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News
New Publication: Crossing Borders, Blending Perspectives: Trilateral Wadden Sea Explorations
What if we viewed a landscape not as a line on a map, but as a living narrative - a story told, shaped and sustained by many voices? This question took centre stage at the book launch of Crossing Borders, Blending Perspectives, which was held simultaneously in Groningen, Wilhelmshaven and Bredebro on June 6, 2025.
The book was written by researchers from universities in the Wadden Sea region, and offers a transdisciplinary perspective on the Wadden Sea region, shaped through a journey along the coast by international researchers and conversations with local stakeholders. Its editors include Cormac Walsh (Ecological Economics) and Ingo Mose (Applied Geography) at University of Oldenburg. The book touches upon topics of rural livability, sustainable tourism, nature conservation, coastal management, climate change adaptation, and offers insights into interactive transdisciplinary teaching perspectives. In light of the consequences of gas extraction, increasing tourism pressures, and climate adaptation challenges, this book offers a timely perspective on one of Europe’s most ecologically and culturally significant coastal regions.
Crossing Borders, Blending Perspectives emerged from the TriWadWalk project, a two-part journey undertaken in 2022. Over ten days and more than 570 kilometers, a group of university lecturers and students from six universities in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands travelled the Wadden Sea region. Along the way, they engaged with local stakeholders, learning from the landscape.
The book deliberately brings together diverse voices. Rather than treating the Wadden Sea as a single, homogenous ecosystem, the book celebrates its diversity—of landscapes, governance practices, and human-nature relationships. Crossing Borders, Blending Perspectives illustrates what can be achieved through transdisciplinary cooperation. It is the product of years of cross-university collaboration and a shared commitment to bridging education, research, and practice.
Most importantly, it gives voice to those often overlooked in the conservation and environmental management dialogue: students, citizens, local stakeholders and communities, whose knowledge and lived realities are essential to shaping the future of the region. As one example, young people in the Wadden hinterlands speak of a deep sense of belonging to the landscape, but also of frustrations tied to limited access to services and opportunities. Their stories highlight the need to reimagine regional development through the lens of cultural identity and quality of life — key factors in keeping younger generations rooted in the area. The book features many such local perspectives, each shedding light on how sustainability is lived, questioned, and reimagined on a daily basis.
Mose, I. Liburd, J. Walsh, C., Trell, E-M., Sijtsma, F. (2025) Crossing Borders, Blending Perspectives: Trilateral Wadden Sea Explorations, Groningen University Press, Groningen University Press, https://books.ugp.rug.nl/ugp/catalog/book/225 (open access pdf and in hard copy).
New publication: "Playing into (in)security? A course for the reflexive handling of dilemmas of sustainability"
This article is dedicated to the question of the extent to which serious games and associated reflection processes can support the handling of sustainability dilemmas. As an application case, the focus is on university teaching and a course specifically developed for this purpose is analysed. A central finding shows the relevance of reflexively confronting emotions when dealing with sustainability dilemmas in order to be able to endure, understand and use them productively - in both individual and cooperative confrontation with tensions and conflicts.
Kick-off Conference for Wadden Sea Research projects
In the last week of January, Wadden Sea, over 100 Wadden Sea researchers, policymakers and stakeholders from the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark met in Groningen for the opening conference of a new German-Dutch joint research programme. Our research group is a partner of one of the five projects: SEDWAY, which focuses on sediment dynamics and questions of naturalness. Ecological Economics was represented in Groningen by Bernd Siebenüner, Ernst Schäfer, Cormac Walsh and Paul Kohler.
New Publication: "Marine artificial light at night: Implications and potential hazards for offshore songbird and bat movements in the Greater North Sea"
With increased human activity at sea (e.g. shipping, offshore wind, resource extraction) the risks to marine ecosystems are increasing. This interdisciplinary, collaborative article examines the implications of marine light pollution for migratory songbirds and bats crossing the North Sea and discusses management options. The paper was written as part of the preparation process for the NaviSense Excellence Cluster application.
New publication: "Opening up and closing down citizen participation in the development of a sustainable neighbourhood energy system"
Long-term participation processes usually go through various phases of opening and closing - with consequences for their legitimacy and impact. In order to better understand these dynamics, the open access article analyses a multi-year citizen participation process for the development of a sustainable urban neighbourhood. A new analytical approach is applied that distinguishes between spatial, temporal, thematic, actor-related and methodological dimensions of opening and closing and identifies their reasons. Knowledge of these dynamics and interactions associated with participation in the context of technological and urban development processes can support participation planning.
New Publication: "Green means go: The effect of a visualization tool towards increased use of renewable energy in households"
This article presents an evaluation study of a tool, including its hardware and software versions, that helps consumers optimize their electricity consumption, particularly with regard to renewable energy for specific devices. We conducted a six-week study in Oldenburg, Germany, with 43 participants divided into three groups: a hardware and a digital version of an energy visualization tool, and a control group.
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New Publications: Rather with than About - Reshaping Qualitative Empirical Research Methods in Times of Physical Distancing
The COVID-19 pandemic made qualitative social research more difficult and traditional methods had to be reconsidered and adapted. Against this background, this article empirically examines how synchronous, video-based formats influence personal interactions. The effects of video formats are analyzed and evaluated with a focus on empowerment, communication and rapport using three digitally adapted methods (semi-structured interviews, qualitative network analysis and focus groups)
The Department of Ecological Economics is part of NaviSense Excellence Cluster Application
The NaviSense Excellence Cluster proposal led by Prof. Dr. Henrik Mouritsen (Biology) has successfully reached the second round of the application process and will compete with 97 other applications for this prestigious research funding. The NaviSense proposal focusses on animal sensory perception and navigation. The NaviSense consortium is strongly interdisciplinary, including leading scientists from biology, physics, chemistry and informatics, among other disciplines. Bernd Siebenhüner is part of the team, contributing social science expertise, particularly in relation to conservation and environmental governance issues. Cormac Walsh is also involved in the proposal writing process.
Anthology article on innovations and challenges of the energy transition in smart city districts has been published
After six years, the results of the research project ENaQ (Energy Neighborhood Quarter) and five other neighborhood projects from the “Solar Building/Energy Efficient City” funding line have now been published in an anthology. The anthology entitled “Innovations and challenges of the energy transition in smart city districts” is available online.
The book also includes a contribution by Maren Wesselow Bernd Siebenhüner, Torsten Grothmann, Ullrich Scheele and Ernst Schäfer, in which the process of citizen participation in ENaQ is reflected.