Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies
Germany
fellow
Agatha A. Konczal
2024-2025
Home institution
Wageningen University
Country of origin (home institution)
Netherlands
Discipline(s)
Earth, environmental and climate sciences
Interdisciplinary Studies
Theme(s)
Environment, Sustainability & Biodiversity
Fellowship dates
›
Biography
Agata A. Konczal is an Assistant Professor at the Wageningen University, in Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group. Before joining Wageningen University in 2022, she was a researcher at the European Forest Institute, where she led the European Forest Governance and Society Team. She has a background in humanities and social science and holds a PhD in social and cultural anthropology. Her specialisation lies in environmental anthropology, political ecology, environmental history. She is currently working on establishing forest anthropology as a field of research and developing FORAGE – Forest Anthropology Working Group on Europe and Beyond. Agata’s main research interests are studies on perception, understanding and use of forests by different social groups, various approaches to, and interpretations of nature protection (e.g. within rewilding projects), and interdisciplinary research relating to forest and environmental topics. In her current research, Agata examines how forests are increasingly politicised as easy solutions for climate change, biodiversity, rural areas, and development issues. Her research delves into diverse perspectives and strategies for addressing the “forest crisis” within the wider scope of climate change and the uncertain future of forests. This includes the exploration of different framings of forest disturbance and restoration, and the role of diverse social and cultural values in forest and nature management.
Research Project
Relational values within frameworks for social-ecological systems research in forests
This project is designed to complement the work on the frameworks for social-ecological systems (SES) research in forests by investigating the role of the forest relational values and how they can be included in developing a common basis for studies in different contexts across various case studies. Specifically, using my work on the cultural and spiritual values of forests (e.g. Roux et al. 2022, Konczal and Asselin 2025), including the first insights from newly established project (“Forest Spirituality in Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe”), I would like to help to conceptualise the role of relational values (with the focus on cultural and spiritual values) in decision-making for future forests, including principles for future forest decision making. This project’s results can inform frameworks for collaborative research on how forests and societies respond to management transformation and environmental changes. Including relational values is intended to ensure that various perspectives on the importance of forests and their ecosystem services are taken into account and carefully examined in both future forest research and decision-making processes. With this, the idea is to address a crucial, yet not widely investigated, dimension of forest SES, and bring together insights from natural and social science in order to tackle future challenges for forests and societies. The project builds on the collaboration with Future Forest researchers and other FRESCO Fellows.
Research Interests:
Studies on perception, understanding and use of forests by different social groups; various approaches to, and interpretations of nature protection (e.g. within rewilding projects); interdisciplinary research relating to forest and environmental topics