Irina Mancheva

I am mainly interested in governance issues linked to forest and water management and the implementation of political goals. I have previously focused on collaborative governance in forest and water management and how its links to other sectors such as energy and nature conservation can promote the sustainable use of natural resources. I am currently working in two Formas-funded projects. One is Blue Leads Green: Using blue infrastructure to lead the way to a better forested green infrastructure, with Eliza Maher Hasselquist as project leader. In it, I investigate the conflicts between goals of different policies at various institutional levels that affect the implementation of alternative forest management practices. The second project is called Barriers and Opportunities to Managing forest ditches for climate – Research, Up-scaling, & Legislation (BOM), where Hjalmar Laudon is the project manager. In that project, I focus on barriers and incentives for the management of forest ditcheswithin the existing regulatory framework .

In my previous research, I have focused on the implementation of EU water policy from a comparative perspective and on the cross-sectoral governance of forest water. My PhD thesis work was part of an interdisciplinary project between the Department of Political Science at Umeå University and the Department of Forest Ecology and Management at SLU. 

In addition to the above-mentioned issues, I am interested in international relations, the European Union, and the local, as well as the global environmental movement.

I have in the past been course-responsible for courses mainly focusing on Public Administration, Politics and Society and Environmental Governance. I have taught a number of courses at, among others, Umeå University, Dalarna University, SLU, Aalto University in Finland, and Politecnico di Torino in Italy. I also have many years of experience in interdisciplinary collaboration with teachers from other disciplines such as environmental science, technology, physics and economic history. I also have experience with supervising and examining bachelor theses.

Current projects:

2023-2026 Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development, Formas: Blue leads green: Using blue infrastructure to lead the way to a better forested green infrastructure; co-applicant, project leader: Eliza Maher Hasselquist.

2022-2026 Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development, Formas: Barriers and Opportunities to Managing forest ditches for climate – Research, Up-scaling, & Legislation (BOM), project leader: Hjalmar Laudon.

Past projects:

2022 MIRAI 2.0 – Joint seed-funding of Japan-Sweden collaborative projects: Chemical pollution from pharmaceuticals and water governance, project leader for the Swedish side.

2021-2023 Swedish Research Council, International Postdoc: Collaborative Water Governance in the European Union: A Comparison between Two Member States; Postdoctoral researchers at the Department of Political Science, Umeå University and the Water & Development Research Group, Aalto University.

2014-2019 Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development, Formas: Healthy Waters: The role of collaborative governance to minimize negative forestry impact on water quality. Project leaders: Katarina Eckerberg and Hjalmar Laudon. Doctoral student, main supervisor: Katarina Eckerberg.

Peer-Reviewed Articles:

Mancheva, I., Pihlajamäki, M, Keskinen, M. (2023) Institutional accountability: the differentiated implementation of collaborative governance. West European Politics, https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2022.2158639

Bjärstig, T., Mancheva, I., Zachrisson, A., Neumann, W., Svensson, J. (2022) Is large-scale wind power a problem, solution, or victim? A frame analysis of the debate in Swedish media. Energy Research and Social Science, 83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102337

Mancheva, I. (2021) The role of legitimacy in the implementation of outputs from collaborative processes: A national dialogue for forest water consideration in Sweden. Environmental Science & Policy, 120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.02.004

Hasselquist, E.M, Kuglerová, L., Sjögren, J, Hjältén, J., Ring, E., Sponseller, R.A., Andersson, E., Lundström, J, Mancheva, I., Nordin, A., Laudon, H. (2021), Moving towards multi-layered, mixed-species forests in riparian buffers will enhance their long-term function in boreal landscapes, accepted in: Forest Ecology and Management, 493, 119254, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119254

Eckerberg, K., Bjärstig, T., Matilda, M. & Mancheva, I. (2020) Devolving Power from the State: Local Initiatives for Nature Protection and Recreation in Sweden, Local Environment, 25 (6). https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2020.1760226

Mancheva, I. (2020) Complement or competition in water governance? Analysing two collaborative water management arrangements in one river basin. Water Policy, 22, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2020.202

Hasselquist, E. M., Mancheva, I., Eckerberg, K., & Laudon, H. (2019)* Policy change implications for forest water protection in Sweden over the last 50 years. Ambio, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01274-y

Mancheva, I. (2018) Which factors spur forest owners' collaboration over forest waters? Forest Policy and Economics, 91, 54-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2017.09.002

PhD Thesis:

Mancheva, I. (2020) Forest Water Governance: Challenges in Cross-Sectoral and Multi-Level Collaboration, Doctoral Thesis, Umeå, The Department of Political Science, Umeå University.

Reports:

Bjärstig, T., Mancheva, I., Zachrisson, A., Neumann, W., Svensson, J. (2021) Vindkraft i svensk nyhetsmedia – problem eller lösning?, Delrapport: En medieanalys inom projektet Hållbar landbaserad vindkraft.

Eckerberg, K., Bjärstig, T., Miljand, M., & Mancheva, I. (2017) Tio års erfarenheter med LONA – lokala naturvårdssatsningen: Intresse, deltagande och lärande inom naturvård och friluftsliv, Naturvårdsverket Rapport, 6748.