Chair

The Chair of Environmental Development and Risk Management at Technische Universität Dresden engages in the systemic and spatiotemporal analysis of human-environment interrelations and interventions through management und governance. Both anthropogenic impacts on the environment and environmental threats to the society are considered. The focus of the addressed human-environment interrelations are rural and urban land use, management and governance also involve the science-policy interface.

Research and education address theoretical and methodological basics of environmental development and risk management. Inter- and transdisciplinary knowledge on biophysical cause-effect relationships of human-environmental interrelations as well as their integratability in management and governance on the local and regional level are in the centre. Theoretical considerations regard to concepts from systems theories, integrated resource management, risk management (including vulnerability, resilience, adaptation etc.) and environmental governance. The methodological approaches range from GIS and multi-model-based simulations (including HPC, BigData) to foresight (scenarios, ensembles) and integrated assessment, mono and multi-criteria evaluation and decision support to measures, instruments and strategies of management and governance with institutions and actors. Accordingly, explicit reference to relevant natural and social science disciplines is provided.

Thematic focus are sustainable environmental development of regions and cities as well as risks due to natural hazards (e.g. floods, droughts) and climate change with an in-depth expertise related to water. Research and education are nationally and internationally oriented with cooperation partners in Europe, Asia, North and Latin America and Africa.