Geovana Mercado

My current research focuses on:

• Urban green space Governance, which studies the many ways people, governements and society in general organize and distribute power and responsabilities to manage and mantain urban green spaces, this includes a focus on actors collaborations, rules and policies as well as discourses that motive their actions.
• Nature Based Solutions (NBS), mainly looking for ways in which nature can help humans to overcome critical current environmental issues.
• Engagement of marginalised groups, or groups whose voices are usually not represented in desicion making and action processes related to urban green spaces.

I organize the Landscape Governance Talks, a virtual conversation about Governance related issues and research, which happens every third week via Zoom.
I have preference and great interest in qualitative research methods. These include the use of participatory research methods including focus groups, in-depth interviews, and participant observation.

I am involved in two research projects on governance of Nature Based solutions, both funded by EU programs:

NATURO: Engagement of marginalised groups in NBS planning and management via long-term mosaic governance, funded by the EU Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) program. NATURO studies how quality of life can be increased for marginalised groups, by use of nature. Building on three recent research projects, a strategic framework for capacity building and empowerment of local government and civil society stakeholders will be developed by co-creating Nature-based Solutions (NBS).

GREENHANCEnbt: We seek to understand the critical factors, tipping points, and underlying mechanisms that influence the successful implementation of Urban Agriculture (UA) as a means for supporting human health and well-being and biodiversity. To explore these dynamics and the underlying supportive structures and barriers, we adopt a Nature-Based Thinking (NBT) perspective.

I was also part of the EU-funded Horizon 2020 CONEXUS project which ended in 2024:

CONEXUS: Co-producing nature-based solutions (NBS) and restored ecosystems- transdisciplinary nexus for urban sustainability. CONEXUS took place in seven cities where Life-labs to test nature-based solutions were implemented, and where we analysed the emerging governance structures that could support NBS implementation.

I am the course coordinator for the international BSc course ‘Analysis of forested landscapes’ (15 ECTS) in the ‘Forest and Landscape Management’ program. The course provides an introducion to Forest and Landscape concepts as well as different tools for Landscape analysis.