Research

Environmental problems are often complex and consequently need to be examined from different angles and scientific approaches to be understood and solved. There is a need to understand the driving forces behind society’s handling of natural resources, pollution and waste products at various institutional and political levels has increased substantially, as well as questions of global, national and local resource management and the links between them. Research issues spring from everyday life and are often formulated in direct communication with a broader society. Environmental changes call for collaboration of researchers from different disciplines in both natural science and cultural science. The methodology integrates both quantitative and qualitative studies with field work, laboratory analyses, modelling and studies of human activities.

WES’s current research is conducted within and between three interdisciplinary long-term focus areas:
• Pollution – causes, impacts, policies and measures
• Livelihood, lifestyles and long-term supply of food, water and energy
• Climate change - impacts, politics, policies and measures.