Cultural Ecology
Cultural ecology considers the special design of the relationship between humans and nature due to cultural achievements. If culture becomes the subject of ecological research, the focus shifts away from natural environmental problems – such as climate change – towards the factors that influence the knowledge, perspectives, and behavior of individuals, groups, institutions, and organizations.
Culture can be defined as explicit and implicit patterns of behavior coupled with ideas and, in particular, the associated values. Ecologic Institute's research work addresses many aspects of the complex issue of cultural ecology, including the range of human behaviors and actions in policy- and decision-making, the economy, technology, the media, and social interactions in general regarding pathways to sustainable decision-making and transitions.
Team members have specific expertise in perceptions, knowledge, and practices related to climate change mitigation and adaptation, particularly in coastal and marine areas. Moreover, the cultural ecology team has gained strong competencies in scientific communication and knowledge exchange within applied research.
Selected Projects for Cultural Ecology
Innovation in Climate Services Provision (INNOVA)
- Duration
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Oct 2017 - Sep 2020
- Funding
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Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany
Reducing Nutrient Loadings from Agricultural Soils to the Baltic Sea via Groundwater and Streams (Soils2Sea)
- Duration
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Jan 2014 - Dec 2017
- Funding
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Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany Baltic Organisations' Network for Funding Science EEIG (BONUS EEIG), Finland
Resilience-Increasing Strategies for Coasts – toolKIT (RISC-KIT)
- Duration
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Nov 2013 - Apr 2017
- Funding
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European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), international
Bottom-Up Climate Adaptation Strategies for a Sustainable Europe (BASE)
- Duration
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Oct 2012 - Sep 2016
- Funding
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European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), international
Regional Adaptation Strategies for the German Baltic Sea Coast (RADOST)
- Duration
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Jul 2009 - Jun 2014
- Funding
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Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany
Selected Publications for Cultural Ecology
Chabay, I.; Koch, L.; Martinez, G.; Scholz, G. Influence of Narratives of Vision and Identity on Collective Behavior Change. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5680.
Martinez, Grit. "Let's Say It in Their Own Words," edited by Katrin Kleemann and Jeroen Oomen, RCC Perspectives: Transformations in Environment and Society 2019, no. 4, 105–14. doi.org/10.5282/rcc/8858.
Martinez, G., Armaroli, C., Costas, S., Harley, D. M., Paolisso, M., (2018), Experiences and results from interdisciplinary collaboration: Utilizing qualitative information to formulate disaster risk reduction measures for coastal regions, Coastal Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2017.09.010
Grit Martinez and Michael J. Paolisso 2015: "Cultural Dynamics of Adaptation to Climate Change: An Example from the East Coast of the US", in: Bernd Sommer (ed.): Cultural Dynamics of Climate Change and the Environment in Northern America. [Climate and Culture 3]. Leiden: Brill, 304-332.
Costas S., Ferreira ,O., Martinez, G., Why do we decide to live with risk at the coast? In: Ocean and Coastal Management, available online 30 May 2015, In Press.
Bray, Dennis and Grit Martinez 2014: “Climate-change lore and its implications for climate science: Post-science deliberations?”. Futures, Vol. 66, No. February 2015, 54-69.
Petra Mahrenholz et. al. 2016: Optionen zur Weiterentwicklung von Anpassungsstrategien. in: Brasseur, Guy P., Jacob, Daniela, Schuck-Zöller, Susanne (Hrsg.) 2016: Klimawandel in Deutschland. Springer-Verlag: Heidelberg.
Martinez, Grit; Peter Fröhle and Hans-Joachim Meier (eds.) 2014: Social Dimension of Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal Regions. Findings from Transdisciplinary Research. [Klimawandel in Regionen zukunftsfähig gestalten 5]. Munich: oekom Verlag.
Martinez, Grit; Orbach, Mike; Frick, Fanny; Donargo, Alexandra, Ducklow, Kelsey; Morison, Nathalie 2014: "The cultural context of climate change adaptation: Cases from the U.S. East Coast and the German Baltic Sea Coast", in: Grit Martinez; Hans-Joachim Meier and Peter Fröhle (eds.): Social Dimensions of Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal Regions - Findings from Transdisciplinary Research. Munich: oekom verlag, 85-103.
Caroline Fredriksson, Grit Martinez, Magnus Larson, and Beate Feldmann Eellend, Using Historical Storms for Flood Risk Management: The 1872 Storm in South Sweden, In: Lakhani, Vikas, and Eveline de Smalen, eds. "Sites of Remembering: Landscapes, Lessons, Policies," RCC Perspectives: Transformations in Environment and Society 2018, DOI: doi.org/10.5282/rcc/8481
Fredriksson; C., Feldmann Eellend, B., Larson; M., Martinez, G., The role of historical storm events in risk analysis. A study of the coastal flood events in 1872 and 1904 along the South and East Coast of Scania, Sweden, Vatten, Journal of Water Management and Research, pp 73:93 – 108, Lund 2017
Stelljes, N.; Martinez G.; McGlade, K. (2017). Introduction to the RISC-KIT Web Based Management Guide for DRR in European Coastal Zones. RISC-KIT Project.
Martinez, Grit and Mike K. Orbach 2014: "Küstenschutz - Europa und USA im Vergleich", in: Heike Leitschuh et al. (eds.): Jahrbuch Ökologie 2015. Re-Naturierung. Stuttgart: S. Hirzel Verlag, 214-222.
Selected Events for Cultural Ecology
Workshop:Social Sciences and Humanities in Marine and Coastal Research
- Date
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3 - 4 December 2018
- Organizer
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Ecologic Institute, Germany
Conference:Sustainable Ecosystem Governance under Changing Climate and Land Use in the Baltic Sea Region – 3rd BONUS Symposium
- Date
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14 - 16 March 2018
- Organizer
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Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Denmark Ecologic Institute, Germany Aarhus University (AU), Denmark University of Helsinki, Finland Stockholm University, Sweden Linköping University (LiU), Sweden POMInnO, Poland
Riverside Chat:Climate Change, the Science Policy Interface and Coastal Zone Management
- Date
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5 July 2011
- Organizer
Workshop:A Pledge for Improving Transboundary Water Management Practices amongst Polish and Russian Authorities
- Date
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15 October 2017
- Organizer
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AGH University of Science and Technology (AGH), Poland Ecologic Institute, Germany
Selected Presentations for Cultural Ecology
Speech:On the Way to Demand Driven Climate Services
- Date
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12 February 2020
- Organiser
Speech:History for a Sustainable Future | 8th Biennial Conference
- Date
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3 July 2015
- Organiser
Chairing:A Practical Illustration of the Human Dimension in Coastal Systems and its Drivers for Change
- Date
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6 September 2016
- Organiser
Panel discussion:Sustainability Transitions: What is the stake of cultural conventions?
- Date
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13 June 2018
- Organiser
Speech:The Influence of Local Cultural Values on the Governance of Adaptation
- Date
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18 March 2013
- Organiser
Chairing:Why Do Societies Adapt the Way They Do?
- Date
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12 May 2015
- Organiser
Panel discussion:The Most Crucial Mechanisms and Phenomena in the Soils and Ground-Waters and in the Communities – Soils2Sea
- Date
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4 June 2014
- Organiser
Speech:Everyone on Board? – Climate Change Adaptation as a Holistic Societal Challenge
- Date
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23 September 2015
- Organiser
Chairing:RADOST in Exchange with Coastal Planners in the USA
- Date
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14 February 2012
- Organiser