Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Resource Economics

Habilitation of Dr. Christian Schleyer

Market-based instruments as components of institutional arrangements for the provision of ecosystem services – The example of land use measures for climate- and nature-protection in cultural landscapes in Central Europe

Start: May 2009

End: April 2013

This habilitation project focuses on the determinants, forms, and results of changes of institutional arrangements that have emerged in the context of the introduction of market-based instruments for the provision of ecosystem services. In addition, the effects that these new institutions and governance structures have on related interactions between actors are studied. The main objective is to understand the increasing institutional diversity and polycentricity of governance structures for the provision of ecosystem services in cultural landscapes in Central Europe. On a conceptual level, typical properties of the physical transactions and of the social interdependencies and conflicts caused by them will be identified and their importance for the emergence of integrative and segregative institutions and governance structures investigated. Empirically, the analysis will look at what market-based and other institutions for the provision of ecosystem services have already been developed; what political, economic or other determinants have contributed to their emergence; and what interdependencies between the various instruments and institutional arrangements exist on the regional level. The analysis will be carried out using the measures climate and nature protection as examples. The mainly qualitative empirical research activities will focus on the biosphere reserves Upper Lusatia Heath and Pond Landscape and Swabian Alb.

Researcher: Christian Schleyer

Cooperation Partners:

  • Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Dr. Tobias Plieninger (Lead), Bettina Ohnesorge, Kathrin Trommler;
  • Ecologic Institut, Berlin, Holger Gerdes;
  • Öko-Institute e.V., Franziska Wolf;
  • Institute for Landscape Management at the University of Freiburg, Germany Dr. Claudia Bieling, Dr. Harald Schaich

Advisor: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Konrad Hagedorn

Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research, under the Social-Ecological Research Programme

Project Website: www.ecosystemservices.de/front-page

Publications and Presentations: See