Department of Nature and Rural Areas

The Department of Nature and Rural Areas focuses on societal problems around nature, landscape and rural areas. Loss of biodiversity – the variety in species and ecosystems – is one of the global sustainability problems. The department studies and evaluates trends and solutions, connecting the various scales (from global to local and vice versa). In addition, it looks at the multi-functionality and cohesion within the cultural landscape and cultural heritage, and related questions of which landscape values need to be preserved and what could be done to develop landscape qualities? The department explores the spatial dynamics in the ‘green’ and ‘blue’ space, and their consequences for the quality of rural areas.