Theresa Klara Loch

Theresa discovered her interest in human-nature interactions and inter-and transdisciplinary work during her BSc in Environmental Science (Major) and Business Psychology (Minor) at the Leuphana Universtiy in Lüneburg. The Social-ecological Systems Institute at the Leuphana University sparked her interest for relational values, with special focus on Local Ecological Knowledge and the integration of diverse forms of knowledge. Her passion for forests and their importance for humans was strengthened during her ERASMUS Joint Degree Master in Sustainable Forest and Nature Management (SUFONAMA) at the Georg-August-University of Göttingen and the University of Copenhagen. In her second year in Copenhagen, Theresa continued her interest in the diverse meanings of forests and specialised in the management of forest and nature for society. At the University of Freiburg, Theresa is working as a PhD student within the DFG funded Research Training Group ConFoBi (Conservation of Forest Biodiversity in Multiple-Use Landscapes of Central Europe). In project C2 Local Knowledge, Theresa will research the interaction of actors responsible for the implementation of forest biodiversity conservation within networks and the forms of knowledge that these actors share and gain through networks. Questions of knowledge hierarchies, forest ownerships, the role of formal and informal networks and societal discourses around forests will continuously be asked throughout her research.  

Research interests

·       Human-Nature relations

·       Forest biodiversity conservation

·       Interdisciplinarity

·       Local Ecological knowledge

·       Gender & Forestry

Education

    2022 - present

PhD Researcher at the University of Freiburg within the Research Training Group Conservation of Forest Biodiversity in Multiple-use Landscapes of Central Europe (ConFoBi) - Project C2, Local Knowledge

    2020 - 2022

M.Sc. Sustainable Forest and Nature Management, ERASMUS Mundus Joint Master Degree, at Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany and University of Copenhagen, Denmark 

Thesis: Refining Senses of Place. A case study from the Blaen Bran Community Woodland Group, Wales.

    2016 - 2020

B.Sc. Environmental Science (Major) and Business Psychology (Minor) at Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany

Thesis: The Power of Knowledge. Local and traditional ecological knowledge in coastal ecosystems in the Global South

Publications

Riechers, M., Betz, L., Gould, R., Loch, T. K., Lam, D., Lazzari, N., Martín-López, B. and Sala, J. (2022). Reviewing relational values for future research: insights from the coast. Ecology and Society, 27(4).

Loch, T. K., & Riechers, M. (2021). Integrating indigenous and local knowledge in management and research on coastal ecosystems in the Global South: A literature review. Ocean & Coastal Management, 212, 105821.