Laboratory for the Analysis of Social-Ecological Systems in a Globalised world

The Laboratory for the Analysis of Social-Ecological Systems in a Globalised world (LASEG) is a research group at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB). We aim to better understand how local and indigenous knowledge can contribute to environmental sustainability, and how to better reconcile biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services with human wellbeing.

We conduct our research in a large range of societies (i.e., indigenous peoples, urban and rural communities) and we pay attention to temporal scales (i.e. contemporary and archival work). We employ a variety of quantitative and qualitative research techniques from the social and natural sciences, and the combination of different types of data and disciplinary backgrounds enriches our work and makes it potentially more relevant to multiple disciplinary audiences.

Research areas

Indigenous and local ecological knowledge

Researching on how Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ knowledge is affected by environmental change and how such knowledge can contribute to understand environmental change impacts.

Environmental governance and conservation

Researching environmental governance processes in the areas of climate change and the conservation of biodiversity, from international to national and local levels.

Resilience and transformation

Investigating transformative pathways toward sustainability founded upon the concept of ecosystem services and nature-based solutions.

Featured Projects

March 2020 - February 2022

Un índice de vulnerabilidad socio-ambiental para apoyar en el diseño de nuevas políticas de desarrollo rural en España

01.05.2022 - 20.12.2024

The research explores how a female-led collective of sheep farmers in Tuscany adapts to ecological and structural changes by promoting coexistence with wolves through livestock guarding dogs. Using feminist political ecology, it examines gendered experiences of change and the farmers’ identities as pastoralists and nature stewards. It also analyzes their alliance with conservation NGOs, highlighting the complexities of collaboration and the transformative dynamics involving wolves, guarding dogs, and wolf-dog hybrids in fostering coexistence.

November 2020 - April 2022

Bringing indigenous and local knowledge to climate change policy.

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