Project Details

ActSustainably is an international research project that supports the sustainable and equitable use, as well as the protection and restoration, of semi-natural grasslands. The project operates in Austria and South Tyrol, Denmark, Hungary, and Kazakhstan, combining research with close collaboration on the ground. Many grassland landscapes in Eurasia are fragmented, have lost ecological quality, or have disappeared due to land-use changes or abandonment. Despite existing conservation measures, their condition is often inadequate or continues to deteriorate. ActSustainably therefore works with local communities, farmers, and decision-makers. 

The goal is to understand how land is used, what matters to people, and what changes are needed so that both nature and society can benefit. Together, we assess the current situation, develop possible visions for the future, and plan concrete steps that can be implemented locally. A central focus of the BIODIVERSA+ research program is transformation. It is not just about improvements in everyday life, but also about fundamental changes in values, rules, and institutions. Even small, coordinated adjustments can have long-term and far-reaching effects. The research examines how formal laws, rules, and local practices interact and where adjustments can strengthen existing approaches without placing a burden on local stakeholders. When local values and nature-based rules are incorporated into management, conservation, and restoration efforts, decisions are made that better align with the needs of both people and biodiversity.

Our work is guided by four guiding principles from the IPBES report on transformative change: equity, the inclusion of diverse perspectives, respectful relationships between people and nature, and collaborative learning. These principles shape our collaboration and serve as a guide for developing and testing solutions. A key tool we use is the Three Horizons approach, which links short-term, practical steps with long-term goals. ActSustainably works with citizens and relevant stakeholders to develop practical solutions. These include joint measures, cooperative rules, and tools for the more sustainable management of marginalized grasslands at the local, regional, and national levels. The goal is to identify courses of action and recommendations to halt the loss of biodiversity, improve biodiversity and ecological quality, strengthen local stewardship, and secure species-rich grasslands for future generations. Through continuous dialogue and collaborative learning, long-term processes of change emerge that communities themselves can support and further develop.

In WP1, statistical and spatial-temporal analysis methods will help us understand the determinants of land use and land cover changes. Both a combination of qualitative data from WP 1-3 and quantitative estimates of determinants of land use and land cover change will be applied to inform the spatially explicit CLUE-S land use model and support scenario-based projections of land use and land cover change and associated biodiversity and other ecosystem service changes.

WP1 is coordinated by Aahus Unversity and Münster University.

WP2 will be based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews (10-20 interviews per case study region) and institutional analysis. The institutional analysis will rely on qualitative review of different documents, including policy documents, charters, constitutions, governance structures, and media reports. Contextual data will cover historic background and development, framework conditions (e.g. economic situation), and legal-regulatory frameworks. Actor coalitions will be mapped using a structured actor mapping method.

WP2 is coordinated by BOKU.

In addition to qualitative data collection (semi-structured interviews, participant observation), in WP3 we will conduct a survey with representative samples of the population in the case study regions to explore the role of values in shaping public attitudes towards governance of grasslands. Survey results will be analysed using econometric approaches. 

WP3 is coordinated by Zurich University and ZHAW.

WP4 will also combine qualitative and quantitative methods. Participatory workshops will be developed and conducted to collectively explore desirable futures for biodiversity-positive socio-ecological grassland systems. This will be done by using the 3 Horizons framework, which explicitly considers the current situation or business as usual (Horizon 1 in the short-term), the desirable future (Horizon 3 in the long-term), and the changes and pathways required to move from Horizon 1 to 3. Scenarios will be co-developed with 15-20 actors through participatory workshops in each case study region. A part of each participatory workshop will be dedicated to moderated actors’ deliberations on collective actions and cooperative rule required to achieve scenarios, which will be developed earlier in the workshops. Involved actors will be also invited to deliberate on formal arrangements needed to support sustainable grassland management by local community members and external grassland users. In two project case studies, the rules established during the participatory workshops will be tested in a dynamic common pool resource experiment involving individual actors.

WP4 is coordinated by Zurich University and ZHAW.