign.

Energy Landscape "Grimsel" as perceived by Tourists

The Grimsel landscape is an energy landscape characterized by reservoirs, dams and power plants. Do visitors like this landscape (yet)?

Land use conflicts

Different spatial claims may lead to conflicts between different usages. Our project explores, how such land use conflicts emerge and how they can be resolved or avoided. Out of that, we derive strategies and measures for conflict management and we will develop a guideline for the praxis.

EFICENT INTEGRATE

This report describes the system of formal instruments and informal rules concerning nature protection in Swiss Forests and elaborates on the future challenges. It then develops an answer to the question to which extent the current state of integration of nature protection has prepared forest policy for these future challenges and whether further reforms seem necessary.

C3-Alps

C3-Alps synthesizes, transfers and implements in policy and practice results of previous Alpine Space Programme projects on climate change adaptation. In Work Package 4 we will assess the performance and governance, strengths and weaknesses as well as the science-policy interface of existing adaptation policies in Alpine countries.

Landscape and the location decision

The main objective of this project is to analyze the significance of landscape characteristics and landscape quality for the choice of residential location. The impact of different landscape variables on apartment rental prices is estimated using a comprehensive hedonic property value model. The econometric estimation of landscape values can contribute to informed decision making of the involved agents and to an increased awareness of the locational factor landscape.

Recovery of Wildlife in the Alps

The return of large carnivores such as wolf and lynx in the Alps leads to conflicts with the local population. The goal of this project is to present practical conservation and management options for wolf and lynx in the Alps.

emBRACE

The project will develop a conceptual and methodological approach to clarify how the resilience capacity of a society confronted with natural hazards and disasters can be characterized, defined and measured. To maximize the benefit of existing information and new ideas on resilience, various stakeholders and experts will be incorporated into different knowledge-sharing groups.

DROUGHT-R&SPI

There is an urgent need to improve drought preparedness through increased knowledge, drought management plans and an improved science-policy interfacing that will reduce vulnerability to future drought and the risks they pose for Europe. The EU FP7 research project DROUGHT-R&SPI will address this pressing need.

Urban Regeneration

One of the most challenging tasks for European urban areas is to deal with demographic, economic and physical contraction processes and to plan for the future of cities worth living in. The project aims at fostering knowledge on urban regeneration in Switzerland. strategies in Switzerland.

SWIC

This project aims to assess the Swiss contribution to the establishment of an international regime on Biodiversity.

ANiK

Natural hazards have always impacted peoples lives in Alpine regions. To deal with them, strategies of action and institutional structures have evolved over the course of centuries. ANiK explores gradual and sudden changes in these strategies and how they relate to peoples interpretations of natural hazards.

KULTURisk

This EU FP7-project aims at promoting a culture of risk prevention against natural hazards. To achieve this goal benefits and costs of different prevention measures are compared, and the effectiveness of risk communication within these measures are evaluated.

Governance of forest recreation

he research project reviews from a governance perspective, which stakeholders, institutions and forms of coordination influence the management of forest recreation.

Climate risk analysis

The project develops a method to analyze and assess risks (and chances) related to climate change. The method is tested and applied to a regional case study in the Canton of Aargau. The method development and the assessment of climate risks are key elements of the Swiss national climate adaptation strategy.

Klimaanpassung Saastal

Das Berggebiet ist vom Klimawandel besonders betroffen. Am Beispiel der Pilotregion Saastal im Wallis werden zusammen mit lokalen Akteuren die zu erwartenden Veränderungen Bereich Wasser identifiziert und Handlungsoptionen der Klimaanpassung aufgezeigt.

DROUGHT CH

Droughts and heat waves are expected to become more frequent in Switzerland due to climate change. Droughts have major impacts on water resources, public health, ecosystems and consequently the economy. However, information about relevant economic and societal impacts and knowledge about adequate coping strategies are still lacking.

Transferable development rights

The research project contributes to the scientific development of a Transferable development rights (TDR) research program, explores the possible impacts of a TDR program in Switzerland and hence provides pro- and contra-arguments to the political discussion about their implementation in Switzerland.

Nearby Outdoor Recreation

This project has the goal to develop a GIS-based model to forecast which near-by areas local inhabitants in Switzerland preferably use in their leisure time for outdoor recreation.

WaMos 2

The aim of the research project WaMos 2 is to assess the attitudes of the population towards forest and wood related topics. In doing so, the project revisits and builds upon work that was done in 1997. The results of WaMos 2 will serve as a basis for forest related policy, and the forest- and environment-related reporting of FOEN.

Alptouristische Wertschöpfungspotentiale

Die Land- und insbesondere die Alpwirtschaft befinden sich im Umbruch. Mittels eines Workshops im Unterengadin wird Wissen über Wertschöpfungspotenzialen von Alp- und Agrotourismus zu betroffenen Akteuren transferiert. Gemeinsam werden lokale und regionale Herausforderungen diskutiert und Lösungsansätze entworfen.

Städte im Klimawandel

Städte sind sowohl für Klimaschutz als auch für Klimaanpassung sensible Bereiche. Einerseits wird hier ein Grossteil der Klima schädigenden Emissionen produziert, andererseits gelten Stadtregionen als besonders vulnerabel für die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels.

Acceptance of Acceptance of Protected Areas

Projects for the designation of large protected areas often encounter acceptance problems. This research and implementation project focuses on the difficulty of missing mutual acceptance by stakeholders.

Landschaftsforschung

Die WSL hat im Auftrag des Forum Landschaft den Stand der Landschaftsforschung in der Schweiz untersucht. Es wurden aktuelle und zukünftige Herausforderungen der Schweizerischen Landschaftsentwicklung ermittelt sowie ihre Handlungsrelevanz beurteilt.

Freiwilligenorganisationen

Freiwilliges Engagement für die Zivilgesellschaft hat einen hohen Stellenwert in der ländlichen Entwicklung. In diesem Projekt werden daher Ziele und Tätigkeiten von Freiwilligenorganisationen im ländlichen Raum der Schweiz untersucht.

CapHaz-Net

CapHaz-Net is a unique collaboration project that brings together social scientists from various European countries. Funded by the European Community it reviews how institutions and people in Europe cope with and adapt to natural hazards.

Acceptance of Acceptance of Protected Areas

ESPON CLIMATE

ESPON CLIMATE deals with the impacts of climate change on the European regions and their economies as well as the consequences for spatial planning.

CLISP

Climate change and its related impacts are strongly affecting land use and land use development. But what potential lies within spatial planning? How can we better adapt to climate change risks? Are our instruments sufficient? How can we improve our existing instruments?

Effect on nature stay

The project analyses the influence of a stay in differently managed agricultural zones on human well-being. This allows to draw conclusions concering the optimal design of natural areas.

Intercultural gardens

The main topic of this project is restoration and integration by means of intercultural gardens. An explorative case study of the cooperation project „Seebrache“ in Zürich analyses these aspects over 1.5 years. The project has been initiated by Grün Stadt Zürich, Megaphon! and by Gemeinwesenarbeit Zürich Nord.

Fiscal Instruments

The study investigates how fiscal instruments and incentives affect land consumption and urban sprawl in Switzerland. An inventory lists those taxes and subsidies that are directly or indirectly linked to the possession and transfer of property and land, which comprise incentives that affect the location and density of private, business and industrial properties.

Regional climate change ...

The impact of climate change on Europe's water resources is a critical issue for people's lives and the economy. Even if emissions of greenhouse gases were stabilised today, increases in temperature and the associated impacts, including water availability and flooding, will continue for many decades to come. A case study in the Canton of Valais assesses the awareness of these impacts and analyses the adaptation activities.

Einstellungen Regionaler Naturpark Pfyn-Finges

Im Rahmen des Projekts zur Bildung eines Regionalen Naturparks „Pfyn-Finges“ wurde untersucht, wie die lokale Bevölkerung dem Parkprojekt gegenüber eingestellt ist.

AlpFUTUR

AlpFUTUR aims at identifying prospects regarding the use of the Swiss alpine pasturing area in the short and medium term (10 to 40 years).

Biotopschutzkosten

Erfolgskontrollen und der Umweltprüfbericht der OECD zeigen, dass die Schweiz zu wenig investiert, um Biotope von nationaler Bedeutung uneingeschränkt zu erhalten. Darum werden in diesem Projekt die notwendigen Ausgaben für einen gesetzeskonformen Schutz dieser Biotope errechnet.

ENHANCE M4

Enhancing ecosystem quality (e.g. through intervention or defragmentation) is relevant for society and economy. Which ecosystem enhancement contributes best to perceived quality of life and is economically most beneficial?

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship in terms of the will and ability of persons to undertake something is an important engine for rural development. In this project, the characteristics of rural entrepreneurship and their spatial distribution are studied within the rural regions of Switzerland.

S5-Stadt

Die "S5-Stadt" bezeichnet einen Ausschnitt aus der Metropolitanregion Zürich. Sie steht für Dynamik und Wandel und repräsentiert einen Lebensraum von morgen. Das Forschungsprojekt untersucht Fragen einer nachhaltigen Regionalentwicklung.

RegioEx

Recreation is one of several services forests provide to society. The research project analyses the regional economic impact of the recreational use of forests.

Nutzen von D-PHASE für Enduser

Die D-PHASE-Visualisierungsplattform, welche Information zu Hochwasservorhersage auf eine innovative Weise mittels hydrologischer und meteorologischer Ensemble-Modellen bereitstellt, wurde hinsichtlich des Nutzungs für ihre Enduser evaluiert.

Economic Valuation of Protection Forest

The protective function of forests is of great importance in Switzerland. WSL researchers quantify the effectiveness of protective forests against natural hazards and contribute to a cost-benefit analysis.

Externalitäten des Waldes

Der Wald soll vor Naturgefahren schützen, einen Beitrag zur Biodiversität leisten und Erholung ermöglichen. Für Kosten-Nutzen-Betrachtungen von waldbaulichen Massnahmen sollen die Leistungen von Wald und Forstwirtschaft genauer berechnet werden.

Konversionsflächen

Im Forschungsprojekt werden die Potenziale der Wiedernutzung nicht mehr benötigter militärischer Liegenschaften und sonstiger Brachflächen für eine Landschaft und Freiraum schonende Siedlungsentwicklung untersucht.

Raumkonzept Schweiz

Auf Basis von Expertenbefragungen wurden verschiedene Entwicklungsoptionen für die Landschaftsräume der Schweiz formuliert. Die Entwicklungen wurden anschliessend in Zusammenarbeit mit der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste visualisiert und dienten als Diskussionsgrundlage im Rahmen der Erarbeitung des Raumkonzepts Schweiz.

Winter tourism

How many hectares of ski pistes are covered with artificial snow in the Alps? How much water do modern snow-making facilities need? How important is snow reliability for ski resorts? How does the ski piste preparation affect the biodiversity and soil stability?

BiodiverCity

The main goal of the project is to understand the relationship between urban diversity, built environment and the acceptance of the human population, in order to identify initial measures for integrating findings on how to enhance urban biodiversity and the acceptance of the residents into urban development processes.

Freizeit/Erholung im Wald

Weil sich die öffentlichen Finanzhilfen zur Waldbewirtschaftung wohl längerfristig auf die Bereitstellung von Schutzleistungen und die Förderung der Biodiversität beschränken, wird es für die Waldbewirtschafter immer wichtiger, auch andere Leistungen des Waldes in Wert zu setzen. Dazu bieten sich vor allem Erholungs- und Umweltleistungen an.

RENaTour

The research project assesses the regional economic impact of nature-based tourism in Swiss forests using the Simmental and Diemtigtal in the Bernese Oberland as case study areas. Possibilities for enhancing the added value are identified. Both demand and supply of tourism services are analysed.

Dezentrale Besiedlung

Am Beispiel der Region Surselva (GR) untersuchen WissenschafterInnen die ökonomischen, sozialen und ökologischen Folgen einer Aufgabe dezentraler Siedlungsstrukturen. Sie diskutieren, mit welchen Strategien und Konzepten sich die Zukunft peripherer ländlicher Räume gestalten lässt.

Influence of nature on wellbeing and health

The positive influence of natural environment can contribute to public health, and should be considered in landscape architecture. We will show the comparison of an influence of tended and wild woods onto human wellbeing.

Use conflicts in outdoor areas

Considering the constantly increasing leisure activities in various outdoor areas the question arises, how social use conflicts and ecological impairment of nature can be reduced.

Erholungsnutzung im periurbanen Raum

Durch Zunahme der Freizeit steigt der Druck auf Naherholungsräume im periurbanen Raum. Um Nutzungskonflikte zu vermindern, braucht es Informationen zu Nachfrage, Potential und Intensität der Raumnutzung. Wissenschafter ermitteln deshalb Kriterien, die das Naherholungsverhalten bestimmen und entwickeln Naherholungsmodell.

Instrumente Flächennutzung

In der Schweiz wird jede Sekunde knapp ein Quadratmeter Kulturland überbaut, in Agglomerationen sogar noch wesentlich mehr. Welche marktwirtschaftlichen Instrumente tragen dazu bei, eine haushälterische Flächennutzung zu fördern?

Recreational Benefits of the Forests

As multifaceted natural and recreational areas the forests in the city of Zurich make a decisive contribution to the quality of life there. But what does this really mean?

Präferenzen Greifensee

Die heutige Landschaft ist das Produkt einer historischen Entwicklung. Trotzdem weiss man wenig darüber, inwiefern sich die Landschaft entsprechend den Präferenzen der Bevölkerung gestalten lässt.

Requirements for local quality of life

Today the development of space and Mobility is far away from the principle of sustainability. New ways of spatial planning are required. This project aims at establishing a basis for a more sustainable spatial planning and mobility.

Alpine landscape development

In the context of sustainable development of the resource alpine landscape it is necessary that these developments are supported by a large part of the population. Therefore people's manifold objectives and desires must be known and included in planning measures.

Impact of transit traffic on society

The aim this project is to investigate the implications of transit traffic on nature and society and to design a monitoring tool to detect changes related to the amount of traffic. The project also investigates the influence of transit traffic and the related landscape changes on wellbeing and place attachment of inhabitants.

Wahrnehmung und Bewertung von Naturgefahren

Sozialwissenschafter möchten im Projekt herausfinden, wie sich die Wahrnehmung und Bewertung von Lawinen, Murgängen, Steinschlag, Hochwasser, Stürmen usw. auf die Akzeptanz von Präventionsmassnahmen auswirken.

Socially sound river restorations

What is the meaning of the river space for the local public? What are the attitudes and demands of the population in regard to river restoration and which demands do people have regarding participation? This project shows possible ways towards socially sound river restorations.

BioScene: Reconciling biodiversity conservation

For centuries agriculture has played a multifunctional role in defining and sustaining mountain biodiversity in Europe through the management of habitats, species and landscapes. The overall aim of this project is to investigate the implications of agricultural restructuring and decline for biodiversity conservation in Europe’s mountain areas.

Outdoor-activities in nature and landscape

Outdoor-activities can have negative consequences on nature and landscape. A PhD student has analysed the motivation of outdoor-activists, their attitudes towards nature and landscape and their behaviour changing strategies.

Sturm Lothar

Der Sturm Lothar im Dezember 1999 hat die dreifache Jahresnutzung im Schweizer Wald zu Boden geworfen. Die ökonomische Analyse trägt dazu bei, die Entscheidungsgrundlagen für den Umgang mit Stürmen im Wald zu verbessern.

Bewältigung Naturereignisse

Grundsätzlich sind Naturereignisse ein Produktionsrisiko, das in der Natur der Waldwirtschaft liegt. Wie lassen sich solche Risiken am besten handhaben? Dieses Projekt möchte zu einem ökonomischen Risikomanagement von Stürmen und anderen Naturereignissen im Wald beitragen.

Perception of natural hazards

With a telephonic survey the Swiss inhabitant's perception of natural hazards and specifically the hurricane "Lothar" has been investigated. The scientists asked almost 1000 people.

Attitudes of the society towards wilderness

What are the global attitudes towards nature and wilderness? What is perceived as wilderness and what degree of wilderness is accepted by the population in general? What are the differences between people accepting wilderness and those objecting it?

Consequences of "Lothar" to interest groups

The storm Lothar has had consequences for totally different groups interested in the forest. These are not only groups economically linked with the forest, but also people, which use the forest in their leisure time. Which consequences did "Lothar" have for the different interest groups?

Management of dry meadows

One option to regulate the management of dry meadows is signing a contract with farmers. It has become evident that not all farmers are willing to sign such contracts in spite of the possibility to earn some extra money. The question was why some farmers refuse to sign.

Biosphere reserves from people's view

Acceptance and success of biosphere reserves depend very much on the local population`s perception of and identification with the biosphere reserves. The objective of the study is to determine the attitudes of various social groups towards nature and nature protection.

Participation in landscape development

Scientists developed a guide designed to help local communities start up and carry out participation-in-development. The guide has been published in the form of a brochure. You will also find a web-paket.

Akzeptanz von Grossraubtieren

Grossraubtiere breiten sich in der Schweiz wieder aus. Die Einwanderung von Wolf und Bär oder die Luchsumsiedlung stossen aber in Teilen der Bevölkerung auf Widerstand. Um die Akzeptanz von Raubtieren langfristig zu fördern, braucht es wissenschaftliche Grundlagen über das Verhältnis der Bevölkerung zu diesen Tierarten.

Acceptance of nature conservation measures

Nature and landscape conservation issues have a high priority since an intact landscape is considered as important for tourism and well-being. On the local level however, there is a fair amount of contradiciting views. In this research, processes that positively or negatively influence acceptance have been investigated.

Natural science experiments

Do natural science experiments have an influence on the politicians' readiness to plan environ-political measures and on the public's acceptance? The significance of experiments in natural science in the public discussion on CO2-emissions was investigated. Among the politicians three different types of attitudes towards natural science in general were found.

Attitudes towards decaying forests

A major concern for landscape conservation strategies is the public attitude towards nature in general and towards efforts to let "nature return to the cultivated landscape". In this context the attitudes of national park visitors towards declining forest patches have been investigated.

Need-oriented landscape development

Rural communities in Switzerland experience a process of urbanization running contrary to the needs of the locals. In order to stop this harmful process, answers to the following questions are needed: What needs of the people can be met by the "every-day-landscape"? Why don't people shape their "every-day-landscape"? How could they be encouraged to participate?

Spontaneous reforestation

One of the main arguments for handing out agricultural subsidies in Swiss mountainous areas is the conservation of traditional landscapes. To find out what people think about land abandonment WSL conducted qualitative in-situ-interviews as well as standardised questionnaires and photo-experiments.

Landscape change assessed by tourists

The lay assessment of tourism-induced landscape changes was investigated with standardized questionnaires and photo-experiments. A main result was that tourists are very sensitive to landscape changes caused by tourist infrastructure. They wish the landscape to remain traditional.

Show all

Publications

Stober, D.; Suškevičs, M.; Eiter, S.; Müller, S.; Martinát, S.; Buchecker, M., 2021: What is the quality of participatory renewable energy planning in Europe? A comparative analysis of innovative practices in 25 projects. Energy Research and Social Science, 71: 101804 (13 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101804

Seidl, I., 2021: Nicht-nachhaltige Flächennutzung im Schweizer Wohnsektor und das Transformationspotenzial von Nischenprojekten. In: Hofmeister, S.; Warner, B.; Ott, Z. (eds), 2021: Nachhaltige Raumentwicklung für die grosse Transformation. Herausforderungen, Barrieren und Perspektiven für Raumwissenschaften und Raumplanung. Hannover, ARL - Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft. 133-140.

Knieling, J.; Koch, F.; Kruse, S.; Seidl, I.; Sinning, H., 2021: Einleitung: Große Transformation, Akteure und Theoriekontexte. In: Hofmeister, S.; Warner, B.; Ott, Z. (eds), 2021: Nachhaltige Raumentwicklung für die grosse Transformation. Herausforderungen, Barrieren und Perspektiven für Raumwissenschaften und Raumplanung. Hannover, ARL - Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft. 125-132.

Knieling, J.; Koch, F.; Kruse, S.; Seidl, I.; Sinning, H., 2021: Beiträge staatlicher und nicht-staatlicher Akteure auf kommunaler Ebene zur großen Transformation. In: Hofmeister, S.; Warner, B.; Ott, Z. (eds), 2021: Nachhaltige Raumentwicklung für die grosse Transformation. Herausforderungen, Barrieren und Perspektiven für Raumwissenschaften und Raumplanung. Hannover, ARL - Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft. 183-189.

Bazrafshan, M.; Mikaeili Tabrizi, A.; Bauer, N.; Kienast, F., 2021: Place attachment through interaction with urban parks: a cross-cultural study. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 61: 127103 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127103

Maidl, E.; Bresch, D.N.; Buchecker, M., 2021: Social integration matters: factors influencing natural hazard risk preparedness—a survey of Swiss households. Natural Hazards, 105: 1861-1890. doi: 10.1007/s11069-020-04381-2

Spielhofer, R.; Hunziker, M.; Kienast, F.; Wissen Hayek, U.; Grêt-Regamey, A., 2021: Does rated visual landscape quality match visual features? An analysis for renewable energy landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning, 209: 104000 (21 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.104000

Jürgens, U.M.; Hackett, P.M.W., 2021: Wolves, crows, and spiders: an eclectic literature review inspires a model explaining humans’ similar reactions to ecologically different wildlife. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 9: 593501 (17 pp.). doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2021.593501

Salak, B.; Lindberg, K.; Kienast, F.; Hunziker, M., 2021: How landscape-technology fit affects public evaluations of renewable energy infrastructure scenarios. A hybrid choice model. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 143: 110896 (13 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.110896

Braunschweiger, D.; Pütz, M., 2021: Climate adaptation in practice: How mainstreaming strategies matter for policy integration. Environmental Policy and Governance, doi: 10.1002/eet.1936

Wartmann, F.M.; Frick, J.; Kienast, F.; Hunziker, M., 2021: Factors influencing visual landscape quality perceived by the public. Results from a national survey. Landscape and Urban Planning, 208: 104024 (10 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.104024

Wartmann, F.; Hunziker, M.; Kienast, F., 2021: Programm Landschaftsbeobachtung Schweiz (LABES). Methodische und inhaltliche Weiterentwicklung 2018-2020. WSL Berichte, 103. 215 p.

Unterberger, C.; Olschewski, R., 2021: Determining the insurance value of ecosystems: a discrete choice study on natural hazard protection by forests. Ecological Economics, 180: 106866 (16 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106866

Spielhofer, R.; Thrash, T.; Wissen Hayek, U.; Grêt-Regamey, A.; Salak, B.; Grübel, J.; Schinazi, V.R., 2021: Physiological and behavioral reactions to renewable energy systems in various landscape types. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 135: 110410 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110410

Pütz, M.; Brassel, R., 2021: Knowledge exchange at science-policy interfaces in the fields of spatial planning, land use and soil management: a Swiss case study. In: Weith, T.; Barkmann, T.; Gaasch, N.; Rogga, S.; Strauß, C.; Zscheischler, J. (eds), 2021: Sustainable land management in a European context. A co-design approach. Cham, Springer. 165-184. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-50841-8_9

Pütz, M.; Kiessling, N., 2020: Assessing the regional governance capacities of spatial planning: the case of the canton of Zurich. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 7, 1: 183-205. doi: 10.1080/21681376.2020.1776631

Gaus, R.; Grêt-Regamey, A.; Buchecker, M., 2020: Eliciting actors’ perspectives in integrated watershed management: exploring a practical tool based on a mental model approach. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, doi: 10.1080/09640568.2020.1823343

Job, H.; Willi, G.; Mayer, M.; Pütz, M., 2020: Open spaces in Alpine countries: analytical concepts and preservation strategies in spatial planning. Mountain Research and Development, 40, 3: D1-D11. doi: 10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00016.1

Gubler, L.; Ismail, S.A.; Seidl, I., 2020: Biodiversitätsschädigende Subventionen in der Schweiz. Grundlagenbericht. WSL Berichte, 96. 216 p.

Rutz, S.; Seidl, I., 2020: Corona als Zäsur des Neoliberalismus. Das Denknetz. Réseau de réflexion. Pensieri in rete, 21-22.

20 from 666 publications

Show all

Show related publications

Staff